<
>

Take Two: Who will help draft status the most?

From time to time, our SEC reporters will give their takes on a burning question facing the league. They will both have strong opinions, but not necessarily the same view. We will let you decide which reporter is right.

Today's Take Two topic: With the NFL draft inching closer and closer, we're trying to figure out which SEC player will help his draft status the most between now and the NFL draft. Who can make the biggest jump, and who might need to make that jump to secure a better spot -- or a spot at all -- in the draft?

Take 1: David Ching

If history is any indication -- and it should be -- there are probably a couple dozen guys we could choose here and be correct. There is a reason that more players are drafted out of the SEC than any other conference on an annual basis: it’s the most talent-rich league out there.

For our purposes, I’ll go with a player who I covered over the past year at LSU, Danielle Hunter.

This is the kind of guy who makes draft analysts' jobs interesting, because it’s not what he has done thus far that would justify drafting Hunter. If he becomes an early-round pick, it will be because of expectations of future performance.

Hunter would probably be the first to say he has yet to play his best football after posting good-but-not-unbelievable stats in his junior season (73 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks). ESPN’s Todd McShay said this month that Hunter should return for his senior season, as that time would have allowed him to become more consistent and develop into an elite pass-rusher.

To date, he has not done that, as his total of 4.5 sacks over the past two seasons would prove.

Hunter jumped into the draft, anyway, and I still believe he will emerge as a much-discussed prospect over the next couple months despite the measly sack total.

For starters, he made huge strides in 2014 and typically did a good job setting the edge from his defensive end position. For another thing, just take a look at the guy. He’s enormous (LSU listed him at 6-foot-6) and he looks like he’s carved out of granite.

Hunter is a freak, and I can’t help but think an NFL team is going to see that physique and the way he improved in his first full season as a starter and opt to call his name in the first two rounds. It will be a risky pick based on potential, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Hunter become a first-round/top-50 selection.

Take 2: Edward Aschoff

I really like that pick. I think Hunter could have really benefited from another year in school, but as David points out, he's a physical freak who could light up any pre-draft workout.

I'm going to stay in the SEC West and go with Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson, who had a great season in 2014 after being almost the forgotten man in Oxford. For three years, Golson suffered with consistency and maturity. But he put everything together in 2014, leading the SEC and ranking second nationally with 10 interceptions. He also tied for first in the SEC with 18 passes defended.

Golson, 5-9 and 176 pounds, is another one of those athletes capable of impressing a lot of pro teams with his intangibles on the field. What I think will really perk teams' interest when they watch film from the 2014 season is how much mental development he made on the field. A tremendously gifted athlete, Golson perfected the mind game in 2014 and was able to finally dissect and predict plays before they happened on the field. He felt lost at times in years prior, but was completely dialed in last fall, and it showed. That is really going to help him.

But what will also help are his natural physical abilities and instincts. Golson can fly to the ball, and though he isn't the biggest cornerback out there, he isn't afraid to get physical with bigger receivers. To him, size isn't an issue in coverage, and the way he found passes in the air last season was very impressive.

As Golson begins to work out for teams and scouts get a better look at him, he could really turn some heads. He'll need to impress in drills, but Golson has the athleticism to push his draft stock up in the coming months.