Kiper Likes What He Sees in UW's Kirkland, Gives Him His Highest Draft Slot

Mel Kiper and Jaxson Kirkland have something in common — a deep, deep interest in the NFL draft.

Kiper's job is to predict it.

The 6-foot-7, 310-pound Kirkland is out to own it, like so few University of Washington football players ever have.

This week, their paths crossed.

Kiper released his ESPN Big Board top 25 picks and he anointed the Husky senior offensive tackle from Vancouver, Washington, as his No. 10 selection overall — Kirkland's highest ranking yet in a month of mock drafts.

A self-made draft guru from Baltimore, Kiper is considered the leading authority on grading college football players going on four decades now and his pre-draft stamp of approval is the most coveted amongst all the analysts.

"Kirkland is the first senior in these rankings so far," Kiper wrote. "He started 25 games at right guard in 2018 and '19 before moving to left tackle last season and I expect him to stick outside in the NFL. He didn't allow any sacks in four games in 2020 and he also was consistent in the run game."

Should this play out as Kiper suggests, Kirkland would become the third-highest drafted Husky offensive lineman in school history, trailing center Rudy Mucha, taken with the fourth overall pick by the then-Cleveland Rams in 1941; and offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who went to the Atlanta Falcons with the ninth pick in 1993.

Kirkland still has 11 months and a full season to climb even higher on the draft ladder and he is beginning to show up high in more and more mock drafts. Pro Football Focus has him 12th overall, CBS Sports put him 25th and Yahoo! Sports pegs him 29th.

If Kirkland goes in those coveted first 32 selections, he will become the seventh Husky offensive lineman to become an NFL first-rounder. The full list, by draft position, is as follows:

Rudy Mucha, C, No. 4, Cleveland Rams, 1941

Lincoln Kennedy, OT, No. 9, Atlanta Falcons, 1993

Blair Bush, C, No. 16, Cincinnati Bengals, 1978

Curt Marsh, OT, No. 23, Oakland Raiders, 1981

Bern Brostek, C, No. 23, Los Angeles Rams, 1990

Kaleb McGary, OT, No. 31, Atlanta Falcons, 2019

Kirkland could have entered last month's NFL draft, but he wasn't satisfied with being a second- to fifth-round pick, which is the feedback he received, so he returned for a fifth season of college football.

According to Kiper, Kirkland currently stands as the third offensive lineman who will be taken early in the first round, ranked behind Alabama's humongous Evan Neal, a 6-foot-7, 370-pound junior offensive tackle pegged at the No. 4 overall pick; and Texas A&M's 6-foot-4, 325-pound offensive guard Kenyon Green, another junior who is listed as the 7th overall pick.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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