Now that some team’s seasons are functionally over, as seven squads have been eliminated from the NFL playoff race already, mock draft season is finally getting off of the ground. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Field Yates dropped a new mock draft for this cycle and gave the Green Bay Packers an interesting prospect, South Carolina edge defender Kyle Kennard, in the first round.
According to ESPN’s recent rankings, two of their four draft analysts, Mel Kiper Jr. and Matt Miller, didn’t have Kennard ranked among their top-eight players at the position at all. Meanwhile, Jordan Reid ranked Kennard sixth at the position while Yates ranked him sixth.
On the consensus draft board, Kennard, who was a first-team All-SEC player this year and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, is currently ranked as the 74th overall player in the class — closer to a mid-round pick than a first-round pick.
Here’s what Yates had to say about the Georgia Tech transfer:
The South Carolina defensive line is among the best position groups in the FBS this season, with Kennard bursting onto the scene in his first season with the program. He is tied for fifth in the nation with 11.5 sacks, and his length and acceleration made him a challenge to block this season. (Kennard drew six penalties on opposing dropbacks, tied for the most in the country.)
Green Bay is middle-of-the-pack in sacks (33) but ranks 28th in pressure rate (28.3%). Kennard can improve that situation.
A banged-up cornerback class means that a first-round edge defender selection is certainly possible for the Packers, who are unlikely to trade out of the first round this year because they’re hosting the draft in Green Bay. That said, there are many pass-rushers I like better on film than Kennard, who I believe benefitted from playing opposite of former five-star recruit Dylan Stewart — the real Gamecocks star on the defensive line.
The consensus is that players like Georgia’s Mykel Williams, Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. and Penn State’s Abdul Carter are going to be gone by the time the Packers are on the clock in the first round, but edge defenders like Marshall’s Mike Green or Ole Miss’ Princely Umanmielen have better pure pass-rushing talent that will translate better to the NFL level than Kennard. Princely, a Florida transfer, was also named to the first-team All-SEC squad with Kennard.