Is 2019 Missouri's next big NFL draft year? - Rock M Nation (blog)

It's three and a half weeks till the 2018 NFL draft. It's likely that two former Mizzou Tigers will hear their name called in later rounds — receiver J'Mon Moore and defensive end Marcell Frazier. Frazier just published part two of his essay series with the Post-Dispatch.

I just had to focus on getting ready for my pro day, which was about a month after the Combine. My goal for last Thursday's pro day at Mizzou was simple: "Check the box." I talked about it all through the training at EXOS fitness program in San Diego. Show them that you look and run and move like the type of player they think you are, the type of player they want on their NFL roster.

I definitely did that – and then some.

It's hard to think about the 2018 draft and not think about the 2019 draft, though. In it, there's at least a chance that Mizzou has a pair of high draft picks in quarterback Drew Lock and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr.

Beckner's got a pretty tough road to hoe, as the defensive tackle crop next year is loaded — Houston's Ed Oliver, Clemson's Dexter Lawrence, Michigan's Rashan Gary, etc.

The QB crop, however? Wide friggin' open. Lock is almost by default one of the top names on the board, along with guys like WVU's Will Grier, Oregon's Justin Herbert, Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald, Auburn's Jarrett Stidham, and, somehow, Northwestern's Clayton Thorson.

Grier might be the most impressive non-Lock prospect on the board.

The word: Grier was right with Lock for most of the 2017 season in touchdown passes, but ultimately fell short. Scouts compare his ceiling to Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph, as a potential late first-round pick, but want to see him do more in a West Virginia offense that traditionally puts up big numbers and has talented receivers. "Tremendous downfield accuracy," Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting said. "Really great feel for perimeter throws. More about not being streaky. Kind of forces the ball sometimes. Showing that he's more than just utilizing his weapons."

Frazier will likely be the sixth member of #DLineZou to get drafted in six years. Beckner would then become the seventh, and Lock the first QB since Blaine Gabbert.

But we'll worry about that after next season, huh?

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