Illinois Football: Illini ready to start NFL Draft trend in 2021

The history of Illinois football players being picked in the NFL Draft has slowed down greatly over the last seven years.

It used to be that the Illini had two or three, at minimum, getting selected into the NFL almost every year. We failed to have anyone picked in 2014 and 2015, but then in 2016, Illinois had three players taken. It seemed that things turned around, only to have two total players picked between the 2017 and 2020 NFL Draft.

The last player Illinois had picked in the NFL Draft was in 2019 when the Kansas City Chiefs took Nick Allegretti in the seventh round. Side note, this was a great pick as the Chiefs won the Super Bowl that year and got back to the promised land this past season.

I am ready for Illinois to get back on the board when it comes to the NFL Draft. It looks like it will happen in 2021.

What former Illinois football players have a chance to be drafted?

The obvious best option for Illinois to get back into the NFL Draft is Kendrick Green. He is a lock to be selected, which is the reason he didn’t come back for his senior year in Champaign.

CBS Sports has Green as the No. 191 ranked player in the 2021 NFL Draft. If you take his No. 191 ranking and divide that by the number of picks projected per round, which is 32, then you have Green going somewhere in the late fifth round.

But that is an imperfect calculation. There is more nuance to where someone gets picked. There aren’t always 32 picks in each round because of compensatory picks. Green is also coming in as an offensive lineman, which is a valuable position in the NFL. This gives him a greater chance of being picked higher. I would say he goes between the late third round and late fourth round.

The next highest-ranked Illinois player on CBS Sports is Nate Hobbs. I was shocked when Hobbs didn’t return to the Illini for his COVID year, but he clearly got some good advice to stay in the draft. He is ranked as the No. 269 player.

For the 2021 NFL Draft, there are 259 picks, so that means Hobbs is projected to be one of the priority free agents. Many Illinois players have been priority free agents over the years, but I think Hobbs will get picked in this draft.

Hobbs plays cornerback, which is an extremely valuable position in the NFL. The league is more pass-friendly, so you have to have a good cornerback to stop the pass. With that being said, it wouldn’t shock me to see Hobbs go somewhere in the sixth round.

The final ranked Illinois player in the draft is Josh Imatorbhebhe. He is ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 305 player in the 2021 NFL Draft, which would put him solidly outside of the seventh round. There are a couple of things going for Imatorbhebhe, though.

Imatorbhebhe does play a position that is always wanted in the NFL, which is wide receiver. He has also been able to show off his tremendous athletic ability at the Illinois pro day. His jumps have been going viral, which is another big bonus for the talented pass catcher. It wouldn’t shock me to see a team pick Imatorbhebhe at the end of the seventh round.

Illinois didn’t get a single player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft. This mini drought is about to change, though. Look for the Illini to get back on the board and to create a trend that starts this year and extends for years to come.