Two more former Wisconsin Badgers invited to NFL local prospect days

Will either of these former Wisconsin Badgers have NFL careers?

Former Wisconsin Badgers safety Travian Blaylock and cornerback Jason Maitre received invites to NFL local prospect days, Blaylock by the Green Bay Packers and Maitre by the New England Patriots, according to a report from KPRC’s Aaron Wilson.

The news comes on the heels of former Badgers outside linebacker C.J. Goetz also receiving an invitation to the Packers’ local prospect tryout.

Related: If Wisconsin decides to move on from Greg Gard, who could it target as its next head coach?

NFL teams’ local prospect days are designed for collegiate players who are not projected to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, and finished their careers somewhere near a team’s facilities. Blaylock’s career in Madison, Wisconsin is close to the Packers’ facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Maitre, meanwhile, played five seasons at Boston College before transferring to Wisconsin — making the New England Patriots the closest NFL team.

Neither Blaylock nor Maitre were invited to the recent NFL Combine. Each participated in a pro day — Blaylock at Wisconsin and Maitre at Boston College. Both are projected to be signed as undrafted free agents.

These tryouts give each player a valuable chance to showcase their skills infront of interested NFL teams that are always searching for under-the-radar talent.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Former Wisconsin Badger one of the most athletic RB prospects in NFL Draft history

Former Wisconsin Badger one of the most athletic RB prospects in NFL Draft history

Former Wisconsin Badger and Louisville Cardinal Isaac Guerendo is one of the most athletic running back prospects in NFL Draft history.

His NFL combine and pro day testing led to a Raw Athletic Score of 9.97 (out of a possible 10.00). According to the creator of the metric, that number ranks No. 7 out of 1804 running back prospects from 1987 to 2024.

Those testing numbers include a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, 4.15-second shuttle, 6.94-second 3-cone drill, 41.5-inch vertical jump and 10’9″ broad jump.

Related: If Wisconsin decides to move on from Greg Gard, who could it target as its next head coach?

Guerendo finished his four-year Wisconsin career with 99 carries, 582 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He then excelled in his one year at Louisville, adding 132 carries for 810 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The electric running back is projected to be selected in the 4th or 5th round of the upcoming NFL Draft — though his athletic testing may raise that projection a bit.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Pre-spring College Football Playoff tiers for the 2024 season

What are the chances Wisconsin makes the College Football Playoff in 2024?

The Wisconsin Badgers and head coach Luke Fickell enter the 2024 college football season needing to improve upon their disappointing 7-6 2023 campaign.

There is good news and bad news.

Related: Wisconsin football’s biggest questions entering spring practice

The good news: year two is often the time for improvement for new head coaches in college football. It means one more year to cater the roster to the specific systems on offense and defense, and another year of continuity on the coaching staff and the field. Also, the College Football Playoff now contains 12 teams.

The bad news: Wisconsin has one of college football’s toughest schedules in 2024. That, and the new era of the Big Ten sees those schedules get even tougher as the years continue.

Wisconsin’s chances at making the 2024 CFP are interesting. A stellar season is required, though a 10-2 or 9-3 record may get the job done.

Looking ahead to the season, we’ve already ranked all 18 programs in the Big Ten, ranked the 18 starting quarterbacks, ranked all 18 head coachespredicted each Big Ten team’s 2024 record and checked in on the Las Vegas win totals for each team in the conference.

Now, here are our pre-spring College Football Playoff tiers:

NFL draft projections for Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen and other top running backs

NFL Draft projections for Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen and other top running backs

The countdown has begun for the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit, Michigan.

The headlines are easy to follow this year:

  • Will quarterback Caleb Williams go No. 1 to the Chicago Bears?
  • In what order will QBs Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. be selected?
  • How much of a gap is there between wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and the rest of the wide receiver class?

There are many more, but those are the biggest talking points.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest conference schedule in 2024?

Only a few former Wisconsin Badgers accepted NFL combine invitations this year: running back Braelon Allen, offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini and linebacker Maema Njongmeta. Others will  showcase their skills at Wisconsin’s pro day in March, but Allen and Bortolini appear to have the best chance to be drafted at this stage of the process.

Speaking of Allen, the 33rd Team on X posted its top five running backs in the 2024 NFL draft. The decorated Wisconsin Badger made the cut.

Here are the top five running backs, plus where consensus projects them each to be selected:

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

5 early predictions on the 2024 NFL draft after Super Bowl weekend

Early predictions for the top pick, QB order, a glut of OL, the biggest faller and most surprising first-rounder

The 2023 season ended with Kansas City’s overtime win in Super Bowl XVIII over the San Francisco 49ers. That means it’s now officially 2024 NFL draft season!

It’s still early in the process, with the combine, pro days and private interviews all still to come. But as draft season kicks off in earnest, there are a few projections and concepts that feel pretty reliable. From what happens with the first pick to who might fall the farthest from recent first-round mocks, here are a few early shots at predicting what will happen in April in Detroit.

Wisconsin offensive lineman has social media impressed with Reese’s Senior Bowl performance

A former Badger OL is turning some heads in Mobile, Alabama:

Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini is off to a strong start at Reese’s Senior Bowl practice.

The multi-year starter brings impressive versatility to the collegiate all-star game, and will eventually to the NFL. He started games at left guard, right guard and center in 2022 before being the team’s full-time center in 2023.

