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The first round of the 2018 NFL draft is complete, and beyond current Mizzou analyst Garrick McGee pounding his chest about Lamar Jackson getting picked (he recruited Jackson to Louisville a few years ago)...
I stayed up and waited. pic.twitter.com/dEnLWc3XAt
— Garrick McGee (@GarrickMcGee) April 27, 2018
...there wasn’t much Mizzou involvement. Here’s your reminder that this could change next year.
It’s hard to think about the 2018 draft and not think about the 2019 draft, though. In it, there’s at least a chance that Mizzou has a pair of high draft picks in quarterback Drew Lock and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr.
Beckner’s got a pretty tough road to hoe, as the defensive tackle crop next year is loaded — Houston’s Ed Oliver, Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence, Michigan’s Rashan Gary, etc.
The QB crop, however? Wide friggin’ open. Lock is almost by default one of the top names on the board, along with guys like WVU’s Will Grier, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, and, somehow, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson.
If the Derek Dooley-Drew Lock marriage is a happy one, Lock could be next year’s first QB taken. Something to shoot for, anyway.
But that’s 12 months away. Next up: we wait for Marcell Frazier’s and J’Mon Moore’s names to be called.
Frazier doesn’t care where he goes — he just wants to get the phone call.
Early on, Frazier’s ceiling is likely a situational pass rusher whose opportunities and success will ride largely on how he fits into whatever defensive scheme he’s placed into. For a player who will need to prove himself early, that uncertainty could be unnerving.
Frazier, however, does not concern himself with what he can’t control — where he gets drafted or what his role is. He’s just looking forward to the next step of his career.
“Just to get drafted, that would be a blessing,” Frazier said. “If I’m not, when it comes to signing a free agent contract, that will be a blessing, too. I’m just excited about wherever I get to go.”
He’s happy for having taken a unique, circuitous path to (hopefully) the NFL.
As Frazier waits for the draft to unfold, starting with Thursday’s prime-time first round, he relishes his road less traveled.
“I appreciate it. It just humbled me a lot,” Frazier said this week in a phone interview from Portland, Ore., his hometown. “I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but when you want something so bad, you’ll find a way to get it done. I’ve found the ways.”
Moore, meanwhile? His stock is still tamped down by those drops.
His hands.
In between all the touchdowns and big receptions at Missouri, Moore’s career also featured many bobbled and dropped balls. Some came on big plays down the field. Others on routine passes over the middle. All of them give pro teams trepidation while evaluating him as a potential draft pick.
“It’s a major issue,” said Simon Clancy, a draft analyst and lead feature writer for Gridiron Magazine. “Are they a result of bad hands? Are they a result of concentration issues? I know J’Mon believes he needs to stop looking to make plays and see the ball into his hands first. But is that to blame for all of those drops? I’m not so sure.”
Good luck to them in the coming days. And to Anthony Sherrils and the other under-the-radar guys, too.
Yesterday at Rock M
More Links:
- E.J. Liddell: The next front in the Braggin’ Rights War.
- OH HEY LOOK, Karissa Schweizer set another damn record. She has literally all of them now.
.@DrakeRelays MEET RECORD!@KarissaSchweiz4 wins the 5000m run at 1️⃣5️⃣:2️⃣3️⃣.2️⃣1️⃣!
— Mizzou Track & Field (@MIZ_TrackField) April 27, 2018
It's the fastest time in the NCAA this season by 9️⃣ seconds!#MIZ #TigerTough pic.twitter.com/F8zfgQ5qAg
- Mizzou Baseball is off to Lexington for a big series against No. 15 Kentucky. The Tigers are 5-6 on the road against ranked teams this year — pretty damn impressive. We’ll see if they can make that 7-7 or 8-6.
- Okay, this is kind of strange. Mizzou Softball’s upcoming series with Wichita State was canceled and replaced with a home double-header against UAPB. Whatever. Just win them.
- HEY, J’DEN.