Kiper forecasts "third to fifth round" for Landry Jones
Published: 1/17/2013 11:56 AM
Last Modified: 1/17/2013 11:56 AM
ESPN's Mel Kiper broke down the draft prospects of several Oklahoma Sooners Wednesday. Have a look...
On tackle Lane Johnson: "The second round, that's where I can see him coming off the board. He's a gained a lot of momentum and will continue to gain a lot of momentum as he moves through the process. There's not a lot of guys that can be hole-fillers at that position after the top group."
On safety Tony Jefferson: "I like Tony Jefferson. I like the way he plays the game. He's got real good awareness, real good instincts for the position. He's been a playmaker his whole career. I think he's a guy you think about in the second round area."
(Kiper ranks Jefferson third among safeties in the draft.)
On Kenny Stills: "I would have liked to see Kenny Stills go back. He's got all the talent. He's made some big plays. He's had some drops during his career. I'd like to see him go back and round it off a little bit, work on his consistency and maybe become a second round pick, maybe even a late one. I don't see that happening right now. Right now, I'd say more third round for him."
On Landry Jones: "You see some of his decision-making, some of his inconsistency in terms of accuracy throwing the football. He's just kind of leveled off. He maybe played some better football earlier in his career than he did late at times. I'd say right now third-to-fifth round area, third or fourth round area."
On Tom Wort: "Maybe in the later rounds for him."
Kiper's general comment: "It will be interesting to see if one of those Sooners can get into the late first. If it is, it will be Jefferson or Johnson."
John Shinn, a comrade with the Norman Transcript, asked Kiper about the draft-eligible Sooners. When my turn came around, I asked Kiper what he thought about Aaron Colvin's decision to return to OU.
Answer: "I have him rated as the number two corner going into next year. That's a pretty good spot to be in. When you look at versatility, he provides that to a secondary. I thought he did a good job this year. When you go into the year as the second-highest rated corner and you would not have been that had you come out, that's a good move. That's a solid decision.
"Some of these guys come out and on draft day they're sitting there wondering what happened. Why didn't I go as high as I should have? Or thought I was? You've got to know going in where you realistically project. You have to look at where you're projected to go next season."
The one corner Kiper ranks higher than Colvin heading into 2013? Antone Exum of Virginia Tech.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
