With the start of the NFL Combine less than a week away, more and more NFL mock drafts have started to pop up as people look to project which players will end up on which NFL teams.
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Well, in a class that has been seen as extraordinarily weak at quarterback, one name has started to rise rapidly up the draft boards and it might be a player that you are not familiar with: North Dakota State's Carson Wentz. Wentz has been North Dakota State's primary quarterback over the past two seasons, throwing for over 4,500 yards and 42 touchdowns at the FCS level. Overall, Wentz has been a part of four national titles, as the Bison have won the past five championships in FCS.
At 6-foot-5, Wentz likely possesses the most impressive combination of size, skill, and athleticism at the quarterback position for the 2016 Draft. Because of this, he has shot up the draft boards, and is currently projected to go No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns by NFL.com. After the Johnny Manziel fiasco, the Browns need yet another quarterback, and it looks like Wentz has temporarily jumped Cal's Jared Goff and Memphis's Paxton Lynch as the top quarterback in the draft.
The NFL.com mock draft also has Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil projected to go No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans. Tunsil is the first of eight SEC players projected to go in the first round by NFL.com, and he could add some immediate help to a Tennessee offensive line that was one of the worst in the NFL in 2015.
One of the other big surprises from the mock draft also includes Ole Miss, as defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche has fallen to the bottom third of the draft at No. 21. Nkemdiche was once seen as a potential Top 5 pick, but off-the-field issues caught up to him in 2015 and his draft stock has taken a hit because of them.
This might not be a surprise, but this mock draft is definitely buying into the Ohio State hype. NFL.com has six Buckeyes going in the first round. If six Ohio State players do go in the first round, it would set the NFL record for most first-round selections from one school in one draft, surpassing Miami's (2002)and USC's (1969) record of five.
The 2016 NFL Draft will start on April 28. NFL.com's full first-round mock can be seen here.
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