To the surprise of many neither running back Jonathan Taylor or linebacker Zack Baun had their name called during the first round of the NFL Draft last night.
The former Badgers weren’t considered “locks” to be selected on night one but there was a great chance for one of the two to become the first first-round pick out of Wisconsin since Ryan Ramczyk went No. 32 in 2017.
Aside from the fact that neither of the two Badger standouts did not hear their name called, what was most surprising last night was the Kansas City Chiefs opting to take a running back in LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire instead of Taylor at No. 32, and both the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens choosing to take a linebacker not named Zack Baun at No. 27 and 28 respectively.
While many would expect Taylor and Baun to be in prime position to come off the board early tonight when round two gets underway, some outlets are a little more bullish on the Badgers’ draft standings.
This morning USA Today Sports released a mock draft for tonight’s second round and, despite all of the pre-draft love for the two Badgers, have them continuing to slide to the middle and end of the second round.
Specifically, the mock draft has Taylor being selected at No. 45 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baun at No. 55 to the Baltimore Ravens.
Taylor’s selection at No. 45 would make him the third running back off the board after Edwards-Helaire went No. 32 and D’Andre Swift, who the mock draft has going No. 33 to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Baun’s selection at No. 55 would actually land him on team many saw him going to during round one in the Baltimore Ravens.
Putting aside the number at which the players are selected, Taylor and Baun falling to the Buccaneers and the Ravens respectively would represent a best-case scenario for the two standouts.
Taylor playing on the now-Tom Brady led offense behind an improved offensive line would equal ridiculous production in his early years.
Baun, then, playing on the stacked Raven defense with the already-established names they have in Baltimore in addition to the team’s first round selection in linebacker Patrick Queen would mean success and lots of it for the Wisconsin native as he begins his NFL career.
The second and third rounds of the NFL Draft begin tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, NFL Network and ABC.