The NFL Draft is this weekend. You might have heard something about it. It’s not like ESPN is running 2 hour draft specials daily and airing them 2 or 3 times a day or anything.
Pitt’s got several players who will likely be drafted, but only one expected to definitely go in the 1st day. Charles Spencer should go somewhere in the 2nd or possibly 3rd round. The rest will likely be drafted somewhere on Day 2.
Spencer is the highest rated of the three and could go as early as the second round. He played tackle for the Panthers last season, but he is a prospect at guard and his stock has been on the rise since the season ended.
The thing that has most scouts intrigued about Spencer — besides his size (6 feet 4, 335 pounds), strength and quickness — is his potential because he’s relatively inexperienced as an offensive lineman. He played defensive line his entire career until moving to offensive guard for his junior year with the Panthers. Then just about the time he settled in at guard, he was moved again, to tackle for his senior year.
“Charles really helped himself at the Senior Bowl, he was dominant against some of the top defensive line prospects,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s worked out well at every step of the way. He did well at the combine and at our pro day. We had to move him to tackle and he adapted quickly and made the most of it. He’s going to have a nice career.”
At the NFL combine, Spencer’s bench press placed among the top three offensive line prospects (225 pounds 31 times.) Lay also helped himself at the combine with an excellent 40-yard dash time (4.48 seconds) and by his performance in the defensive back drills.
Josh Lay and Junior Greg Lee will probably go sometime in the 4th or 5th rounds. Tight End Eric Gill might be a draft pick at the end of the second day, but it is just as likely that he will be a free agent signee along with kicker Josh Cummings, linebacker J.J. Horne, safety Tez Morris and RBs Ray Kirkley and Tim Murphy.
On Greg Lee, he has been projected as a second day draft pick since he declared following his disappointing season. So this article including Lee among 10 draft picks who won’t live up to the “hype” seems quite odd to me (hat tip to Frank)
4. Greg Lee, WR, Pittsburgh: After a brilliant sophomore season, Lee was pegged by many observers as the next great receiver to come out of the Panthers’ program. But he dropped an inordinate number of catchable passes last season as Pittsburgh moved to a conventional running attack. Lee is another former first-round prospect who’ll be fighting for backup duty.
Exactly what hype does a 4th or 5th round WR draft pick have to live up to? Yes, his talent and potential are something else, but it’s not like he’s being projected for a 1st or 2nd round selection. Right now, he’s being projected in the draft at about the right spot.
