NFL Draft 2013: Will Any Washington State Cougars Be Drafted On Day 3?
Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; NFL former player Deion Sanders announces the number sixty overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
This is starting to get interesting as today will be the final day of the 2013 NFL Draft. No Cougars have been drafted as of yet, which comes at no surprise. I would be absolutely shocked if Travis Long and Marquess Wilson aren’t drafted tomorrow.
Some news came out regarding former WSU RB Chris Ivory as he was traded to the New York Jets, where he should most likely get the starting job if he’s healthy. Also, Steve Gleason announced the New Orleans Saints 3rd round pick and it was quite inspirational to anyone who knows his story and if you don’t I feel bad for you.
The true question is will any Cougs be drafted todayt? It’s quite debatable at this point because teams may be concerned about Travis Long’s injuries and obviously Marquess Wilson’s character and work ethic. It surely doesn’t help his case one bit when he won’t even say he regrets what he did, in my opinion that makes this whole situation even worse. When your an adult, you need to take accountability for your actions, he clearly feels he did nothing wrong which isn’t true one bit.
It’s pretty pointless to predict where they will be drafted, if they are at all with the way this whole draft has gone. I do expect that Marquess Wilson will be drafted in the late 4th to early 5th round. Regardless of how teams feel about him one team is going to give him that chance that he needs to make an impact in this league. Now onto Travis Long, this is a different case as character is not a problem for this young man. The problem with Long is the injuries he’s had that have required surgery after every season could come into effect.
But one of the biggest reasons teams may stay away from him is the fact that he lacks the upper body strength to push through the line at the next level, doesn’t produce enough explosiveness to get off the ball with his hand planted in the ground when he’s lined up as a defensive end. Some concerns are that with a 4.75 40 yard dash time he isn’t very fast and does not have the speed to cover tight ends in the NFL, in fact he really isn’t that great in coverage at all.
Aside from those negatives, some positives regarding Travis Long are the fact that he has a very high motor coupled with an intellectual and instinctual style of play. Travis has lined up as a defensive end, middle linebacker, special teams player, and outside linebacker. He can truly line up anywhere on defense except for corner. He has a great ability to read and react to sniff out screen plays and bootlegs. He is great at blitzing, especially off the edge. Travis is also a relentless pursuer who will not stop until the play is blown dead. He also is a sure tackler that displays an ability to make tackles in the open field with good technique in wrapping up the ball carrier and bringing him down.
After considering the pros and cons of Travis Long, he’ll be a very solid player to take a chance on in the 6-7th round. There is a likelihood that he ends up going undrafted, but with his versatility of being able to line up anywhere on the line will definitely catch the eyes of NFL coaches.