Here's What 10 Mock Drafts Are Saying About the Huskies

They sit around what amounts to a virtual poker table, holding 32 cards, trying to bluff everyone. Each of these self-made fortune tellers thinks he or she knows something the others don't.

These are the NFL mock draft gurus, people who every day put names in a hat, dump them out and see where they land.

More than four months before all of the top-end college football talent gets dispersed on April 25-27 in Detroit, word to the wise: you don't take one person's opinion as truth for who will be drafted and where.

Rather you examine 10 random mocks and note which trends emerge from these people collectively and you get a general idea.

So you want to know which University of Washington football players from this historic unbeaten team that's headed for the Sugar Bowl will be the school's next first-round draft picks?

Consider the following: Wide receiver Rome Odunze showed up in the first round of 9 of 10 mock drafts perused, going anywhere from No. 7 to 22 in the individual order, while edge rusher Bralen Trice appeared as a first-rounder in 8 of 10 drafts, slotted from positions 24 to 31.

So Odunze appears to be an opening-round lock while Trice has a a good chance to go in the latter half, yet obviously with no guarantee. Here's a tip: four of these 10 prognosticators are convinced the standout Husky pass-catcher will end up with the Buffalo Bills as a first-rounder.

What, no Michael Penix Jr., you ask?

Penix turned up in the opening round of just three mock drafts examined — The Sporting News, Tankathon and the San Diego Union Tribune — appearing at No. 14, 21 and 19, respectively.

Translation, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound sixth-year quarterback and nation's leading passer, unless he gets a late boost in grade, could drop into the second or third round.

For all the positive things said about Penix, people out there simply aren't sold on his talents. Take former NFL scout Danny Kelly, now editor in chief of First Round Mock.

"Penix's downfield ball placement was all over the road at Indiana — and it looked just as bad at Washington," Kelly wrote in player assessment this year. "To date, Penix has not shown the necessary traits it takes to be a first-round choice or be a winning starting quarterback in the National Football League."

Oh.

That's one man's opinion from a guy who, for whatever reasons, is no longer an NFL scout.

That said, fast-rising Husky offensive tackle Troy Fautanu has drawn more mock draft attention than his quarterback teammate. He was selected in 4 of 10 first rounds examined, going from No. 16 to 31.

Anyone else?

Actually, there was one more. UW wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk turned up in the first round of the Pro Football Network mock draft, going with the 32nd and final pick.

In conclusion, Odunze and Trice look like good bets to be first-round picks and draw those high-end rookie contracts, while Penix might have his ego stepped on a little before some team takes him off the board, while Fautanu likely is a first- or second-rounder and Polk goes somewhere mid-draft.

However, had you used this methodology to choose Saturday's Heisman Trophy winner, it would have offered no certain insight to the winner

Take note that Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. showed up in the first round of all 10 mock drafts, going from No. 2 to 4, and he finished fourth in the Heisman voting.

Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, the LSU quarterback, appeared in 9 of 10 of these mock drafts, appearing from slots 2 to 21, so he was a strong possibility to pull the vote.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, the fourth candidate for the big prize, was singled out by 4 of 10 mocks as a first-rounder, turning up in positions No. 10 to 27.

While he didn't warrant enough Heisman attention to earn a trip to New York, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye interestingly enough appeared in the first round of all 10 mock drafts examined and ranked from No. 1 to 3 in the individual positions, and now he's officially in the draft.

10 RANDOM MOCK DRAFTS

(UW First-Round Picks Only)

CBS — 13, Odunze, Buffalo Bills; 24, Trice, Houston Texans

Messenger — 13, Odunze, Buffalo Bills

Pro Football Focus — 11, Odunze, Las Vegas Raiders; 26, Trice, Jacksonville Jaguars; 31 Fautanu, Miami Dolphins

Pro Football Network — 10, Odunze, Buffalo Bills; 20, Fautanu, Seattle Seahawks; 28 Trice, Detroit Lions; 32, Polk, Philadelphia Eagles

San Diego Union Tribune — 19, Penix, Atlanta Falcons; 22, Odunze, Indianapolis Colts; 29, Trice, Detroit Lions

SB Nation — 13, Odunze, Buffalo Bills; 16, Fautanu, Seattle Seahawks; 31 Trice, Miami Dolphins

Sporting News — 14, Penix, Los Angeles Rams; 16, Odunze, Buffalo Bills; 24, Trice, Houston Texans

Sports Illustrated — 7, Odunze, New York Giants; 31, Fautanu, Miami Dolphins

Tankathon — 17, Odunze, Cincinnati Bengals; 21, Penix, Minnesota Vikings; 30 Trice, Baltimore Ravens

Yardbarker — 14, Trice, Las Vegas Raiders

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