Hogs not expected to go early in NFL Draft

Free-agent path exists for others

Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FAYETTEVILLE -- What the Arkansas Razorbacks lack in early round potential for the NFL Draft they might make up for in depth.

Eight former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville players were invited to the NFL scouting combine in February, which was believed to tie a school record, but none of them look like a lock to be taken in the first three rounds of the 82nd NFL Draft, which takes place today through Saturday in Philadelphia.

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It's likely a lean year for a prime draft pick to come from inside Arkansas.

Arkansas State University defensive end Chris Odom may be the Red Wolves' best shot at having a player drafted. Odom recorded 12 1/2 sacks and 17 1/2 tackles for a loss for ASU last season, earning Sun Belt Conference defensive player of the year honors.

The University of Central Arkansas has had two seventh-round draft picks the past two years (wide receiver Dezmin Lewis and defensive end Jonathan Woodard), but may be shut out this year. Wide receiver Desmond Smith, of Bentonville, and nose tackle Terrence Partee could land free agent contracts if they aren't drafted.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff isn't expected to have anyone drafted. If they aren't drafted, linebacker Willie Duncan III and wide receiver Willie Young could look into the free agent route, as well.

Though Arkansas has not had a first-round NFL Draft pick since running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in 2008, the school has gone 21 consecutive years -- since 1995 -- with at least one player selected.

Analysts are split on the top choice among ex-Razorbacks, with tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and defensive end Deatrich Wise gaining the most attention.

Sprinkle, of White Hall, has NFL.com's top draft grade among Razorbacks at 5.54, while defensive end Jeremiah Ledbetter is rated at 5.5 and Wise is at 5.4.

The NFL.com rankings describes grades between 5.3 and 5.69 as "backup or eventual starter," while 5.7 through 5.99 is considered "could become early NFL starter," and 5.15 to 5.29 is "developmental prospect or special teams potential."

In a full seven-round mock draft published by CBSSports.com, Wise was the first former Hog off the board as a fourth-round choice by the New York Giants at pick No. 140.

The same site projected offensive tackle Dan Skipper as pick No. 161 of the fifth round to the San Francisco 49ers, Sprinkle as pick No. 206 of the sixth round to the Los Angeles Rams and Ledbetter as pick No. 218, the last of the sixth round, to the Detroit Lions.

Ledbetter and Wise have blood lines in professional football as their fathers, Weldon Ledbetter and Deatrich Wise Sr., were both drafted by NFL teams and played professionally.

Ledbetter, Skipper, Sprinkle and Wise were joined at the combine in Indianapolis by receivers Keon Hatcher and Drew Morgan, linebacker Brooks Ellis and punter Toby Baker, their teammates at Arkansas.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema called the Hogs' class of professional prospects "a mixed bag," and said he's gotten calls from NFL personnel on most of the Razorbacks.

"I think some of these guys are unique markets," Bielema said. "The team that will probably grab Sprink[le] is someone that traditionally uses a tight end like we do."

Bielema said it was "amazing" that tight end prospects like Alabama's O.J. Howard, David Njoku of Miami, Fla., and Ole Miss' Evan Engram are considered potential first-round talent a year after former Razorback Hunter Henry was the first tight end taken with the 35th overall pick by the Chargers in the second round.

"I keep thinking Hunter is probably better than all of them," he said.

Bielema said he thought Ledbetter and Wise were certain to be drafted, "and a guy like Brooks Ellis is so conscientious, he can play so many positions, he might be a guy that somebody really likes and grabs in the fourth or fifth round. It'll be really interesting."

Sprinkle is part of a tight end class that is being hailed as the deepest in years.

"Oh yeah, just being at the combine and being around all the guys and the numbers they put up and the seasons they had, I mean there's a bunch of us right there at the top," Sprinkle said.

Sprinkle said where he is chosen will simply boil down to team needs.

"Some teams have a wide tight end, an in-line tight end but they need a move tight end," he said. "Some teams told me they like me at the move tight end and vice-versa."

Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. said a "broad spectrum" of possibilities awaits Sprinkle.

"Wherever he goes ... when he goes, they're gonna like him," Lunney said. "He's smart. He's tough. He can run. He can block. He'll learn the offense, and if he'll stay healthy, he'll have a long career in the NFL."

Sprinkle has extensive training at all aspects of tight end play and is rated as high as the No. 7 player at his position by SI.com and the Sporting News.

"Sprinkle is at his best when he's asked to block and then go on a delay route, where he is almost always a mismatch," wrote the Sporting News. "He has good body control and can break tackles after the catch. He can also run away from defenders with his 4.6 speed."

Sprinkle has had to deal with the cloud of his Belk Bowl suspension on shoplifting charges, though those charges were recently dropped.

"I'm sure it's been difficult," Lunney said. "Everywhere he goes, he has to answer the question. ... It's going to take some time for him to really, truly move beyond that, but I think he's very capable of it."

At Arkansas' pro day March 15, Sprinkle said he had been asked by NFL teams about the incident and that he was "just sticking with my support staff that I have and getting past it and trying to move on from it."

Among the other Razorbacks, Hatcher has an NFL.com draft grade of 5.38, the 29th-rated player at wide receiver, Skipper is at 5.1, Morgan is at 5.0, while Baker and Ellis are rated at 4.92. Grades of 5.01 to 5.14 are considered "back end of the roster" by NFL.com's definition.

The comparisons of Morgan, at 6-foot, 190 pounds, to inside receivers like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman, who have carved out a niche with teams like the New England Patriots, are inevitable.

"You see some guys that are just phenomenal athletes in college and get put in a system in the NFL and it just doesn't work for them," Morgan said on pro day. "But then they go to another team and you're like, 'Where has that guy been for three or four years?' Well, he's been in a system that didn't work for him. That's a big part in the NFL, being with the same system."

Morgan also faced questions from NFL personnel over his ejection from the Belk Bowl for what officials termed a spitting incident.

The seven-round NFL Draft features the first round tonight in prime time, rounds 2 and 3 Friday, and the final four rounds.

The Razorbacks have had five players taken in each of the last two NFL Drafts, and four players taken in the three years prior to that.

Jeremy Muck of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contributed to this article.

Sports on 04/27/2017

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