Most Popular Players in the NFL Draft
Leading up to the NFL Draft, there are several ways that NFL teams can meet with college prospects. The most common ways are meetings at the combine, during Senior Bowl week, during the week of the East-West Shrine game, at a pro day or local visit, or during a workout or private visit at the team’s facilities. Workouts and private visits have not been an option for much of this year due to COVID-19 (although there were a few before quarantines became commonplace), so instead teams have been allotted a certain amount of time each week for “virtual visits” with prospects. The website walterfootball.com does a good job of aggregating each of these types of visits. The contacts that teams have with players give us some data about prospects that the teams are potentially interested in, and which prospects are garnering the most interest.
Having several visits with different teams doesn’t necessarily mean a player will be selected early in the draft, of course. It could just mean the prospect had character red flags that teams need to vet before deciding whether to add him to their draft boards. At the same time, though, the number of visits a team has with a player may give us clues regarding which players certain teams are zeroing in on; for example, the Panthers met with Ole Miss LT Greg Little four times during the predraft process last year, and then drafted him in Round 2. Likewise, when a player has had meetings with numerous teams, we may be able to glean some insights into who the more popular players in the draft are. But again: “popular” does not necessarily equate to being drafted high. There are often guys who many teams like, but as potential late-round developmental guys or priority-free-agent types.
The purpose of this article is to reveal the most popular players in the draft - those players who have met with at least ten teams, i.e., those who have the attention of roughly 1/3 of the league. The players are listed in alphabetical order, with the most popular player in the draft saved for the end.
Ross Blacklock, DL, TCU. Blacklock can play defensive tackle in a 4-3 or defensive end in a 3-4. He has met with half of the league’s 32 teams. The most interested team appears to be Seattle, who met with him at the combine and hosted him for a virtual visit. They are the only team to meet with him twice.
Cameron Clark, OL, Charlotte. Clark was a left tackle in college who may project better as a guard in the NFL. He is generally viewed as a late round prospect who has useful developmental traits. He has met with 15 teams. The most interested teams appear to be Cleveland and Washington. The Browns met with him at the combine and hosted him for a virtual visit. Washington met with him during the week of the East-West Shrine game and later hosted him for a virtual visit.
Ezra Cleveland, LT, Boise State. Cleveland is seen as a late-first or early-second round draft prospect. He has met with 13 teams, but the Cleveland Browns have shown the most interest with three potential meetings. They met with him at the combine, hosted him for a workout, and met with him privately. Other teams heavily linked to him include the Colts (workout, combine) and Falcons (same).
Michael Danna, DE, Michigan. Danna met with 13 different teams during the week of the East-West Shrine game. No team has met with him since.
Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State. Dantzler ran a relatively slow forty time at the combine (more than 4.6 seconds), but that hasn’t scared away the 17 teams interested in him. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Dantzler is that the vast majority of meetings he’s had with teams are virtual visits. He’s a tall cornerback (6’2”), so he’s really going to appeal to those teams that like to have bigger defensive backs on the boundaries. The Detroit Lions have shown the most interest so far.
Kevin Dotson, G, Louisiana. Dotson and his teammate Robert Hunt have both drawn the attention of scouts as some of the top guard prospects in this draft. He has received interest from 11 teams, but the only team to meet with him twice is MInnesota.
Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State. Evans is a midround running back prospect who has drawn the attention of 12 teams. About half of those meetings have been virtual visits and the other half occurred at the combine. No team has met with him more than once.
Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU. Here’s a guy that most people have probably heard of. He’s a potential first round pick and played excellent football against some of the top wide receivers in the game this year. He was rated as a five star recruit by 24/7 Sports coming out of high school and a four-star recruit by most other rankings services. He has met with 12 different teams, with the most interest coming from the Cowboys and Titans. Both of those teams met with him twice.
Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU. Gladney is a 2nd-3rd round cornerback prospect who has garnered attention from 12 teams. All but one of his meetings have been through virtual visits. No team has met with him more than once.
Robert Hunt, G, Louisiana. Hunt played left tackle in college but projects as perhaps the best guard in this year’s class. He has met with 14 teams. Like Jeff Gladney, all but one of his meetings have been virtual visits. No team has met with him more than once.
Jordan Love, QB, Utah State. Love is a fringe 1st round quarterback prospect who has met with 11 different teams. He has garnered considerable interest from the Dolphins, Chargers, and Colts, each of whom has met with him twice. There has been considerable buzz building in the last week or so that the Colts are smitten with him, and may trade back into the first round to secure his services.
Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor. Baylor is one of the hottest names in the draft after he lit up the combine. He’s big (6’3”, 207), fast (4.48 forty), and and productive (the only player in college football to catch at least 8 touchdowns in each of the past 3 seasons). He has drawn interest from 14 NFL clubs. The Bills and Broncos have shown the most interest, each meeting with him twice.
James Morgan, QB, Florida International. We’ve arrived at the no-name, developmental portion of the show. Morgan (who I frankly had never heard of before writing this article) has drawn interest from 14 teams. The most interested teams are the Chargers, Jets, and Raiders, each of whom met with him during the week of the East-West Shrine game and hosted him for a virtual visit.
Zack Moss, RB, Utah. Moss didn’t post a great 40 time at the combine, but 14 teams are still smitten with him. He’s seen as a true three down workhorse and is often comped as this year’s Kareem Hunt. Tampa Bay and Detroit have shown the most interest in Moss.
Amik Robertson, CB, Louisiana Tech. I have to admit, this is another player I was not familiar with prior to this week. Robertson is one of the most popular players in this draft, apparently, as he has drawn interest from 17 teams. The team that’s in hot pursuit appears to be Philadelphia, which has met with Robertson three times. Other teams to have met with him twice include the Jets, Panthers, Titans, and Vikings.
And the most popular player in the draft is…
Josh Jones, LT, Houston. Jones is the only first-round left tackle prospect who is a senior, having spent five years in Houston. He has drawn interest from 18 NFL teams, and is a virtual lock to hear his name called before the end of Day 1 of the draft. He has drawn the most interest from the Bears, Buccaneerss, Packers, Patriots, and Titans, meeting with each of them twice.