Boston College in the 2013 NFL Draft: April 11 Update

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

It may be hard to believe, but 2013 is moving rapidly, and the Boston College spring football game is only nine days away. The 2013 NFL Draft is also fast approaching, and the first round will take place in New York City just two weeks from today. There’s no risk that any Boston College football players will be snatched up in that opening day, but it has at least become a bit more likely that an Eagle will get drafted sometime between then and the Mr. Irrelevant announcement.

BC has gotten a player picked up by an NFL team in the draft each year since 2006; the seven-year streak is definitely in some jeopardy. Lately, however, whereas it looked during the winter that none of Boston College’s eligible players were on the radar, it seems that the full mock drafts are starting to pay attention to the offensive line. The school’s reputation as “O-Line U” suffered in the past few seasons after some truly dreadful offensive performances, but two players in particular had their fates tied to one another and both seem to be benefiting.

John Wetzel and Emmett Cleary swapped ends of the line prior to the start of the 2012 season, and the results were much more encouraging than in 2011. Throw in some decent pro day and combine performances and it doesn’t quite look so bad anymore. As it stands right now, these two tackles stand the best chance at present of getting a draft-day phone call.

John Wetzel (OT)
DraftTek: Round 7, 239 overall (Philadelphia Eagles) [previously off-board]
Draftsite: Round 7, 252 overall (San Francisco 49ers) [no change]

Emmett Cleary (OT)
DraftTek: Round 6, 186 overall (Pittsburgh Steelers) [+8 spots]

Undrafted
Nick Clancy (LB), Colin Larmond, Jr. (WR), Chris Pantale (TE)

If you’re watching the draft only to see Boston College flash up on the screen, you’re probably going to be waiting until at least Round 6. We’ve discussed this before, however: being a BC football player and a “lock” for the late rounds usually means very little, and if you’re barely on the map to begin with, that’s a precarious position. It seems likely that most of these players would get invited to NFL camps as undrafted free agents, so it might not be worth too much worry at this point, but if BC wants to make it eight-straight years with a draft pick, then Wetzel and Cleary’s stocks have to continue to rise, or at least remain stable.