Husker NFL Draft Tracker 7 Weeks Till Draft

Another NFL Draft tentpole event took place this past week as we saw four Huskers compete in the NFL Scouting Combine. Not only did they compete but each of the Huskers put on a show in their own right. So in this week’s Draft Tracker not only will we look at what others are saying about the Combine but any other news and notes.

Combine Review

The 2022 NFL Combine took place this past weekend and we saw four former Huskers all have good showings at their informal job interviews. If you didn’t see my Combine Review for each player, they are listed below.

Austin Allen

Cam Jurgens

JoJo Domann

Cam Taylor-Britt

Rankings

Pro Football Focus just released their Post Combine Top 150 NFL Draft Rankings. In this newly updated list we have three Huskers making the cut.

• 88. JoJo Domann
• 111. Cam Taylor-Britt
• 145. Cam Jurgens

CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso put out his Top 50 Rankings and while no Husker made the list, Cam Jurgens did make the “Next 10” section and was listed 5th on that list so you could assume that Jurgens is Trapasso’s 55th ranked player.

Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News released his Top 100 NFL Draft Rankings. JoJo Domann was the only Husker that made the list as he was the 91st player on this list. Here is what Iyer had to say about Domann.

Domann is a very versatile player with coverage skills to handle backs and tight ends well.

Pro Football Draft released their most recent 2022 rankings and had JoJo Domann as their 76nd ranked prospect.

Mock Drafts

Draft Countdown put out their 3 Round Post Combine Mock Draft this week. Only one Husker made the list as they projected Cam Jurgens to be the 93rd pick, going to the San Francisco 49ers.

Fansided Bears site Bear Googles On released their seven round team mock draft and had Cam Jurgens going in the fifth round. Here is what they said.

Cam Jurgens is an intriguing prospect. While most centers can also flip inside to guard, Jurgens is a center only, and that may cause him to fall in the draft. Still, the Chicago Bears have had plenty of guards/centers and may be ready to focus on a full-time center.

Jurgens also has to play under control more, and these are reasons they will be able to draft him in the fifth round. Still, with all of that begins him, we are talking about a player with upside to be a starter in the NFL.

Again, this is a player who dominated the combine and showed to be one of the more athletic players in Indianapolis last week. It shows that if he can start to play under control he may be the steal of the draft and a starter for a long time coming.

The Chicago Bears have the obvious need at center, and while a fifth-round rookie is not going to be the answer, they can start to develop him and have him take on the mentality that Ryan Poles wants in his lineman. It is tough to find three starters with picks coming in rounds three and five, but the hope is the Chicago Bears can do that.

247 Cleveland Browns site Orange and Brown Report did a mock draft where they have Cam Jurgens as their 4th round pick.

The Center position continues to be one of intrigue and mystery, and will remain that way until and unless we see anything change with JC Tretter and the final year of his contract. Someone who can snap the ball may well be on the table regardless of JC, and in addition to Dohnovan West and Dylan Parham, Jurgens is another name to keep an eye on in this general range. A Tight End in high school, you can easily see that athleticism in his play, and his ability to get out and move makes him a pretty solid fit for what the Browns ask of their offensive line. Still a work in progress, the 6’3 307 pound purveyor of his own beef jerky allowed only 1 career sack in over 300 true pass sets at Nebraska. Athletic, mean and nasty? Yeah, that’ll work. Coach him up, Mr. Callahan.

Player Specific News

Austin Allen

Pro Football Focus put out their Combine Review and Austin Allen was the tight end they featured as the top performer.

Austin Allen may not have had a “wow” 40-yard dash time, but his weight-adjusted three-cone was strong. In addition, his 10-yard split was impressive, and his taller frame is associated with NFL success.

Erick Trickel of Mile High Huddle put out his Risers and Fallers at the NFL Combine. In the fallers section of the 40 yard dash he included Austin Allen

For tight ends, the time to beat is 4.7, and it was believed Allen would be near that mark. Instead, he came in with a 4.83, well below the standard.

