The Latest on Where McDuffie and Gordon Could Be Drafted
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A few weeks back, former University of Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie — a sure thing as an NFL first-rounder — insisted in Dempsey Indoor with scouts milling all around that he wasn't paying any attention to the mock drafts, in fact he was purposely avoiding them.
OK, Trent, four days before the real thing takes place in Las Vegas, here's what you're missing.
The last-minute mocks have McDuffie hovering around the 17th or 18th overall pick, going to either Los Angeles Chargers or Philadelphia Eagles.
As an immediate starter.
Which means, come Thursday, he'll instantly will be worth $13.3 million to $13.7 million.
Now, has that got his attention? Has he spent any of that imagined cash yet in anticipation?
The erstwhile Peter King of NBC Sports and considered one of the foremost authorities on the NFL has the Husky standout going No. 17 to the Chargers "to give them a formidable threesome (J.C. Jackson, Asante Samuels Jr. and McDuffie) to attack the Mahomes/Wilson/Carr trio of top quarterbacks in the Chargers' schedule every year."
The mock drafts agree almost in unison that McDuffie is the third-bet cornerback in the draft, behind Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and LSU's Derek Stingley.
NFL teams loved him and his analytical mind in individual interviews and his 4.4-second 40-yard time didn't hurt him either. He told them he could play cornerback, safety or nickelback if he needed. The pros are just a tad concerned about his 5-foot-10 size and limited length.
While it seems that McDuffie and his fellow Husky corner Kyler Gordon are inseparable in terms of their football developments, that may or may not be true with the NFL.
Some people also like Gordon as a first-rounder, though late, with Draft Wire picking him as the 30th pick by the Kansas City Chiefs. Others choose to let Kyler slide into the second round.
Should Gordon sneak into the end of the opening round, such as what former UW teammate and edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka did a year ago with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he'll be $11.1 million richer.
Many teams like him as an immediate starter, too.
Three other Huskies await the NFL draft with much different, if not lower, expectations.
Tight end Cade Otton, coming off ankle surgery which greatly limited his pre-draft testing and auditioning is projected to go either in the third or the fourth round. One mock draft had him at No. 91 overall. Of course, the pros like his blocking ability above all.
Nickelback Bookie Radley-Hiles, the Oklahoma transfer, turns up in the sixth round in one mock draft and not at all in others. While a smart, aggressive player, his compact 5-foot-9, 180-pound hurts him in making the leap to the NFL with ease.
Finally, former UW center Luke Wattenberg could be be a decent pro football player, but it appears he'll have to go the free-agent route, which worked well for former teammate Myles Bryant two years ago. Wattenberg, after six years in the college ranks, is not showing up in the mocks. He'll have to prove himself once more, which sums up his career.
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