Boston College Mock Draft Update 4: Post-Spring Game Edition
By Joe Micik
Boston College’s spring football game has come and gone, but the most sought-after Eagle right now is one who was not there. That would be Luke Kuechly, the all-but certain first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. We are now less than a month away from the big day when BC gets a player selected in the first round for the second-consecutive year and fourth of the last five, but what’s still at issue is where he lands. As suspected previously, the Philadelphia Eagles’ trade for inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans is now influencing the mock drafters and steering Kuechly to other destinations. Couple this with strong performances at the NFL Combine and Boston College’s recent pro day and we have someone who will probably not be waiting very long on the first night.
Will any other Eagles’ phones ring? Let’s find out:
8th-best player available on Scouts Inc. big board
DraftCountdown.com: Round 1, Pick 12 — Seattle Seahawks [+3]
DraftTek: Round 1, Pick 17: Cincinnati Bengals [-2]
NFL.com (Chad Reuter): Round 1, Pick 12 — Seattle Seahawks
NFL.com (Charles Davis): Round 1, Pick 10 — Buffalo Bills
NFL.com (Charley Casserly): Round 1, Pick 32 — New York Giants
CBS Sports (Rob Rang): Round 1, Pick 12 — Seattle Seahawks [+3]
CBS Sports (Dane Brugler): Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles [unch]
WalterFootball.com: Round 1, Pick 13 — Arizona Cardinals [+3]
DraftSite: Round 1, Pick 12 — Seattle Seahawks [-1]
NFL Draft Info: Round 1, Pick 13 — Arizona Cardinals [+2]
Your NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 15 — Philadelphia Eagles [unch]
The New NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 12 — Seattle Seahawks [+3]
DraftTek: Round 4, Pick 122 Overall — New Orleans Saints [+18]
DraftSite: Round 5, Pick 148 Overall — Oakland Raiders [-12]
The New NFL Draft is still drafting Montel Harris in the seventh round. He may never play football again, and he’s not even in this draft — I guess they don’t update very often.
Current High/Low Ranges
Luke Kuechly: 1st round, picks 10-32
Donnie Fletcher: 4th round to undrafted
All others: Undrafted
Analysis & Final Thoughts
One trade appears to have changed Luke Kuechly’s fortunes in the eyes of the mock drafters. Most of them assume that Philadelphia’s need for an inside linebacker is filled, and as such, he has been diverted away from the Eagles on all but a few. A few updates ago, Kuechly was a unanimous pick to go to Philadelphia, but the new leader in the clubhouse appears to be Seattle at #12. The Seahawks would be a nice fit for Kuechly, though Arizona at #13 offers him a chance at a team that has been decent here and there.
A few still have him going as high as tenth to Buffalo, while The NFL Today’s in-house general manager, Charley Casserly, has him falling all the way to the Giants at #32. As orgasmic as that would be for some people currently writing this article, the odds of that happening are practically nil. Finally, and interestingly enough, one did have him going home to play for the Cincinnati Bengals at #17.
Donnie Fletcher still remains a bit of an enigma as he keeps shifting from round to round, and “undrafted” is still in his range because one full mock did not select him, but he appears to be moving into the 4th or 5th-round zone. Either one would be a pretty good showing for Fletcher.
Max Holloway has previously been taken in one mock, and in the last update he was in the supplementary picks zone. This time, he has fallen off the board altogether. If he gets picked, it appears Holloway will be late-7th round or bust.