Latest SI Mock Draft Likes ZTF a Lot, Doesn't Care That He's Injured

Outside of Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay, the rest of the NFL realizes it underestimated the talents of Joe Tryon, the former University of Washington edge rusher who went to the Buccaneers with the 32nd and final pick of the first round in April. He's been overly impressive throughout training camp and in the first exhibition game.

The league isn't about to make that mistake again.

In Sports Illustrated's latest mock draft, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, the man known as ZTF, Tryon's eventual Husky replacement and temporarily idle, is projected to go to the Philadelphia Eagles with the 6th overall pick.

Truly rarified air.

If that happened, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound edge rusher from Pearl City, Hawaii, would become the third-highest drafted UW player of all-time, superseded only by 1992 defensive tackle Steve Emtman, who went No. 1 overall, and 1941 center Rudy Mucha, drafted fourth overall.

It's fairly heady stuff for a Husky who's not able to play at the moment, instead diligently trying to recover from an Achilles tendon injury suffered in spring practice that required surgery. While remaking his body, he's now 20 pound lighter than when he was when injured.

On Monday, ZTF was spotted in Husky Stadium while his team was on the nearby practice field, accompanied by trainers, doing rehab outfitted in a harness attached to a resistant band meant to strengthen his damaged appendage. He's attacking his recovery.

This is where the NFL went wrong with Tryon: The scouts dropped him all the way to the end of the opening round because he opted out of the 2020 UW season. The thinking now is he would have gone at least 10-15 picks higher had there been more game film on him.

For that matter, ZTF has made such dramatic recovery from the 6- to 10-month injury that he's expected back at midseason, giving the pros plenty of opportunity to look him over.

Yet In 2020, he looked like the college game's best edge rusher with seven sacks in a measly four outings, three of which were strip sacks. He was a mismatch for anyone who tried to block him. He's clearly a gamer.

On behalf of Sports Illustrated, its affiliate thedraftbible.com offered the following preseason assessment of ZTF:

Washington Huskies Head Coach Jimmy Lake said that he expects Tupuola-Fetui to return this season from an off-season Achilles tear. Last year, Tupuola-Fetui was arguably the best edge defender in the nation. He had seven sacks in four games and dominated his competition every week. At 280 pounds, Tupuola-Fetui moves like a 245-pound linebacker, yet he is extremely strong, consistently winning with power. Washington has him drop back into coverage, where he shows just how good of an athlete he is. The Eagles love to add to their edge group, and Tupuola-Fetui could end up being their future at the position.

The Husky edge rusher will emerge in very wealthy company if he comes in as high as the top half-dozen picks. The No. 6 slot currently is worth an overall $27.1 million, including a $17.1 million signing bonus. Thedraftbible.com mock draft can be accessed here.

Others slotted ahead of ZTF in the SI mock draft are Nevada quarterback Carson Strong, projected as the No. 1 selection going to the Detroit Lions; George Karlaftis, Purdue edge rusher pegged as the second pick and taken by the Houston Texans; Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, bound for the New York Jets at No. 3; Texas A&M defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal, slotted to go to the Cincinnati Bengals with the fourth choice; and Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, penciled in for the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 5.

Six could be a lucky number for ZTF. If all continues to go well in his rehab, he could make his UW return in the sixth game of the season against UCLA on October 16 in Husky Stadium or shortly thereafter. He could wind up appearing in six to eight games in all, counting a bowl, which would be more than enough for NFL teams to get a good read on him.

And pick him and pay him.

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