Three Penn State players make Dane Brugler's Top 100 NFL Draft prospect list
Penn State football is sending seven former players to the NFL Combine later this month. All hope to be drafted. But, some of the former Lions in that group may not be. Three of them, however, are locks to go off the board at some point between the start of the first round and the Mr. Irrelevant pick.
Longtime NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler of The Athletic updated his top 100 prospects board this week. It features a trio of Nittany Lions, starting with projected first-round pick and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. He checks in at No. 11 overall. Many mock drafts have him going to a team that owns one of the first 20 picks.
“A long, athletic cover man, Joey Porter Jr. has the fluidity and speed to match up with NFL wide receivers on the outside,” Brugler writes. “His aggressive play style makes him an easy target for flags, but he competes with the physical mindset befitting his namesake (his dad, Joey Porter, played 13 NFL seasons).”
The next Penn Stater on the list is safety Ji’Ayir Brown. He checks in at No. 68 overall. That makes him the third-best player at his position, according to Brugler’s board.
“I don’t think he’s getting enough attention,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in November. “He makes his teammates better, he’s able to impact the game both in the run game and in the pass game. He’s a very well-rounded football player. And, he’s been a phenomenal leader for us.”
Receiver Parker Washington also made the cut. He is at No. 77. How his Draft stock will change following a late-season injury, however, remains to be seen.
McShay puts one Penn State player in updated mock draft
As we noted back on Monday, Porter Jr., continues to show up in media mock drafts as a player who should be picked in the first half of the first round. ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay is just the latest draftnik to reinforce that opinion.
McShay slotted ‘JPJ’ to the New England Patriots with the No. 14 overall pick in his updated mock. It was released on Wednesday.
“With Jonathan Jones now a free agent, cornerback seems like a very possible Day 1 target for the Pats — especially if none have come off the board by the time they pick,” McShay writes.
“Porter had only one career interception at Penn State (in 2021), but he broke up 11 passes last season. He has length and plays a physical brand of football, rerouting receivers off the line of scrimmage and outmuscling them on 50-50 balls despite weighing just 198 pounds.”
