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Chris Landry knows more than a few things about evaluating talent. As a guy who has lived in and around the game for the past 20 years, his opinion matters. Chris has been kind enough over the past two seasons to give Gobbler Country some honest assessments of Hokies getting ready to enter the draft. I reached out to Chris to ask his opinion to two Hokies who will hear their name being called in a few weeks. Kendall Fuller is projected to be the highest Hokie taken, and for good reason. Last year was erased by an injury. Fuller saw action against Ohio State, and then was absent. Fuller came into the season with high expectations, with some folks having him preseason All-American. He was mentioned with Vernon Hargreaves as possibly the best corner in all of college football. Due to his injury, Fuller was unable to compete for that title last season.
Top 3 Defensive Back NFL Draft Prospects
— Matt Richner (@MattRichner) September 7, 2015
1) Vernon Hargreaves @ClutchLikeMJ
2) Kendall Fuller
3) Jalen Ramseyhttp://t.co/Ck3ETnx7Bw …
Fuller still has tremendous upside. Draft guru Chris Landry offers his opinion with this:
"Kendall Fuller will be gone no later than mid 2nd round"
-Chris Landry
That is pretty damn impressive after the injury. He will have his name called, and walk across the stage. The other Hokie in this mix is Dadi Nicolas. I got to spend some face time with Nicolas when he visited Mobile, AL for the Senior Bowl. He had a good practice week, and an even better pro day. He went from the later rounds to perhaps a fourth round pick, based on all his hard work. Nicolas needs to find a good situation to maximize his potential as a pro.
A scout tells me he believes Dadi Nicolas (Va. Tech) is best pure pass rusher in draft. The #49ers met with him last night, Nicolas said.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) February 26, 2016
Nicolas has a great first step, but size might be his biggest challenge. I can tell you that the Denver Broncos seemed to take a shine to Nicolas in Mobile. I can tell you that I believe Dadi has improved his stock considerably. Landry had this ominous report for Nicolas:
I will take that all day every day. Stay tuned at Gobbler Country for more Hokies in the Draft coverage!"Still have a 5th round grade on him---just think he might go as high as 4th based on need---supply and demand affect draft positioning not a player’s grade.
-Chris Landry