We've arrived again at that point on the sports calendar when the best & most ambitious members of the football team take their turn displaying their abilities for scouts, coaches & executives through a variety of tests. The 2022 group won't go down as the most numerous and it doesn't have the same quality level as last year's, because few groups ever will. All four of the ones to step out today could be on practice squads come September, which would set this group apart as well. You will find the data that they generate several places soon, including the timeline.
What you won't find anywhere else are predictions as to where each of the four will begin their professional journeys.
The one who, by all accounts, will have the shortest wait is Christian Watson. He was recently mock drafted to Kansas City at the end of the first round and could add a dimension to that offense which Tyreek Hill could not. There are 14 other teams with a "primary need" at receiver which gives him a large area on which to land. As a move to become the new Al Davis and because they cut ties with Amari Cooper, I could see Dallas bringing Watson aboard.
Cordell Volson is the other member of the group who could precede Mr. Irrelevant on Saturday of the Draft. There are nearly as many teams in need of significant help on the interior of the line but only one team with a quarterback that could be a grandfather before he calls it quits for real. The heart says pin him to the Purple but that got overruled by what could happen and would be even better for him in the long run - Tampa Bay.
Following his breakout season, Brayden Thomas will try to cash in. Edge rushers are so scheme dependent that this is a much tougher proposition to discuss. Perhaps what he shows today, combined with what he put on tape at the East/West, will open up possibilities with teams that use various fronts. Since the goal isn't just to be on a training camp roster the best-case-scenario may be joining a team that is reconstructing. In terms of scheme fit and opportunity there may not be a better chance for Thomas than in the Pacific Northwest - Seattle.
Josh Babicz will try to follow in the the footsteps of Ben Ellefson, with more to offer as a pass-catching threat. Ending up with San Francisco or Kansas City would be nearly a dream opportunity as he goes through the tight-end learning curve. There is a certain other team which has more of a pressing need for guys who can be targeted and the colors are regrettably similar to those which Babicz wore in college. Over the last few years Green Bay has brought in as many NDSU players as any of the 32 franchises and it would not surprise if they do so again with their cupboards all but empty.
We will find out in a little over a month whether the dot-connecting was right or not. Either way, today takes their professional pursuits to another level - even with as high as they got after the scouting combine!
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