Earlier this week, we wrote about the rise of Maryland safety Darnell Savage, who according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, may sneak into the first round. In that same conference call, Jeremiah said Savage isn’t the only big-time riser. He mentioned another player on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ radar, Notre Dame wideout Miles Boykin, could go higher than expected.
“Sure, I’ll start with Boykin,” Jeremiah said. “There is a lot of love around the league for Miles Boykin, so much so that I anticipate he’s going to go in the second round. He’s just — he came on strong this year.”
Boykin is a one-year wonder, an understandable point against him, but has allowed him to rise up the boards as teams have learned more about him. That began with an excellent 2018 season, catching 59 passes for nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns. He followed that up by crushing the Combine, turning in a 4.42 40, 43.5 inch vertical, and 6.77 three cone, checking every athletic box imaginable.
Based on what Jeremiah says, if the Steelers want to grab him, they may have to use #52 or at worse, #66 at the top of the third round. His description of Boykin meshes with what Pittsburgh is looking for.
“He’s got strong hands, and the drops that he does have are more concentration drops, but he can catch in a crowd, he’s played inside and outside, a classic kind of a true X wide receiver, that’s what he is.”
Kevin Colbert attended Notre Dame’s Pro Day and then the team invited Boykin to their facility for a pre-draft visit. Because he was off the radar until 2018 and then surprisingly declared a year early, it makes sense to do so much homework on him.
To be honest, this second round projection arguably shouldn’t come as a total shocker. According to Boykin, one reason he declared early was because he received a second round projection from the NFL Draft Advisory committee earlier this year.
