Local talent was strongly represented in last weekend’s NFL Draft
May 6, 2015
The University of Washington (UW) Huskies’ defense was able to dominate the first round and a half of the NFL Draft this past weekend with four players going in the top 44 draft picks.
Auburn, Wash. native Danny Shelton, projected as 3-4 nose tackle, was the first off the board going number 12 to the Cleveland Browns. He was soon followed by cornerback Marcus Peters, who was dismissed from the team midway through the season, going to the Kansas City Chiefs as pick 18.
Linebacker Shaq Thompson, winner of the Paul Hornung Award,went to the Carolina Panthers as pick 25.
Capping UW’s pro-producing success was the New Orleans Saints, taking defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha with pick 44.
Across the state, their rival in Pullman produced two draft picks this year. Defensive tackle Xavier Cooper, born in Tacoma, went in round three to the Browns. He will join Shelton and
Washington State University teammate Vince Mayle, a wide receiver taken in the fourth round, as one of three players the Browns took from Washington schools this draft.
One other Washington school was represented in the draft. Eastern Washington University tackle Jake Rodgers went in the seventh round to the Atlanta Falcons. Rodgers, from Spokane, was also the only player taken from the Big Sky Conference, which Eastern plays in.
Risky business
After Peters was selected by the Chiefs, the first thought that popped into my mind was, “this might be the best first round pick.”
Not because Peters was the best player in the draft, but because of the value of the pick. Peters was regarded by some draft experts as the best overall cornerback in the draft. The one thing that hurt his draft-stock was getting the boot from new coach, and noted disciplinarian, Chris Petersen.
The two didn’t seemed to get along in Petersen’s initial year at the helm of the Husky program. Earlier in the year, Peters was benched in a near upset against Eastern’s potent passing-attack for throwing what Petersen called a tantrum on the sideline.
Peters is a long-range athlete with excellent ball skills. He showed he was able to make plays early in his career.
Sure thing
If one of these guys was a sure thing, it had to be Shelton. Many predicted the Browns to take Shelton with their first first-round pick. Why wouldn’t they? Shelton was not only a first team All-American on the field, but also an academic first team All-American selection his senior year.
McD22/Flickr
His combination of size, smarts and high-motor skills make him a perfect candidate for being a quality starter early on in the NFL.
Shelton has drawn some comparisons to another former standout nose tackle from the Pac-12, Haloti Ngata. Ngata’s career is the standard Shelton will be compared to, but the Browns will surely take him considering the havoc Ngata caused up front for the Baltimore Ravens for so many years.
Opportunity knocking
There are many guys that will be getting a chance to make teams on undrafted free agent deals. None are more intriguing than Washington wide receiver Kasen Williams.
Two years ago, the 2010 Parade Magazine high school football Player of the Year was one season away from being one of the first wide receivers taken in the 2014 draft if he chose to enter after his junior year.
Unfortunately for Williams, he suffered a brutal broken leg which ended his junior season and hampered him through the beginning of his senior year. The combination of the injury and a new group of coaches that never really saw Williams play to his full potential, turned a possible first round draft pick to an undrafted after thought.
Williams has been given a chance by the Cincinnati Bengals and, of all the undrafted free agents coming from Evergreen State, he has the most potential to make general managers and coaches alike regret passing on the uber-talented athlete that received a tough break.