Projecting Former OSU Cowboys in This Weekend’s NFL Draft

It’s NFL Draft week so let’s take a look at some former Oklahoma State players and where they are projected to be chosen.

NFL.com

One NFL.com mock drafter, Chad Reuter, had Victor Salako as the first Cowboy off the board as a fifth-round selection by the Tamp Bay Buccaneers.

Here’s a look at the where he has several OSU players going.

• Victor Salako – No. 162 (5th Round) by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Chris Carson – No 213 (6th Round) by Pittsburgh Steelers
• Vincent Taylor – No. 222 (7th Round) by Jacksonville Jaguars
• Preferred Free Agents: Ashton Lampkin, Blake Jarwin, Jordan Sterns

Salako is interesting going this high. My only guess is that it has to do with OSU’s dropping of their allowed sack total to 32 in 2016. They were still last place in the Big 12, but allowed 10 less than in 2015 and their lowest total since 2012. Salako is a big reason for that. Or maybe he’s just really big and he’s benefiting of blocking for a really good QB.

Fox Sports

Fox Sports’ Dieter Kurtenbach has a couple of Cowboys going in the 5th round in his mock draft.

• Chris Carson – No. 169 (5th Round) by Houston Texans
• Vincent Taylor – No. 173 (5th Round) by Pittsburgh Steelers

Carson being the first Cowboy drafted? I would not have believed that a year ago. Or halfway through the 2016 season. I still may not believe it.

CBS Sports

R.J. White of CBS Sports projects Taylor as a 4th round selection of the Baltimore Ravens.

• Vincent Taylor – No. 122 (4th Round) by Baltimore Ravens
• Ashton Lampkin – No. 194 (6th Round) by Philadelphia Eagles

This is the most love Taylor has gotten from any of the “authorities” on draft-day predictions. Hopefully, this is closer to accurate for his sake.

ESPN

ESPN’s draftologists Mel Kiper and Todd McShay only go two rounds deep with their mock drafts and there were no Cowboys in either. But the worldwide leader in sports content does has a ranking for 300-plus potential draftees. Here’s what they thought of four former Cowboys.

• Vincent Taylor – No. 150
• Ashton Lampkin – No. 210
• Blake Jarwin – No. 284
• Jordan Sterns – No. 326

Note: This is a ranking not a mock draft. There will only be 253 players drafted this weekend.

Walter Football

Walter Football has Blake Jarwin as the first Cowboy off the board.

• Blake Jarwin – No. 188 (6th Round) by Cleveland Browns
• Chris Carson – No. 216 (6th Round) by Kansas City Chiefs

Let’s hope not for Jarwin’s sake. If so, he can maybe bunk up with Ogbah until he gets settled. And Carson teaming up with another former Juco running back who transferred to OSU. What are the odds?

DraftBlaster

DraftBlaster.com only has one Cowboy going in its 5-round mock draft. Why you would go through the trouble of projecting five rounds and then stopping, I do not know.

• Ashton Lampkin – No. 158 (5th Round) by Indianapolis Colts

I don’t get it. Lampkin is a fine player but if only one Cowboy is picked, I don’t see it being him.

So, as you can see, it’s all over the place and it’s hard to imagine that most late-round projections amount to more than uneducated guesses. There may be guys drafted that were not mentioned above and several that aren’t will get a chance to sign with teams as undrafted free agents. Either way, it will be fun to see how it unfolds.