Why two Mizzou players are well-positioned to be first-round NFL draft picks

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Will it be one round, one night, two Tigers?

The current NFL season may have one more game left — you already knew that former Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton, America’s biggest pop star and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs entourage will be in action for Sunday’s Super Bowl — but that’s not keeping the other 30 teams and plenty of fans from turning the page to the next season.

Preparation for the NFL Draft, for both players and front offices, has been chugging along behind the scenes of the pros. With the Senior Bowl showcase now passed in the rearview, the buzz and scouting reports of prospects have taken on a more corporeal form.

And as draft experts’ opinions currently stand, there could be two former Mizzou players selected April 25, the first night and first round of the NFL Draft.

While mock drafts and big boards have some considerable range in predicted value — and don’t capture the secretive views of scouts and general managers — a fair number suggest both cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and defensive end Darius Robinson could be among the first 32 players off the board.

ESPN’s latest mock draft has Rakestraw going at No. 17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who might be looking to pad their defense this offseason, and Robinson as pick No. 30 and headed to the Baltimore Ravens, who might be needing a replacement for well-known pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. An earlier mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper also suggests Rakestraw as a fit for the Ravens.

If both MU players go in the first round, it would be the fourth time two Tigers share that status. In 2011, defensive end Aldon Smith and quarterback Blaine Gabbert both went in the first 10 picks. In 2009, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and defensive lineman Ziggy Hood were both first-rounders, as were tackle Morris Towns and quarterback Steve Pisarkiewicz in 1977 — the latter going to the franchise then known as the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rakestraw’s status as a first-round talent seems more secure than Robinson’s, or at least more established. The 2024 cornerback class is deep, as draft analyst Joe DeLeone detailed on the most recent episode of the Eye on the Tigers Podcast, and Rakestraw missing the Senior Bowl — and the end of the college football season — with an injury limits some of the intel available to teams on his talent.

“Admittedly, I’m not as bullish as a lot of other people are with Rakestraw,” DeLeone said. “There’s all of these other guys that are a lot more athletic and explosive than Rakestraw. Him not having a ton of availability to show that stuff off or show off his skills, it does hurt him throughout this process.”

Rakestraw appeared in nine games in 2023, making 35 tackles, breaking up four passes and forcing one fumble. Opposing teams targeted Rakestraw just 28 teams throughout the season, leading to 18 completions — indicative of how scouting college cornerbacks can be difficult because of how rarely opponents are willing to but the ball in their vicinity. Ten of Rakestraw’s tackles were classified as key stops by Pro Football Focus, an indicator of his run-stopping and open-field tackling skillset.

That particular trait could be insurance that if Rakestraw falls past the first round, it won’t be far.

“That’s always something that I pay close attention to with a prospect, especially a corner prospect, is intent and quality of tackling,” DeLeone said. “That’s valuable when you’re drafting a corner on Day Two because those guys are the ones that I know that I can employ to play in the slot. You can’t take a slot corner that is going to be near the traffic that can’t come down and make a tackle, know how to slip a block. It doesn’t sound exciting for the average fan, but from an NFL personnel standpoint, those guys need to be able to tackle.”

Robinson has emerged as a possible first-round target after a tremendous week of practice at the Senior Bowl, where he was named the best defensive player in practices. In his fifth season at Missouri, Robinson landed 8.5 sacks, 42 quarterback pressures and a forced fumble.

He moved from defensive tackle to defensive end for the 2023 campaign, which gives him some versatility when it comes to finding roles in three- or four-man fronts with NFL teams.

“Robinson is in a really advantageous position because this year’s edge class thins out pretty quickly, and it’s not particularly very talented at the top,” DeLeone said. “I think there’s a really strong possibility that we maybe don’t even see some of these guys (ranked highly) go until the middle of the first round. And a guy like Robinson who maybe isn’t as twitched up, isn’t as explosive, isn’t (going to) run the outside track, really bendy type of a prospect — he’s somebody who’s been around for so long and has just been so well-coached, has the technical refinement, the hand usage and the power.”

With a projected landing spot near the tail end of the first round, Robinson is also a prospect who might slip into later rounds of the draft. But like Rakestraw, he has skills that shouldn’t let him fall far — in Robinson’s case, versatility and experience.

“I think he’s going to catch a lot of teams’ eyes early on in the second round as they’re coming around and they’re making those decisions, debating on what type of a player they’re looking for,” DeLeone said. “They’re going to want to get the guy that is well-coached that can step in and play right away.”