UCLA Bruins In The (Mock) NFL Draft
Dec 31, 2013; El Paso, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins linebacker Anthony Barr (11) during the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2013 Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. UCLA defeated Virginia Tech 42-12. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
After a successful second season under Head Coach Jim Mora, the UCLA Football team will have a lot of representatives in the up-coming NFL Draft. Where they will end up, nobody knows… but a lot of people like to give their opinions on where these footballers might end up playing pro ball. Yes, it is that time of the season folks… MOCK DRAFT SEASON!
The Bruins have a lot of players looking to make a break into the NFL, but there are four that seem to have the best chance: Anthony Barr, Xavier Su’A-Filo, Jordan Zumwalt and Cassius Marsh. In the coming days, we will examine these players as they get ready for the NFL Draft that begins on Thursday, May 8. For now, let us make some sort of sense of where these Bruins might go in examining several mock drafts and see where some experts have them going.
We looked at six sources to see where they think these Bruins will end up. Here is a look at the 1st round picks from Brian Baldinger of NFL.com, Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, Sports Illustrated (SI) and the Huffington Post (HP). We also looked at WalterFootball.com and DraftSite.com for mock drafts on every round.
Here are the predictions:
ANTHONY BARR, LB, 6’5″, 255 lbs.
Source: Round Picked, Overall Pick, Team
NFL.com: 1st Rd, #8, Minnesota Vikings
CBS: 1st Rd, #11, Tennessee Titans
SI: 1st Rd, #16, Dallas Cowboys
HP: 1st Rd, #18, New York Jets
Walter: 1st Rd, #8, Minnesota Vikings
DS: 1st Rd, #10, Detroit Lions
XAVIER SU’A-FILO, OL, 6’4″, 307, lbs.
NFL.com: 1st Rd, #31, Denver Broncos
CBS: 1st Rd, #23, Kansas City Chiefs
HP: 1st Rd, #31, Denver Broncos
Walter: 1st Rd, #23, Kansas City Chiefs
DS: 1st Rd, #31, Denver Broncos
JORDAN ZUMWALT, LB, 6’4″, 235 lbs.
Walter: 5th Rd, #141, Houston Texans
DS: 3rd Rd, #83, Cleveland Browns
CASSIUS MARSH, DL, 6’4″, 252 lbs.
Walter: 6th Rd, #209, New York Jets
If anything, it looks certain like Barr and Su’A-Filo are first round picks. Both were huge at their positions last season and look to not only get selected, but possibly battle for a starting role on their prospective teams. As for Zumwalt and Marsh, they will most likely be selected later in the draft. Both were big for the Bruins and impacted the team in their individual way… it would be a tragedy not to have one of these guys on a NFL squad.
We will keep you updated on any information available in regards to Bruins in the NFL Draft, especially developments on other Bruins making an impact on this year’s draft.
Mike W.R.
Twitter: @TheBigDisco