Abbotsford’s Chase Claypool continues to attract attention as the National Football League draft approaches, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish star recently cracked the first round in draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft.
The ESPN analyst is recognized as one of the top draft experts and has been covering the NFL Draft since 1984.
Kiper released his most recent mock draft on Tuesday, and forecasted Claypool to go in round one, 30th overall to the Green Bay Packers. It’s his first mock draft since the NFL Combine, which occurred last month.
He stated:
Green Bay cut Jimmy Graham and hasn’t added any receiving help this offseason, so I’m sticking with a wide receiver for its pick, though it’s the third different wideout in my three mock drafts. Like Denzel Mims, Claypool had an electrifying combine, running a 4.42 40 and putting up a 40.5-inch vertical at 6-foot-4, 238 pounds.
This might be a slight reach, but a team could fall in love with his traits, and he produced last season, catching 66 passes for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns. He could be a matchup nightmare for Aaron Rodgers.
The Abbotsford Senior Secondary School grad wowed NFL scouts at the combine, running a 4.42 40-yard dash, finished fourth amongst all wide receivers in the vertical jump, leaping 40.5 inches and recorded a broad jump of 126 inches.
RELATED: Abbotsford’s Chase Claypool impresses at NFL Combine
The NFL Draft was originally set to occur in Las Vegas, but league officials said earlier this week that it will continue as planned on April 23 to 25, but will be conducted in a way that reflects current conditions.
The NFL did plan to have several public events in Las Vegas and fly in some of the top prospects, but that will no longer occur.
Claypool starred for four years with the Fighting Irish and was also a dominant player in high school with the Abbotsford Panthers.