2012 NFL Mock Drafts, Installment 1: No Top 10 Kuechly
By Joe Micik
The Scouting Combine does not begin for another month, but it’s never too early to figure out where our Eagles might land in April’s NFL Draft.
Currently, there are eight players on ESPN’s list, but like last year, we know that their fact-checking is suspect. On it, the Worldwide Leader has Luke Kuechly, Donnie Fletcher, Max Holloway, Nate Richman, Ifeanyi Momah, and Mark Spinney. They also list Montel Harris and Kaleb Ramsey, both of whom appear to be returning to BC next year. Momah is also in appeal of his denied medical redshirt, so it doesn’t appear he should be on the list, either.
No matter: there are Eagles entered into the draft and some figure to do very well, especially if his name starts with a “K” and ends with a “uechly.” How high does he figure to go, however? At the moment, pretty high but not in the top ten.
Soaring to Glory, as we do every year, has scoured the mock drafts around the interwebs, and this is how BC players stand:
Luke Kuechly
Linebacker
DraftCountdown.com: Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles
DraftTek: Round 1, Pick 12: Kansas City Chiefs
CBS Sports (Rob Rang): Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles
CBS Sports (Dane Brugler): Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles
WalterFootball.com: Round 1, Pick 13 — Arizona Cardinals
DraftSite: Round 1, Pick 23 — Detroit Lions
NFL Draft Info: Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles
Your NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles
The New NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 14 — Dallas Cowboys
Donnie Fletcher
Cornerback
DraftTek: Round 4, Pick 127 Overall — New England Patriots
DraftSite: Round 6, Pick 183 Overall — Philadelphia Eagles
Max Holloway
Defensive end
DraftSite: Round 5, Pick 149 Overall — Atlanta Falcons
The New NFL Draft also drafted Montel Harris in the seventh round, which won’t be happening.
Ranges
Note: These are based on current mock drafts; at this stage, the ranges may be very large, but expect them to narrow as we draw closer to the draft
Luke Kuechly: Mid to late-1st round
Donnie Fletcher: 4th round to undrafted
Max Holloway: 5th round to undrafted
Final Thoughts
The favorite destination for Kuechly right now seems to be Philadelphia, which would mean he’d still be an Eagle, but it would slay me having to root against him every week.
Donnie Fletcher showed up a few times, but he was also left off a couple of seven-round drafts. Hopefully a good Senior Bowl performance can improve his standing.
I was surprised to have seen Holloway make the list at all, much less in a mock where he was picked a round before Fletcher. Of course, it was just a single draft, and there’s no question that he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to move to a more secure position.