Todd McShay at ESPN did a full seven-round NFL mock draft, apparently showing that he's willing to outwork just about anybody (ahem... Mel Kiper Jr) else on the subject.
The first 16 choices are available here. The full mock draft requires that you be an ESPN Insider $$$, but at KUSports.com we found a rundown of the Big 12 players projected to be taken.
McShay has only two Huskers projected to be drafted, Lydon Murtha going in the fourth round, and Matt Slauson going in the sixth.
With regards to the Big 12 - Baylor's offensive tackle Jason Smith goes to St Louis with the second overall pick. Then he has Missouri's Jeremy Maclin going at seventh to the Oakland Raiders, right in front of Tech's Michael Crabtree at eighth, going to Jacksonville.
At #17, he has the New York Jets picking Kansas State's Josh Freeman. Say what you will about Freeman, like him or not, but the guy is a physical specimen. I can see why a NFL team would want him because of his size and arm strength.
Other 2009 Nebraska opponents:
- Missouri DT Evander "Ziggy' Hood, S Wiliam Moore, second round
- Missouri TE Chase Coffman, Texas Tech DE Brandon Williams - third round
- Texas Tech S Darcel McBath - fourth round
- Texas Tech OG Louis Vasquez - fifth round
- Colorado DT George Hypolite - sixth round
The best part of seeing all these names listed as NFL draft picks is that they are a reminder that we don't have to face any of these guys next season, particularly Maclin and Crabtree. Both of them are wonderful players who did their share of damage to us, and I wish them the best of luck whether they get drafted by a team I hate or not.
It's nice seeing Missouri lose a bunch of talent, with a double whammy to them being that Chase Daniel is nowhere on the list. Gee, come to think of it, Graham Harrell isn't listed either. That's a darned shame.
Freeman never had much of a surrounding cast, and by the time we played Kansas State last season, they were done as a team.
So long, gentlemen! Good luck with your pursuit of fame and fortune!