He is one of two former Badgers in attendance at the Senior Bowl this week, joining long-snapper Peter Bowden.

Related: Wisconsin football social media is not happy about Alex Grinch being named Badgers’ co-DC

Bortolini is currently projected to be a Day 2/Day 3 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Though if his performance at the Senior Bowl is any indication, that stock could be on the rise.

Here are first-hand accounts from many at the practices:

2024 NFL mock draft ahead of the regular season finale

Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon posts the final 2024 NFL draft projections from the 2023 regular season

Week 18 has arrived across the NFL. For some teams, it’s the end of the line for the 2023 season and the unofficial kickoff of the offseason. Others are fighting for playoff berths or seedings and won’t go into offseason mode for at least another week.

Either way, we’ve got some help on the way for all 32 teams in the latest 1-round 2024 NFL mock draft projections.

The draft order is the actual NFL standings and slotting entering the Week 18 action. No trades in this one. As always, projections at this time of the year are about ideas and concepts, not steadfast predictions; we haven’t seen all of the upcoming head coaching and GM changes that are bound to come, after all.

2024 NFL draft order: Saints’ range of outcomes narrows after Week 17

Where are the Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft? The latest projection after Week 17 has narrowed down their range of outcomes:

We’re getting a better idea of the 2024 NFL draft order after Week 17’s games — for one thing, the Carolina Panthers have already locked up the first overall pick, which they unfortunately chose to trade to the Chicago Bears, who are on the clock. But where are the New Orleans Saints slotted in? Where might they end up?

At the moment, the experts at Tankathon project the Saints to own the No. 13 overall pick. But that could change depending on Week 18’s results. The lowest the Saints could go with a win over the Atlanta Falcons (but without qualifying for the playoffs) would be No. 16. Thanks to their low strength of schedule (.430), the Saints would win any tiebreakers with other 9-win teams that don’t reach the postseason. Right now, that means the Houston Texans (who traded their pick to the Arizona Cardinals) and Pittsburgh Steelers at Nos. 17 and 18, respectively.

What if the Saints lose to the Falcons next Sunday? Would that give them a big boost in the rankings? Maybe so. There’s a large clump of 9-loss teams, so it’s tough to say where New Orleans would slot in, partly because one of those teams are the Falcons themselves. Draft order is determined by strength of schedule before any other tiebreakers, and that’s an area they would likely have an edge on the Saints (at .423). So the highest pick the Saints could expect in the event of a Week 18 loss is probably No. 10 overall.

That’s too low to get a quarterback, and it’s unlikely head coach Dennis Allen would sign off on picking a rookie passer anyway. His goal is to support Derek Carr, not replace him, and that is a good spot to find a high-end offensive lineman or pass rusher who could help address the Saints’ most critical needs. But if there’s a year to finally trade down and acquire more picks, it’s this one: the Saints only own one other selection in the top four rounds (the No. 45 pick in the second round, coming back from the Denver Broncos) and they badly need to reload their roster. The Saints haven’t traded down since 2007, but they’re bound to break that streak sooner or later.

And there’s one other variable we haven’t hit on: what if the Saints beat the odds and clinch a playoff berth? At that point they’d be picking anywhere from Nos. 19 to 32 depending on how far they advance. Reaching the postseason has always been their goal and we should expect them to compete for that, not draft order jockeying. We should find out where exactly the Saints are picking in the first round in the weeks ahead, but don’t expect a full draft order to be finalized (with compensatory draft picks) until March.

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Bye week breakdown: Taking a look at Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s 2023 season so far

Take a look at what #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has done during the 2023 season as Kansas City takes its bye week.

Travis Kelce’s 2023 season with the Kansas City Chiefs has been multifaceted. His on-field production has been just one part of his story this season, as the budding romance between the All-Pro tight end and pop superstar Taylor Swift has dominated headlines since August.

Kelce’s role in Kansas City’s offense remains a focal point for Chiefs fans amid the team’s effort to defend its Super Bowl title. His ability to gain gritty yards after the catch remains unchanged, and even as Andy Reid’s offense has appeared to falter early in the season, Kelce’s production has remained a constant.

With eight games remaining in the season, Kelce is Kansas City’s leading receiver by a wide margin. While the Chiefs’ receiving corps continues to figure itself out, Kelce’s consistency has helped Patrick Mahomes keep Kansas City atop the AFC standings heading into the most important part of its schedule.

Take a look at what Kelce has accomplished in 2023 so far, and the pace he has established for himself through nine games:

Bye week breakdown: Taking a look at Patrick Mahomes’ 2023 season so far

Take a look at what #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has done during the 2023 season as Kansas City takes its bye week.

The Kansas City Chiefs won’t play in Week 10 after taking down the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany last Sunday. The Chiefs are taking a much-needed break for their bye midway through the 2023 season, and with eight games remaining on Kansas City’s schedule, it is time to take stock of what the team has accomplished and where they are headed.

Patrick Mahomes is, without question, the single most important factor in the Chiefs’ chances to defend their Super Bowl title. The 2023 season hasn’t been his best, but the reigning MVP should be expected to pick up his pace and get back into championship form over the next eight weeks.

Take a look at the statistics Mahomes has put up through nine games and the pace he has established heading into the home stretch of Kansas City’s Super Bowl defense campaign: