I have yet another recent mock draft to pass along to you on this Thursday and this one comes from Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio and the Real Football Network.
In Kirwan’s latest prediction of the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, he has the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller 25th overall and he writes of the choice:
The Steelers need help in the secondary. This guy has some medical issues, but he is the physical type of player who fits the Pittsburgh mold.
The “medical issues” that Kirwan speaks of in relation to Fuller is the fact that the cornerback missed most of the 2015 season due to a right knee injury that required surgery to be performed after he tore the meniscus during the preseason. That procedure, however, reportedly ended up being microfracture surgery and as a result he was shut down for the season after playing in the first three games.
While he was only able to do the bench press last week in Indianapolis at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, Fuller reportedly said Saturday during his talk with the media that he hopes to be able to perform at his upcoming pro day and that his knee is currently at “90 percent.”
“My knee doing really well,” Fuller said, according to Anthony Gulizia of The Washington Times. “I’m doing pretty much everything, doing a lot of drills. Cutting, planting, just working on getting that power back. Other than that, the motions feel really well.”
Fuller, who measured in at the combine at 5110, 187-pounds, registered 120 tackles, 8 interceptions and 25 passes defensed in the 29 games that he played in while at Virginia Tech. His brother, Kyle Fuller, was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and he’s now on track to become the fourth Fuller brother headed to the NFL.
“I think all of us do the little things right, man,” Kendall Fuller said of his brothers while at the combine, according to Paula Pasche of The Oakland Press. “We all work hard. We’re all competitors. We all carry ourselves right on the field and off the field. I can say that I’m the best, but I can’t say why just because I respect all of their games just as much as mine. But I’ll definitely say that I’m the best.’’
During his pre-combine conference call with the media, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said he considers Kendall Fuller “more of a second- or third-round player” and that he certainly sees him as fit for the Steelers.
Being as there are quite a few cornerbacks that are sure to be drafted before Kendall Fuller this year, it won’t be shocking to see him slide into the second round. Fuller’s pro day will certainly be discussed in the coming weeks as he looks to prove that he’s worthy of a being selected in the first round.
