It’s not just Greg Rousseau. Miami could be all over the first two days of the 2021 Draft
It has been far too long since the Miami Hurricanes have been a fixture of the first — and even second — day of the NFL Draft. Miami has not had a first-round pick since David Njoku in 2017. The Hurricanes have only had one player go in either the second or third round since 2015. Miami had four players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft — all on the third and final day Saturday.
The Hurricanes are poised to finally, maybe change this in 2020. The way-too-early mock drafts for the 2021 NFL Draft almost unanimously have Gregory Rousseau has a top-10 pick, and he might not be the only Miami player to land in the first round next year. Brevin Jordan, Quincy Roche and even D’Eriq King are garnering some too-early consideration to be taken early in 2021.
Let’s take a look at some of the projections for the Hurricanes’ 2021 crop in the early mock drafts:
Gregory Rousseau
Sporting News*: 4
CBS Sports: 4
USA Today: 2
The Athletic: 14
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields, Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Oregon Ducks tackle Penei Sewell are widely considered the top three prospects for the 2021 Draft. After them, Rousseau is in consideration as the next-best prospect.
The edge rusher from racked up 15 1/2 sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2019 — second nationally to only defensive end Chase Young, who went No. 2 overall to the Washington Redskins on Thursday — and his rapid improvement from skinny high school safety at Hialeah Champagnat Catholic to dominant defensive lineman makes him intriguing beyond just the production. The 6-foot-7, 253-pound defensive end has the eighth-best odds to go No. 1, according to SportsBettingDime.com, and the second-best odds to be the first defensive player taken in 2021.
* — based on big board
Quincy Roche
Sporting News*: 32
Sports Illustrated: 28
TheDraftNetwork.com*: 36
WalterFootball.com**: 2nd-4th round
Roche is coming off an All-American season with the Temple Owls and decided to transfer to Miami rather than enter the NFL Draft so he could continue developing and showcase himself against Power 5 Conference competition. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound edge rusher is mostly viewed as a fringe first-round prospect right now.
Sports Illustrated, which named Roche a first-team All-American in 2019, is highest on the defensive lineman. His 13 sacks last season as a redshirt junior are third most among returning players nationally behind only Rousseau and Oregon State Beavers All-American linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr.
** — based on position rankings
Brevin Jordan
Sporting News*: 34
USA Today: 9
The Athletic: 32
TheDraftNetwork.com*: 21
Jordan is also a fringe first-round pick at this point, although consensus has him as one of the top few tight ends in the 2021 Draft, behind only the Florida Gators’ Kyle Pitts in The Draft Network’s rankings. Jordan was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end, but a foot injury cut short his sophomore season and held him out of the Hurricanes’ abbreviated spring season. He’s also considered a bit undersized at 6-3 and 235 pounds, and All-American tight end Hunter Bryant, whose build is similar to Jordan’s slipped, went undrafted before signing with the Detroit Lions.
Jordan, however, is more than just a receiver. He’s one of the top blocking tight ends in the country, too. His first-round potential could hinge more on how badly teams need tight ends a year from now.
D’Eriq King
TheDraftNetwork.com*: 87
While King doesn’t currently project as a first-round pick, prognosticators apparently view him as someone whose stock could explode playing for offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee as a redshirt senior in Coral Gables. King has the fourth-best odds to go No. 1, according to Sports Betting Dime, and the third-best odds to be the first quarterback taken. Fields and Lawrence are the clear top two, but there’s a vacuum behind them, which gives a bunch of quarterbacks a chance to play their way into first-round status in 2020.
King, who transferred to Miami from the Houston Cougars in January, has had a record-setting career as a dual-threat quarterback, although his 5-11, 195-pound frame will almost certainly scare off some NFL evaluators. Still, no quarterback other than Fields or Lawrence sits in the top 30 of The Draft Network’s overall rankings, meaning someone will likely jump into the first-round conversation. King ranks sixth at his position behind Lawrence, Fields, Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jamie Newman, Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy and Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback K.J. Costello.
The rest
The Draft Network currently ranks 301 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft on its big board. Seven Hurricanes are on the list, including Roche, Rousseau, Jordan and King. The rest sit outside the top 100, which means an early Day 3 projection, although plenty will change in the next year.
Defensive lineman Jaelan Phillips checks in at No. 125 despite not having played since 2018 with the UCLA Bruins. A slew of injuries forced him to briefly retire before he decided to transfer to Miami, but the 6-5, 258-pound defensive end is a former No. 1 overall recruit in the 247Sports.com composite rankings and is finally healthy to play his redshirt junior season.
Zach McCloud sits at No. 181 after redshirting in 2019. The 6-2, 236-pound linebacker will be a redshirt senior with 32 career starts entering 2020.
Offensive lineman Corey Gaynor is the No. 264 player after taking over as the Hurricanes’ starting center as a redshirt sophomore in 2019. The 6-4, 299-pound interior lineman was Miami’s steadiest lineman last season.
