Tag: Ennis Rakestraw

Missouri draft prospects getting lots of Lions attention lately

Missouri draft prospects Darius Robinson and Ennis Rakestraw are getting a lot of Lions attention lately

When fans think of colleges that are big NFL pipelines, the Missouri Tigers program isn’t typically one that springs quickly to mind. Yet around the mock draft universe right now, the two most common projections for the Detroit Lions and their first-round pick are from Mizzou.

Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and defensive end Darius Robinson are very popular picks for the Lions at No. 29. One or the other has been featured there in recent mocks from Athlon, Touchdown Wire, ESPN, CBS and The Athletic, among others.

NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah shed some insight on why so many folks believe the Tigers duo make good fits in Detroit. Jeremiah talked about both Rakestraw and Robinson in his pre-combine conference call this week.

“Cam Jordan is a name that you throw around there just from a body type-
wise. I remember watching Cam Jordan at Cal work out with the skill guys and run with the skill guys because he was such an athlete. You have a guy who is 286 pounds that can really move like that, and I thought he’s just — he’s better as a fit on the outside standing up on the edge.”

Jeremiah continued on Robinson,

“He can rush through your chest with power. He can really close from the backside. I just thought kind of the wider alignment with him really helped unlock him, and you saw that at the Senior Bowl. He feels to me like somebody that’s going to go somewhere in the 20s more than likely, and I think that’s — he’s worthy. He has the ability to go in that range.”

Later in the conference call, Jeremiah turned his attention to Rakestraw’s potential fit with the Lions. Jeremiah currently projects RAkestraw to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 21 overall, but he does like the potential pairing with the Lions at No. 29.

“I think he is in that range, yeah. I have him a little bit higher than that. I know in talking to teams I’m a little bit higher on him than some of the teams are. The feistiness and toughness, the aggressiveness that he plays with, the
energy, the passion that he plays with, yeah, he fits 100% with Detroit.”

They’re both players to watch from a Lions perspective during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, which kicks off on Wednesday for the players.

Los Angeles Chargers three-round 2024 NFL mock draft Thursday 1.0

The Chargers select a wide receiver, cornerback and center.

The 2024 NFL draft is two months away, and we will supply you with in-depth coverage between now and then to inform you who the Chargers could be targeting when they’re on the clock.

With that being said, this will be the first installment of the three-round mock draft Thursday, where I will lay out different scenarios every week on how the first three rounds could play out for Los Angeles.

Chargers stack deck in Chad Reuter’s 3-round mock draft

The Los Angeles Chargers draft Brock Bowers, a cornerback and a defensive tackle.

NFL Media’s Chad Reuter released his latest three-round mock draft, where he sees the Chargers getting Justin Herbert a weapon in Round 1 and addressing the defensive side of the ball in the next two rounds.

With their first-round selection, Los Angeles selects former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

Bowers has a chance to be the best player not named Caleb Williams in this draft because of his combination of reliable hands, strong running and blocking ability.

Bowers has been pegged to L.A. quite a bit and will continue to be until April’s draft rolls around. He provides the offense with a mismatch in the passing game and a serviceable run blocker. Bowers could quickly develop a solid rapport with Herbert.

In Round 2, L.A. addresses the secondary by selecting Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

Rakestraw is a cornerback with great length and athleticism who possesses good speed and fluid hips, which allows him to match and stay in phase with receivers. Versus the run, he is an aggressive and willing tackler with good instincts.

With their selection in the third round, the Chargers add beef in the trenches with Miami defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III.

Taylor has the get-off and explosiveness to get in the backfield, as well as the strength and physicality to hold up against the run, but he will have to work on his pad level at the next level.

10 preliminary candidates to be the Lions top NFL draft pick at No. 29 overall

Here are 10 prospects who look to fit the bill as the potential first-round pick for the Detroit Lions in 2024.

This year’s NFL draft will be a different experience for Detroit Lions fans. The Lions don’t pick in the top five overall, or even the top 10. Heck, Detroit isn’t slated to pick in the first 25 slots.

Brad Holmes and the Lions will make their first selection in the 2024 NFL draft at No. 29 overall (barring trades, of course). It makes forecasting what player the Lions will select infinitely more difficult.

Coming out of Senior Bowl week, there is a better feel for how the NFL views a lot more prospects in terms of draft range. Holmes and the Lions have proven they care not about what other teams, or draft media, care about draft range, but we now also have a better idea of what the Lions are looking for in a player.

In that spirit, here are 10 prospects who look to fit the bill as the potential first-round pick for the Detroit Lions in 2024 as of Super Bowl week.

NFC North mock draft roundup from PFF’s latest projections

NFC North mock draft roundup from PFF’s latest projections, with the Lions focusing on defense

It is draft season for all but two teams and their fanbases, for the Detroit Lions this used to be a time that came much sooner.

Mock drafts are flying all around us from every site and publication. The latest we are highlighting comes from PFF and their NFL Draft podcast The PFF NFL Stock Exchange.

Their hosts Connor Rogers and Trevor Sikkema completed a two-round mock draft which allowed them to provide more picks for each team in the division. For the Lions, they focused on defense in an area they need to this offseason. The rest of the division appeared to be playing catch-up after losing the division to the Lions.

Georgia football among top schools for 4-star OT

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for four-star offensive tackle Savion Byrd, who is a top 50 overall prospect.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for four-star offensive tackle Savion Byrd. Byrd is top fifty overall prospect and is widely considered top ten overall player at his position.

Byrd plays football for Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas. Current Missouri signee Ennis Rakestraw, a three-star CB, also played at Duncanville. He was a late riser in the class of 2020.

Byrd released his top schools via Twitter:

Byrd includes UGA, SMU, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, Florida, FSU, TCU, Auburn, Miami, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M in his lengthy list of top schools. We’ll let you know if the Dawgs make his top five.

At 6-5, 293 pounds, Byrd has great size. He’s received immense recruiting attention and is projected to join the SMU Mustangs. SMU is the only non-power five school to make Byrd’s top 14.

Don’t be shocked if Byrd commits soon. We’ve seen a lot of players committing to schools earlier this season. Will commits stay true to their commitments? There will always be some last minute flips.

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Texas target, 2020 three-star cornerback lists Top Three schools

Texas is still in the hunt to land 2020 three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.

As National Signing Day approaches on February 5, Texas is in great position to land a few of their top targets to finish out the 2020 recruiting class.

Currently ranked the No. 11 overall class in the nation, the Longhorns are hoping to still land several more prospects on Wednesday to bolster their defense.

Five-star defensive end Alfred Collins is undoubtedly the highest-rated target remaining for Texas, but four-star defensive end Princely Umanmielen and three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw would be significant additions.

While we’ve covered the remaining schools in the hunt to land Collins and Umanmielen, it appears Rakestraw has included Texas as one of his top remaining programs also.

The Duncanville, Texas native completed visits with Texas, Alabama, and Missouri in January. Rakestraw was named the 2019 Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead Duncanville High School to 15-1 records, state-runner up finishes as a junior and senior.

Alabama has been heavily recruiting the 6-0, 170-pound defensive back, but Texas’ late push to land Rakeshaw over the past month was enough to secure his final official visit before National Signing Day.

 

 

 

Three-star cornerback confirms visit to Texas

Three-star CB Ennis Rakestraw will be visiting UT this weekend. Rakestraw would be the second CB Texas would sign in the 2020 class.

Hosting a few recruits this weekend, it seems another one will be heading down to Austin this weekend for a visit. Ennis Rakestraw tweeted out that he was on his way to the 40 acres this weekend. A three-star cornerback, Rakestraw would be the second cornerback Texas would sign in this year’s recruiting class.

Listed at 6 feet 170 pounds, Rakestraw is from Duncanville, Texas. Attending Duncanville High School, if he were to sign with the Longhorns, he would join high school teammate Ja’Quinden Jackson in the 2020 class.

Only two other Big 12 teams are in on Rakestraw, as Baylor and Kansas have also given him offers. Local Texas schools have done the same, with SMU, North Texas, and Texas Southern being on his offer list.

The main threat to the Longhorns, however, are the Alabama Crimson Tide. 247Sports Crystal Ball currently has him 100% going to Alabama as he visited Tuscaloosa last weekend. With signing day a couple days away, Rakestraw would be a solid addition to a strong 2020 class.

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2020 Recruiting Target: Ennis Rakestraw

The Texas Longhorns are wrapping up their 2020 recruiting class and are set to meet with three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.

There is less than a week to go before the final National Signing Day of the 2020 recruitment cycle. One target that remains in the sights of the Texas Longhorns will be teammate of Ja’Quinden Jackson, Ennis Rakestraw. The two helped lead Duncanville to a state championship game. Rakestraw is currently ranked as a three-star cornerback.

The top three schools believed to be in the running for his recruitment are Alabama, Missouri and Texas. According to 247, they project that Rakestraw will sign with Alabama on February 5th. He is scheduled to meet with Texas on January 31st.

At this point of the recruiting cycle, John Tyler’s Kitan Crawford is the only other cornerback of the 2020 class. Rakestraw was named Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of The Year. At this point it seems all signs point to him joining Alabama but crazier things have happened on National Signing Day.