LSU is expected to lose at least eight and as many as 11 players to the NFL Draft, not to mention a handful of others likely to find their way into NFL camps this summer via the free agent route.
Three of the Tigers' top prospects are potential first-round selections, and two of them — safety Jamal Adams and running back Leonard Fournette — are surefure Top-10 picks.
Mock Draft 3.0 | LSU's Top Draft Prospects
Head coach Ed Orgeron and staff have a number of high-quality players to replace. Here is a look at the talents from which they'll have to choose:
Leonard Fournette, RB
Fournette is expected to come off the board sometime in the Top 10.
Derrius Guice, Jr.
Guice has made this one easy, since he picked up the slack — and then some — while Fournette was out with injury in 2016 and was terrific on 183 carries. He scored 15 times and netted 7.6 yards per attempt.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Fr.
Edwards-Helaire is one of two 4-star running backs in Orgeron's 2017 recruiting class. He's 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds and runs in the mid-4.4s in the 40.
Lanard Fournette, rSo.
The younger brother of Leonard Fournette has a shot to work his way into the mix more in 2017
Nick Brousette, Jr.
Brousette has shown home-run ability in limited duty, carrying 15 times for 145 yards last season.
Darrel Williams, Sr.
Williams carried 52 times for 233 yards and three scores last season and at 235 pounds could be a short-yardage option as the biggest of the returning backs.
Others: Rashaud Henry (Sr.), Ronnie Lamarque (So.), David Ducre (Jr.)
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Jamal Adams, S
Adams may be the first Tigers star selected and is being mocked exclusively in the Top 5.
Cameron Lewis, So.
Lewis has been in the program for a year and at 6-foot-2, and nearly 200 pounds brings a safety's profile to the table — and may be the favorite heading into spring ball.
Grant Delpit, Fr.
Delpit is a 4-star recruit in this year's class that has a chance to show he's ready to help right away.
Todd Harris, Fr.
Harris, like Delpit, is a natural safety with a chance to contribute in Year 1.
Eric Monroe, So.
Monroe is a natural safety with size and speed. He was a 4-star recruit out Houston's North Shore High School. Should be ready to compete in 2017.
Kristian Fulton, So.
Fulton, a 4-star recruit, is a natural corner, but has the size and strength to play safety and could find himself in the mix, depending on how the battle at corner goes this spring and summer.
Andraez Williams, So.
Similar to Fulton, Williams has the size and range to play safety, though he may be a bit light in the wallet in run support early in his career, perhaps fitting a free afety role, rather than serving as an inside-the-box option.
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TreDavious White, CB
White has a chance to be a first-round pick despite one of the deepest classes of cornerbacks in recent memory.
Kary Vincent, Fr.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Vincent, a 4-star recruit out of Port Arthur, Texas, is the No. 2 cornerback recruit in the country for 2017.
Andraez Williams, | So., Kristian Fulton, So.
Others: Xavier Lewis, So., Kevin Toliver II, Jr., Micah Dickens, Sr., Ed Paris, Sr., Donte Jackson, Jr., Tony Westly, Sr.
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Malachi Dupre, WR
Dupre is considered a Top 10 WR in the class and could come off the board in Round 2. The Tigers will want to replace his size and physicality at the position.
Stephen Sullivan, So.
Sullivan may be more of a tight end at nearly 240 pounds, but could certainly, in theory at least, help pick up some of the slack left by Dupre.
Dee Anderson, So.
Anderson has length and a good size-speed combo, suggesting a natural fit to at last help replace Dupre.
Derrick Dillon, So.
Dillon is more a speedy, make-defenders-miss kind of receiver, but could be a threat down the field on go routes.
Drake Davis, So.
Davis is a big physical receiver who debuted versus Jacksonville State in 2016. He's likely to be in the mix all summer.
Louis Landrum, So.
Landrum, like Dillon, doesn't have the size to be the same style receiver od Dupre, but he's strong with good quickness.
Mannie Netherly, Fr.
Netherly is the top receiver in LSU's '17 recruiting class and at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds fits naturally into LSU's offense and into Dupre's role.
Ethan Pocic, C
Pocic is one of the top centers in the draft and could go in the Top 50.
Andy Dodd, Sr.
Dodd has played sparingly in 14 games but started the Southern Miss win this past season, suggesting he could be the favorite to take over for Pocic.
Will Clapp, Jr.
Clapp may be more of a long-term option since he has two years of eligibility left, but is at a disadvantage in the experience department at center having started 12 games at guard.
Duke Riley, OLB
Riley is a potential second round pick and played inside at LSU. The loss of Arden Key impacts the Tigers' needs here, too.
Ray Thornton, So.
Thornton may be ready to go in 2017 after hitting campus last summer as a 4-star prospect. It'd be an upset if the Shoemaker High School product was not part of the rotation in 2017.
Devin White, So.
White may be the best candidate to literally take over for Riley since he's a defensive end convert and possesses the most size (255 pounds) that fits well in the middle.
Michael Divinity, So.
Divinity served as Tashan Bower's main backup on the outside a year ago and while LSU runs a lot of 3-4 base, the sophomore's athleticism suggests a fit somewhere in the starting lineup.
Ben Nola, So.
Nola is undersized but could play a hybrid safety-linebacker role.
M.J. Patterson, Sr.
Patterson transitioned from end to linebacker, playing almost exclusively inside. But he has the speed to play on the outside.
Others: Devin Woorhies (Sr.), Layton Garnett (So.), Donnie Alexander (Sr.), Chance Barney (Sr.), Jonathan Rucker (Sr.), Jacob Phillips (Fr.), Tyler Taylor (Fr.).
