A snapshot of the NFL Draft — and where WVU players might fit in
Ah, the good ol’ days for WVU and the NFL draft.
There were those first-round picks like Karl Joseph, Kevin White, Tavon Austin, Bruce Irvin, Adam “Pac-Man” Jones and Anthony Becht.
Heck, I remember Jerry Porter and Barrett Green being taken in the second round AFTER Becht in 2000.
My favorite WVU draft class, though, was that of 1990. Renaldo Turnbull (perhaps one of the most underrated Mountaineers ever) was taken in the first round by the New Orleans Saints, while Reggie Rembert and Mike Fox went in the second round. Seven WVU players, including Major Harris in the 12th round, were selected that year.
And the year before? Eight WVU players were selected.
Old-timers (no, I’m not there yet – despite my age) will talk about first-round picks like Dick Leftwich (1966, Pittsburgh), Chuck Howley (1958, Chicago) and Joe Marconi (1956, Los Angeles). Sam Huff was taken after Marconi in ’56.
And then, yes, there’s the upcoming NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday.
Once again, it looks to be a long wait if you’re plopping down to watch Mountaineers be selected. Like days long.
The hope is running back Leddie Brown will get taken. He had a fine career for WVU. He went to the NFL combine and played in the Shrine Bowl.
It’s easy to like his no-nonsense north-south running style and his build, but he ran a 4.64 40-yard dash. One scout said he “may be scheme-limited at NFL level to man/gap run schemes as opposed to zone.”
He’s been compared to Pittsburgh’s Benny Snell, so perhaps the Steelers will take him late. I hope because I’ve long been a Leddie fan.
For the third consecutive draft, though, it seems WVU will have two or less players taken. Last year, linebacker Tony Fields was taken by Cleveland and saw limited action for the Brown. In 2020, safety Kenny Robinson went to Carolina and offensive lineman Colton McKivitz went to San Francisco.
If you want to go back even more, there were five (Will Grier, Yodny Cajuste, Gary Jennings, Trevon Wesco and David Long) selected in the top six rounds of 2019. In the years before, though? There was just one in 2018 (Kyzir White) and two in 2017 (Rasul Douglas and Shelton Gibson).
Let’s hope for Mountaineer coach Neal Brown the Mountaineers get on a roll, a la the Don Nehlen years, in the near future. Many are certainly Trusting the Climb.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.
