It’s the time of year where draft-eligible players head to Indianapolis to chase their lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. The NFL Draft Combine takes place this week, and Auburn is shining so far.
Owen Pappoe’s nickname and twitter handle “The Freak” was easily understood. He possesses the speed, size, and strength to make any coach or talent evaluator salivate. But he never quite met the high expectation that his athleticism earned him while at Auburn. So the draft combine is an exceptionally important part of his path to the NFL without the tape that says he’s a must-have prospect. Fortunately for him, he ran a 4.39 40-meter dash as well as 29 reps on bench-press. That’s an outstanding combine showing any way you slice it, and that’s why he’s likely to have improved his draft stock.
Derick Hall has earned consistent praise from the moment he started his senior bowl practices, and he’s looking to improve his stock at the draft as well. For others like Tank Bigsby and Colby Wooden who didn’t go to the Senior Bowl, but did get an invite to the combine, they’ll be looking to improve their stock after productive Sophomore and Junior campaigns provided them the game tape to justify leaving school early.
What Pappoe has just done is not just fast for a linebacker, that’s extremely fast. […] Yes he has helped himself because he has pushed himself into the territory where GMs stop thinking clearly.
– B Wil on The Morning Drop
Auburn may not have a 1st round draft pick in the 2023 draft class, but there’s plenty of room for Auburn players to move up and impress between the combine and the pro day to be held on Auburn’s campus. What are the chances Auburn has multiple 2nd round picks in this class? Can all of Auburn’s players actually get drafted?
You can watch The Morning Drop on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings on The War Rapport’s YouTube channel.