Tag: Duke football

Duke wide receiver Mehki Wall enters the transfer portal

Duke wide receiver Mekhi Wall, a former three-star prospect from the Class of 2022, entered the transfer portal on Wednesday.

Duke wide receiver Mehki Wall entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, as first reported by 247Sports’ Adam Rowe.

Wall, a three-star prospect from the Class of 2022, was the second Blue Devil to enter the portal on Wednesday. Redshirt freshman Ethan Hubbard threw his name to the market earlier that day.

Last season, as a redshirt freshman, Wall hauled in six passes for 38 yards. He caught his first collegiate touchdown against Virginia on November 18, when he recorded five of his six career catches for 36 yards.

Even without Wall, the Blue Devils had 13 other receivers on their 2024 spring football roster. Star wideout Jordan Moore caught a long touchdown from new quarterback Maalik Murphy during Saturday’s spring game, and graduate student Eli Pancol hauled in a one-handed catch during spring practice.

Whether he addresses the receiver position or not, first-year head coach Manny Diaz said that the Blue Devils would pick up more players in the transfer portal before the season begins.

Which team takes Graham Barton in the latest mock draft from NFL.com’s Charles Davis?

Plenty of playoff teams could use former Duke lineman Graham Barton, but which team pulls the trigger (according to NFL.com’s Charles Davis)?

Former Duke offensive lineman has been linked to multiple playoff teams throughout the NFL draft cycle, but only one team can pull the trigger on the former Blue Devil.

According to a mock draft from NFL.com’s Charles Davis on Wednesday morning, that team will be the Miami Dolphins with the 21st overall pick.

The Dolphins routinely come up in connection to Barton, especially considering the injury history of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Miami lost two starters to free agency this offseason when guard Robert Hunt signed with the Panthers and center Connor Williams chose not to return.

Davis thinks Barton can take Williams’ role in Miami’s offense as the snapper.

“Agile physically and mentally, Barton moves from college left tackle to NFL center…and anchors Mike McDaniel’s lightning-speed offensive attack,” Davis wrote for his prediction.”

The Dolphins were also Duke Wire’s final prediction for Barton’s eventual landing spot.

Manny Diaz says Blue Devils will get more than ‘a guy or two’ from portal before August

When he was asked if Duke could still pick up a player or two from the portal this past Saturday, head coach Manny Diaz immediately said “It’ll be more than that.”

The 2024 Duke football team is still under construction, and new head coach Manny Diaz is under no illusions about that.

During an interview with ACC Network on Saturday, in the midst of Duke’s spring Blue & White Game scrimmage, Diaz was asked about the potential of more transfer portal additions over the summer.

The ACC Network broadcasting crew asked, “There’s still some room to find another guy or two potentially to help you before you come back to camp, I guess, in August, right?”

“It won’t be a guy or two,” Diaz said immediately. “It’ll be more than that.”

“We want to build a team to compete this year,” the first-year Blue Devils coach said emphatically.

One area to circle could be the offensive line. After redshirt freshman Ethan Hubbard announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, the Blue Devils trimmed down to eight offensive linemen on their spring football roster.

Blue Devils down to eight offensive linemen without Ethan Hubbard

With Graham Barton and Jacob Monk headed for the draft and Ethan Hubbard now in the transfer portal, the trenches are thin in Durham.

With redshirt freshman Ethan Hubbard announcing he entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, the Blue Devils have just eight offensive linemen on the roster.

Hubbard was one of nine linemen on the 2024 spring football roster after Graham Barton and Jacob Monk, two longtime starters, both left for the NFL draft. The position group is so thin that head coach Manny Diaz played more than half of the spring game as a 7-on-7 scrimmage with no linemen on the field.

Graduate student Jack Purcell, redshirt senior Calib Perez, and redshirt junior Justin Pickett are the only upperclassmen in the group. Two of the other five are redshirt sophomores, and the other three are redshirt freshmen.

In an interview during the spring game last weekend, Diaz ensured the Blue Devils weren’t done with the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season, implying he wanted to bring in multiple players before the Aug. 30 debut against Elon. He’ll likely have to in order to protect new quarterback Maalik Murphy.

Duke offensive lineman Ethan Hubbard enters transfer portal

Former three-star offensive line prospect Ethan Hubbard announced on Wednesday that he’d entered the transfer portal.

Duke offensive lineman Ethan Hubbard entered the transfer portal, he announced through social media on Wednesday.

A three-star prospect from Alabama, the 6-foot-6 lineman redshirted as a true freshman last season. Hubbard was one of 26 three-star enrollees from the Class of 2023 for the Blue Devils.

The departure hurts the Blue Devils at an already thin position. Duke only listed nine offensive linemen on its 2024 spring football roster, and Hubbard’s decision to leave trims the number down to eight. Three of those remaining eight are redshirt freshmen.

With a number of potential options still in the transfer portal, expect new head coach Manny Diaz to seek more options before the team reconvenes in the fall.

What did anonymous scouts tell The Athletic about Graham Barton?

Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton seems like a sure bet to be a first-round pick on Thursday, but what did anonymous scouts tell The Athletic about him?

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman released his ‘2024 NFL Draft confidential’ piece on Tuesday when scouts anonymously tell him how they feel about the best prospects in the draft.

Former Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, a presumed first-round pick, was included in the breakdown of this year’s offensive line class, which could see 10 linemen drafted in the opening round. Feldman only included one quote from a single scout on the former Blue Devil; here’s what they had to say.

