Seven Wildcats go off the board in latest mock draft

The start of the NFL Draft is less than two weeks away. That means it’s mock draft season, and Kentucky football has a ton of interest this year.

As of now, we can reasonably expect to see seven former players hear their names called in the draft. Earlier this week a couple of seven-round mocks were released and Kentucky was heavily involved. In the latest mock by Josh Edwards on CBS Sports, Kentucky seems set to have a big day two and three at the draft.

Let’s take a look at the projections.

• Round 2, No. 55 overall — Darian Kinnard (Arizona Cardinals)
• Round 3, No. 74 overall — Josh Paschal (Atlanta Falcons)
• Round 3, No. 95 overall — Luke Fortner (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Round 4, No. 118 overall — Wan’Dale Robinson (Cleveland Browns)
• Round 5, No. 155 overall — Dare Rosenthal (Dallas Cowboys)
• Round 5, No. 164 overall — Marquan McCall (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Round 6, No. 194 overall — Yusuf Corker (New Orleans Saints)

Arizona Cardinals had heavy presence at Kentucky pro day

The pre-draft process did not go great for Darian Kinnard as the All-American right tackle seemed to lose his chance to gain a first-round pick, and some teams might be considering him as a guard-only prospect. However, Kinnard feels like a lock to go off the board in round two.

The Arizona Cardinals had the most scouts present at Kentucky’s pro day and that might have been to get eyes on Kinnard. The mauler could be a good fit for Kliff Kingsbury’s attack as an interior protector in the spread offense with Kyler Murray behind center.

We could see a fall for Wan’Dale Robinson

In his one season at Kentucky, Wan’Dale Robinson was simply spectacular. The Nebraska transfer was one of the top slot receivers in college football and an efficient target monster — 104 receptions on 146 targets — in Kentucky’s passing attack. Expectations are high for Robinson at the next level.

However, the measurements are worrisome as Robinson checked in at 5-foot-8 with very short arms. That will scare some teams away as there are questions about positional versatility and special teams value. A round four fall is possible, but the tape should be enough for an organization to call Robinson’s name on day two.

Luke Fortner has continued to rise

No Kentucky player helped themselves more than Luke Fortner in the pre-draft process. Teams loved how the super senior played at center in 2021, and his testing combined with high-level intelligence will be very attractive for teams. Add in some positional versatility with the ability to succeed in multiple schemes, and Fortner has become an attractive commodity.

Any team utilizing a version of the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan wide zone offense will be in pursuit of Fortner. All signs are pointing to one of those teams taking the center in the third round.