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Mike Elko: Boosting Texas A&M’s NFL talent about more than just recruiting rankings

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Mike Elko agrees that Texas A&M’s recent NFL Draft exports haven’t matched the Aggies’ run of form in recruiting.

In a sitdown interview with CBS Sports’ Josh Pate, the Texas A&M head coach said he needs more NFL talent on his roster late in the season to be as competitive as he wants to be. But cultivating that talent isn’t just about stockpiling recruits with lofty rankings in the 247 Composite.

“When we talk about what we have to do to take this program over the curve, that’s exactly what it is. We have to have more NFL talent on the roster playing for us down the stretch,” Mike Elko told Pate. “When we look at where we are draft pick-wise relative to where we need to be to be winning at the level Texas A&M should be winning at, that’s the biggest jump we have to make.

“It’s evaluating the kids that you’re bringing into the program, and every aspect of the kids that you’re bringing into the program. Not are we just getting the highest-rated kids we can get, but are we getting kids that we truly believe and know project to be NFL draft picks. Because at the end of the day, when you look at who wins the SEC, it’s the team that gets the most guys drafted.”

Under Jimbo Fisher from 2019 through 2022, Texas A&M signed 4 consecutive top-10 high school classes as judged by the 247 Composite. That run was highlighted by the top-ranked class in the country in 2022.

After a 9-1 season in 2020, A&M went 20-17 as the pieces from those top-flight classes matured. Some of them struggled to live up to their potential with the Aggies. A number of them left. Among the 8 Composite 5-star recruits A&M signed in the 2022 cycle, 7 of them transferred away.

Brett Ciancia, the author of the preseason preview mag, “Pick Six Previews,” keeps track of which programs do what with their recruits. Each year, he updates his “win conversion” and “player development” standings. The first compares how power conference programs win relative to the classes they sign. Prior to Elko’s first season, A&M ranked 60th out of 70 teams. The development metric compares recruiting rankings to draft picks. A&M ranked 61st out of 70 power conference teams.

Texas and Georgia each had 14 representatives at last week’s NFL Scouting Combine.

A&M had 3.

Since Myles Garrett was taken first overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, A&M has had just 1 first-round draft pick.

Elko went 8-5 in his first season in College Station. Getting the developmental piece of his program right will go a long way toward realizing the program’s first 10-win season since 2012. A&M has the resources and the visibility to compete for anyone. But, as Elko points out, it has to be the right fit and that player has to get better during his time with the Aggies. That piece has been lacking.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.