Cam Jurgens

Fox Sports highlighted Cam Jurgens’ performance at the Combine, including him bringing his Jerky for teams.

SB Nation site Pride of Detroit listed Jurgens as one of the 7 standouts from the offensive line group.

Jurgens covers ground like a predator stalking his prey. The former tight end turned center, has maintained his athleticism (4.92 40-yard-dash, 1.71 10-yard-split) despite adding 50+ pounds of weight over the last four years. A Day 3 prospect, Jurgens is capable of backing up all three spots on the interior and plays with an intensity Lions’ coaches would love to have in the locker room.

The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler highlighted 9 Players who Deserve More Attention After the Combine. One of those players is our own Cam Jurgens.

While the 40, broad, and vertical are made to showcase the skill players, Cam Jurgens’ athletic profile is extremely enticing considering the way in which he’ll make his money on Sundays. Compared to Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum due to his quick feet, explosive hands, and athletic ability in space, organizations in need of an athlete on the interior will have Jurgens high on their board.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire published an article about Who Stood Out Amongst the Offensive Lineman at the Combine. Jurgens was one of them.

As a 6-foot-3, 303-pound center known more for quickness than power, Jurgens needed to blow everybody away with his athleticism at the combine, and that’s exactly what he did. He ran a 4.92 40-yard dash, and a 1.70 10-yard split, and he moved very well in all the drills.

Jurgens also worked this week to expand his burgeoning beef jerky empire. leaving samples of his homemade jerky with the teams who interviewed him in Indianapolis. We can but wait and see if the drills and the beef upped his draft stock, but never let it be said that Cam Jurgens didn’t give it his all at the combine.

JoJo Domann

Packers site Cheesehead TV released their JoJo Domann Scouting Report

SB Nation Patriots site Pats Pulpit released their JoJo Domann Scouting Report looking at how Domann can solve the Patriots lack of athleticism at the linebacker spot.

NFL Draft Bible at Sports Illustrated also put out their JoJo Domann Scouting Report.

Speaking of Pats Pulpit they also put out a Combine Review highlighting 6 Winners and 2 Losers. Unfortunately one of those losers according to Keagan Stiefel was JoJo Domann.

JoJo Domann is more of a safety than a linebacker, that fact was evident throughout on-field drills on Saturday. He made a few mistakes and had to restart his rep on a bag drill. That followed his 4.61 40-yard dash time that disappointed for those who had seen him play before. Not the end of the world, but not great news for someone who has a long road to carving out a role at the next level.

Cam Taylor-Britt

Rob Searles of Zone Coverage highlighted Taylor-Britt as the one player that turned heads at the NFL Combine.

Sports Illustrated Raiders site Raiders Maven released their Taylor-Britt Scouting Report

SB Nation site Turf Show Times takes a look at Taylor-Britt being a good fit in Raheem Morris’ defense.

Over at Yardbarker Cam Taylor-Britt was highlighted as one of the Packers targets who did well at the Combine.

Chad Reuter of NFL.com listed his Winners and Losers of the defensive back group of the Combine. Here is what he had to say.

Running a 4.38 40 at 196 pounds helped Taylor-Britt’s cause to be selected among the top 100 picks in April. He had one of the best performances on the floor, as well, changing directions and catching everything in sight. Taylor-Britt transitioned forward from his backpedal more smoothly than I expected. I thought he might have to move to safety in the NFL, but Sunday’s workout and his time at the Reese’s Senior Bowl indicate he has the speed and hip fluidness to stay outside at the next level.

Non Husker NFL Draft

As I know that most Huskers fans are also fans of NFL teams. Each week I’ll highlight a specific player that your team may end up taking, maybe a mock draft or something else. With the Combine over it’s a great time for NFL Draft analysts to put out Mock Drafts. And that is exactly what I did at The Huddle Report where you can go and find my most up to date mock drafts. Here is a look at my most recent one.

https://www.thehuddlereport.com/blog/?p=1985