The 2017 NFL Draft will see talented college football players finding new homes in the NFL come April. Among them are several stars from the roster of the Stanford Cardinal.
It won’t surprise any to learn that Stanford has been churning out draft picks in recent years. Last season the Cardinal sent five players to NFL homes in the draft, led by first-round selection guard Joshua Garnett.
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2015 saw six Cardinal drafted — headlined by 13th overall pick tackle Andrus Peat — a year after 2014 saw six more Cardinal selected in the draft.
Stanford has produced four first-round draft picks since 2012, adding quarterback Andrew Luck and guard David DeCastro to the two players previously mentioned.
2017 could add another first-rounder to the mix should running back Christian McCaffrey come off the board in the first 32 picks.
HEROSports.com’s NFL Draft Analyst Todd Worly has ranked two Cardinal stars in his top 35 prospects ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft, and both should be off the draft board by the third round.
Here are his assessments of each player:
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Comparing McCaffrey to Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, the former Stanford star is more elusive, more powerful and is better in pass protection. Cook’s explosiveness and top end speed may be a little better (and that’s debatable), but not enough to offset the other advantages that McCaffrey has. |
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Thomas has a similar skill set as a 3-4 defensive end to Alabama’s Jonathan Allen, with each trait being slightly behind that of Allen. He was dominant for the Cardinal in 2016, posting 62 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8 sacks on his way to winning the Morris Trophy Award, which is given to the top defensive lineman in the Pac-12. |
