It will be a quiet start to the NFL Draft for Duke football fans on Thursday. No Blue Devils are expected to hear their name called during the first, or likely even second, day. But day three, kicking off with the fourth round, will likely be fruitful.
Duke has four NFL Draft hopefuls in the mid-rounds: CB Chandler Rivers, C Brian Parker II, DE Wesley Williams, and DE Vincent Anthony Jr.
According to ESPN's Jordan Reid, who released a 7-round NFL mock draft on Monday, just three days before the draft kicks off, Duke will have two players selected.
Neither is Chandler Rivers, who has long been considered Duke's top NFL Draft prospect in this cycle.
ESPN has Chandler Rivers mysteriously missing in latest NFL mock draft
Rivers has seemingly been gaining momentum in the pre-draft process, with most experts believing he's likely a mid-round guy. He could hear his name called as early as the fourth round, so it's awfully curious how Reid has him going completely undrafted.
NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board has Rivers at No. 103 overall. That would project him early in the fourth round, so it's difficult to make the leap of him falling out of the draft entirely. The most likely reasoning for Reid's miss is that he simply skipped right over him. It's an easy thing to do when you're talking about a mock that features 257 players. It's why so many experts don't even bother.
The two Duke players that Reid does see being selected are Parker and Williams.
Parker is first off the board at No. 119 overall in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers. Parker would get to stay close to home and would likely come in and immediately push for playing time with the Panthers.
Next up is Williams in the fifth round, No. 155 overall, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But Rivers' exclusion is the story, and calls into question how much stock you should put into this mock. He'll likely be the first Blue Devils player off the board this weekend.
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