“He’s a neat prospect. He can play all over the line and I think he can be a great center. I think he’s tailor-made for a zone scheme team. Very intriguing. I do think he’s better inside than at tackle. I think he could play it if you need him to but the lack of length could get him in trouble out there.”

Barton is expected to be drafted in the mid-to-late range of the first round, anywhere from the 20th pick (Pittsburgh) to the 31st (San Francisco).

Final NFL draft prediction for where Graham Barton will end up

With the 2024 NFL draft close to 48 hours away, here is Duke Wire site editor Ryan Haley’s final prediction for Graham Barton’s draft night destination.

We’ve finally made it. After months of conjecture, rumors, and arguments about who will take who and which player is worth a first-round pick, the NFL draft is about 48 hours away.

While offensive linemen aren’t as subject to the conjecture as quarterbacks, former Duke Blue Devil Graham Barton still finds himself in the mix of takes from the bottom of the first round.

The former tackle, who is expected to play guard in the NFL, will almost assuredly hear his name called during Thursday’s opening round. However, with playoff teams all over the board needing more help along the inside, where is he going to go?

Barton’s most popular pairing keeps shifting around. Over the winter, he was frequently connected to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 26th pick after they lost two interior starters over the past two seasons. The Miami Dolphins began to emerge as a popular spot at No. 21 earlier this month after they lost guard Robert Hunt and center Connor Williams to free agency, and the past few days have seen the Pittsburgh Steelers step forward as a potential candidate.

We’ve already broken down Barton’s five most likely spots based on team need and the rumor mill, but only one squad can have him. So who will it be?

If you asked me right now, I don’t think any team in the top 20 makes a move on Barton. A lot of teams in that range need offensive line help, but outside of Seattle, none of them can afford to pass up on a loaded offensive tackle class. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt might be the only one taken in the top 10, but I truly think half of the 11-20 range could be tackle prospects.

Pittsburgh could very well prioritize Barton’s versatility, especially after cutting starter Mason Cole this offseason. In a loaded year at tackle and receiver, though, I think the Steelers look elsewhere.

Which leaves the Miami Dolphins.

Just like Seattle, the Dolphins are in the luxurious spots of being able to prioritize center or guard early in the draft. Between Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, they don’t need to touch the wideout prospects. With Terron Armstead at tackle, they don’t need to touch the other deep position in this year’s pool. The defense is littered with top talent, even with the departure of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

On top of all of that, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa battled multiple injuries across his collegiate and professional careers thus far. Barton’s ability to play all five spots on the line and his technical soundness make him a potential anchor for the next decade, and I don’t think the Dolphins let him get past them.

FINAL PREDICTION: Miami Dolphins (21st overall)

What team should draft Graham Barton, according to CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson?

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson wrote about what he thinks each NFL team should do, and he said this playoff team should be zeroed in on Duke lineman Graham Barton.

Every NFL fan has experienced watching their team’s general manager pass up the obvious choice on the board. Quite a few fans will experience that same feeling this Thursday during the 2024 NFL draft.

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson tried to solve this dilemma with his ‘What teams should do’ mock draft released on Tuesday. He said that, with the 20th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers should have their eye on Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton.

The Steelers will begin a new era offensively during the 2024 season after acquiring both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for the quarterback room. Pittsburgh also cut starting center Mason Cole this offseason, and while many experts have Barton as a guard in the NFL, he did start as a center during his freshman season.

In a stacked offensive line class, Barton was the fifth offensive lineman off the board and the first interior lineman, so Wilson clearly considers him one of the best in the class.

Graham Barton’s consensus landing spot changes on Mock Draft Database

For most of the lead-up to the NFL draft, mock drafts have zeroed in on Miami as a landing spot for Barton. Now, there’s a new leader in Mock Draft Database’s clubhouse.

There’s a new lead suitor for former Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, according to Mock Draft Database.

After weeks of the Miami Dolphins being the consensus landing spot at 21st overall, mock drafts are shifting toward the Pittsburgh Steelers at 20th overall.

The Mock Draft Database compiles mock drafts from across the nation for a consensus ranking. The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak projected the former Blue Devil would go to the Steel City in a mock draft published on Monday, and CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson said Barton should be the Pittsburgh pick in his ‘What teams should do’ projections.

Barton is also 25th on the site’s consensus big board, the highest-ranked interior offensive lineman on the site. In a deep tackle class, the former Duke tackle is the seventh-highest lineman on the board period.

Graham Barton goes inside top 20 in The Ringer’s latest mock draft

The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak released an updated mock draft on Monday morning, and he had Duke lineman Graham Barton within the first 20 names off the board.

The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak, a popular podcast host and analyst, released an updated mock draft on Monday morning to start NFL draft week.

In this edition of his projections, Solak selected former Duke offensive tackle Graham Barton as the 20th overall pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Barton, who played both left tackle and center in Durham, routinely draws praise for his ability to play multiple positions. Sure enough, that flexibility was Solak’s major selling point for Steelers fans.

“The Steelers need a tackle, and they need a center, ” Solak wrote. “Why not take a college tackle who might be an NFL center?”

Solak wrote that the former Blue Devil contains both a high floor and a high ceiling as a prospect due to his fundamentals and athleticism.

The Steelers are one of the earliest possible contenders for Barton’s services, at least according to the current draft order. He’s frequently been connected to the Miami Dolphins (21st overall) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26th overall).