FAYETTEVILLE — A 28-year streak of taking at least one player in the NFL Draft is on the line for the University of Arkansas this weekend in Detroit.
The Razorbacks have drafted 80 players over the past 28 years, including at least one pick every season since 1995, including last year's third-round picks Drew Sanders and Rickey Stromberg. Also included.
The next three days will determine whether Arkansas continues its winning streak and who will be named the starting Razorback.
The NFL Draft will feature 257 draft picks at Hart Plaza on the banks of the Detroit River, marking 10 years since the event was moved from New York and turned into a road show. The first round will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. Central, followed by rounds two and three on Friday at 6 p.m., and rounds four through seven on Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Razorbacks have an interesting roster of potential pro players, but none of them have ostensible offensive skills.
Various draft predictions differ on which Razorbacks (Interior offensive lineman Beau Rimmer, cornerback Dwight McGlothian and placekicker Cam Little) will be the first Arkansas player to continue the streak.
Pro Football Focus predicts that Rimmer will go to the Seattle Seahawks with the 102nd pick in the fourth round, while McGlothern will go to the New York Jets with the 138th pick in the fifth round.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler predicted Rimmer would go to the Buffalo Bills with the 160th pick in the fifth round. He also predicted McGlothan and Little would be seventh-round picks by the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.
The Razorback's highest rating by All Access Football is McGlothan at No. 193, with defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat at No. 215 and Rimmer right behind him at No. 219.
The Razorbacks sent five players to the NFL Scouting Combine, with offensive lineman Brady Latham joining Jeffcoat, Rimmer, Little and McGlothan.
Rimmer, who bench-pressed an impressive 39 times with 250 pounds at the combine, is ranked 15th among players available at the center and guard spots by Athlon Sports. The 6-5, 307-pounder from Tyler, Texas, made the most bench presses at this year's combine, the most by a Razorback since the late Mitch Petras did 45 in 2010.
Rimmer switched from right guard to center last season at the suggestion of coach Sam Pittman, and the move appears to be paying off.
“Yes, I think it helped a lot,” Rimmer said at UA's pro day. “That happened again and again at the Senior Bowl, and the combine was where I was able to prove that I could play center and that versatility helped me.” I was grateful to be able to do that. ”
Jeffcoat, a transfer from Missouri and a team captain at the University of Arkansas, said he lost about 10 pounds to get down to 270 pounds for training for NFL scouts.
“It's definitely a lot of work to lose weight, get leaner and leaner,” Jeffcoat said at his pro day. “Focus on the mental things. It's still in your playbook so you can recite it to your scouts. … Family, staying sharp, showing love for Fayetteville and the Razorbacks, everything. is going quite well.”
Few of the best kickers may be available in the draft, but early-entry juniors face a spotty history of NFL teams choosing to select kickers rather than sign them as free agents.
On the plus side, three kickers were selected last year, with Jake Moody selected by San Francisco in the third round, Chad Ryland selected by New England in the fourth round, and Anders Karlsson selected in the sixth round by Green Bay. This is the highest number since 2015 with four. However, there were years, like 2010 and 2015, when the kicker had a shutout.
Little said it was important to him to be drafted at the Hogs' pro day.
“I think there's definitely a chance I'll be drafted,” Little said. “Probably the last two or three years, it's been normal to have one or two kickers.
“Last year, things were a little different because we had three kickers drafted. But I think it's special to be drafted as a specialist. Elite players are drafted. Yo.”
Little is Arkansas' all-time record holder for field goal accuracy (82.8%). He made the longest field goal of his career at Ole Miss last fall, a 56-yard field goal, and completed all 129 of his extra point attempts in college.
Little said his consistent performance at distance in 2023 led him to believe that declaring after his junior year was the right choice.
“In fall camp, we were trying field goals from 58, 61, 56 and just punching them out,” Little said. “That's what it takes to be successful in the NFL. If you take a player like Evan McPherson, he also ends up leaving early, trying for 57, 58 yards in the first quarter.
“So it's like for most teams, to get to that level, you have to be able to make deep attempts. So I feel like we showed success during the season and the spirit of chasing dreams in the NFL.” I felt like I was ready.”
Little is the fifth draft pick from Arkansas, joining Bill McClard (1972), Steve Little (15th overall pick in 1978), Kendall Traynor (1989) and Zach Hocker (2014). Trying to be a kicker.
NFL.com's Chad Reuter rates Little highly and projects him to be the starting kicker selected with No. 108 in the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings.
Few of the available SEC kickers are of outstanding class. He joins Alabama's Will Reichard and Missouri's Harrison Mavis, who are college football's all-time leading scorers with 547 points in five seasons. Mavis, nicknamed “Thick Kicker” because of his 5-11, 243-pound frame, made 86 of 103 field goal attempts (83.5%), setting a school record with 12 from 50 yards or more. , including 61 game-winning goals. He ran out the clock last year in a 30-27 win over Kansas State, the longest such streak in SEC history.
Rimmer is ranked as the No. 15 guard/center by Athlon Sports, Jeffcoat is the No. 27 edge rusher and McGlothian is the No. 30 cornerback.
NFL.com's Reuters predicted that Jeffcoat would go to the Dallas Cowboys with the 216th pick and Rimmer would go to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 221st pick.
In addition to Jeffcoat, Latham, Rimmer, Little and McGlothan, the Razorbacks who participated in Pro Day included tight end Nathan Backes, quarterback Cade Fortin, linebacker Antonio Grier and defensive end John Morgan. , defensive back Alfahim Walcott, and track and field standout Roger Stona.
The NFL Draft was reduced to eight rounds in 1993, then seven rounds the following season, and has remained at that number ever since.
The Razorbacks have managed to acquire at least one player every year since then, with the exception of 1995, although there have been some near misses.
In 1998, defensive end David Sanders was the only draft pick from the University of Arkansas, with the No. 235 pick in the seventh round. Defensive end Carlos Hall was the only Razorback selected in the seventh round, No. 240 in 2002, and defensive back Vickiel Vaughn was taken in the 254th pick in 2006.
