ESPN's new 3-round NFL Mock Draft includes three Kentucky Wildcats

We are less than ten days from the start of the 2022 NFL Draft, which has national scribes in overdrive. Two of the most respected NFL writers, Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, have a new three-round mock draft up at ESPN this morning. Three Kentucky Wildcats come off the board in the third round: Wan’Dale Robinson 65th to Jacksonville, Josh Paschal 71st to Chicago, and Darian Kinnard 92nd to Green Bay.

“Get the ball in this guy’s hands,” McShay wrote of Robinson. “He’ll break your ankles with his explosive shiftiness and then run away from you with his speed. Jacksonville could use another playmaker for Trevor Lawrence.”

“The Bears would have drafted either of the two players who just came off the board if still available — Chicago could use Raimann on its offensive line or Austin catching passes,” McShay said of Paschal going to the Bears. “But Paschal could make an instant impact, too, especially defending the run off the edge.”

“We have filled all of the top needs for Green Bay so far, except for the one at guard,” Kiper wrote. “Kinnard, a three-year starter for the Wildcats, played mostly right tackle in college, but I see guard as his best NFL position. He didn’t test well at the combine, but he’s incredibly strong when he latches on to defenders.”

Where Kentucky’s NFL prospects stand in the latest mock drafts

As we get closer to the big event, more seven-round mock drafts are hitting the internet. Here’s where Kentucky’s guys stand in two of the latest:

Dana Brugler, The Athletic

• EDGE Josh Paschal – Round 2, Pick 61 (San Francisco)
• OG Darian Kinnard – Round 3, Pick 71 (Chicago)
• WR Wan’Dale Robinson – Round 3, Pick 79 (LA Chargers)
• OC Luke Fortner – Round 3, Pick 85 (New England)
• OT Dare Rosenthal – Round 5, Pick 157 (Jacksonville)
• S Yusuf Corker – Round 6, Pick 183 (Houston)
• OT Marquan McCall – Round 7, Pick 253 (LA Rams)

Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports

• OG Darian Kinnard – Round 2, Pick 54 (New England)
• OC Luke Fortner – Round 3, Pick 101 (Philadelphia via NO)
• EDGE Josh Paschal – Round 3, Pick 102 (Miami via SF)
• WR Wan’Dale Robinson – Round 4, Pick 108 (Houston)
• S Yusuf Corker – Round 6, Pick 190 (Atlanta)

This is shaping up to be the fourth-straight year multiple Cats have been drafted. In 2021, six Kentucky players (Jamin Davis, Kelvin Joseph, Quinton Bohanna, Brandin Echols, Landon Young, and Phil Hoskins) heard their names called, which tied for the fourth-most in school history and the most since 1979 (eight). In 2020, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Logan Stenberg were drafted and in 2019, Kentucky had five NFL draft picks in Josh Allen, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Mike Edwards, Benny Snell Jr., and George Asafo-Adjei.