Former LSU football players hoping to find a home in the NFL have experienced a tumultuous offseason that has pushed them up and down NFL draft boards.
Today, their draft stocks are cemented as the draft starts at 7 p.m. tonight at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. Here is where they stand before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage.
La’el Collins, offensive lineman
After forgoing the draft and returning to LSU for his senior year last season, Collins had an underwhelming start to the year but ended it with a strong showing in the second half of the season. Add impressive performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine — where he ran the sixth-fastest 40-yard dash time among offensive linemen at 5.12 seconds — and he is a consensus first-round talent.
He has the ability to slide over and play guard, where he excelled during his first two seasons at LSU.
“He is a top-15 kind of player,” said Larry Holder, New Orleans Saints beat writer for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. “He could be taken at the tackle or guard.”
He seemed like the safest pick among LSU players until Wednesday, when WAFB reported the Baton Rouge Police Department was looking to talk to Collins regarding the death of 29-year-old Brittney Mills.
Holder said the situation should drop him out of the first round even though he isn’t considered a suspect.
“It’s going to scare teams for sure,” Holder said. “It’s going to affect his draft status just because it happened so close to the draft, so you really don’t know the ins and outs of the incident.
“The fact he’s leaving the draft and going back to Louisiana, that matters. He certainly falls out of the first round because of this.”
Jalen Collins, cornerback
The other Collins emerged as an NFL talent during the 2014 season after starting just three games in his first two years with the Tigers. Jalen played in all 13 games, starting seven, and compiled 38 tackles, broke up nine passes and recorded one interception during his junior season.
Jalen continued shooting up draft boards after he ran the ninth-fastest cornerback time at the NFL Combine with a blazing 4.48 seconds. Couple that with his Richard Sherman-esque physique, and many consider Jalen a late-first round to early-second round pick.
But Holder said he didn’t see enough from Jalen in college to be worthy of a first-round pick. Jalen likely sealed his fate as a day-two pick when Albert Breer reported on Twitter that Jalen failed multiple drugs tests while at LSU.
“[He’s] a second-round guy,” Holder said. “There are a handful of corners that are better than him in this draft. I don’t know if the reports about the failed drug tests make him slip even more because the report came from teams, so the teams obviously already knew this. But he shouldn’t be taken in the first round anyway. He is more of a second-round pick.”
Danielle Hunter, defensive end
Hunter is the biggest risk among LSU prospects, but he could yield the biggest reward. At LSU’s Pro Day, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Hunter’s mom he will be a Pro Bowler, showing some, if not most, teams value him higher than his projected second-round status.
His measurables are more impressive than most first-round pass rushers. At 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds, he posted a defensive-lineman best 4.57 second 40-yard dash and pumped out 25 reps in the bench press, but his lack of production in college draws a red flag.
“The physical traits are there, but on-field production is questionable,” Holder said. “If the on-field production was there, he would be regarded higher.”
He had a tough time getting to the quarterback even against college tackles, and he recorded only 1.5 sacks. But he was effective as a run stopper (13 tackles for loss) and used his towering frame to make an impact on the passing game when he couldn’t get into the backfield (six passes broken up).
Holder said Hunter’s athletic ability will overshadow his lack of production in college when day two of the draft rolls around, and a team will likely be willing to take him in the second round based on upside alone.
“For someone like Pittsburgh who missed out on [linebacker] Jarvis Jones a couple of years ago and is getting older on defense, I can see him as a possible target,” Holder said. “Round two would be a good spot for him.”
You can reach Jacob Hamilton on Twitter at @jhamilton_TDR.