Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football NFL Draft Primer: Lonnie Phelps, Earl Bostick and Possible 2024 KU Entrants

Episode Date: April 27, 2023

2023 NFL Draft Primer for Kansas Jayhawks Football as defensive end Lonnie Phelps and offensive tackle Earl Bostick await to hear their name called from Kansas City this weekend. Why this draft could be special for Leipold and KU, and some names to keep an eye on as of right now as it pertains to the 2024 NFL Draft with current KU Football players like Jalon Daniels, Lawrence Arnold, Cobee Bryant and more.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked On Jayhawks, KU football, NFL draft primer. You are Locked On Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Derek Johnson, you can hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. on KLWN in Lawrence with Rock Chalk Sports Talk. Excuse me. Thanks for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get any of your podcasts.

You can also find us, like, subscribe on YouTube. And on today's edition of Locked on Jayhawks, we're going to be going over a KU football NFL draft primer. It's coming out on Thursday. NFL draft starts tonight. I don't expect any KU players to be taken tonight. But, you know, maybe, I don't know. I wouldn't expect Lonnie Phelps to, like, sneak into, like, the third round.

But I don't know. I guess you never know what's going to happen. Realistically, day three picks for both Lonnie Phelps and Earl Bostic if they are both selected. So we'll get into that scouting report, who's draft eligible, what this would mean to the program, and also who's next, who's next year that could be draft eligible for KU. So let's start right here.

Who is draft eligible? Well, it's Lon KU? So let's start right here. Who is draft eligible? Well, it's Lonnie Phelps and Earl Bostic Jr. Lonnie Phelps, your best pass rusher from last year. Earl Bostic, your left tackle from last season. And when you look at recent KU football players drafted, last season, Kyron Johnson was drafted in 2022. He was the sixth round pick. 2020 was the previous draft pick, Hakeem Adeneji. He went in the sixth

round. And then in 2018, Dorrance Armstrong went in the fourth round. The last day one or day two pick for KU was Aqib Tlaib in 2008. He was obviously a first rounder. So day one or day two, day one, first round, day day two second and third round before that you have to go all the way back to 1997 which was Ronnie Ward who went in the third round as a linebacker from KU so there hasn't been a lot of day one and day two success I wouldn't expect that streak to end this year like I said but with Phelps and Bostic you're looking at two guys who are definitely draftable and again we'll get into their scouting reports here like Phelps and Bostic, you're looking at two guys who are definitely draftable. And again, we'll get into their scouting reports here. Like Phelps seems to have a edge on being drafted more than Earl Bostic.

But Bostic also has the size advantage. Like Phelps is playing a little bit undersized. Bostic has the traditional left tackle size that maybe somebody could bring in and say, well, let's work with the frame here, right? But this is really cool that KU has a chance to get these players drafted for a couple different reasons. And I think it shows the growth of the program. And the more that your program rises, the better the program gets,

the more wins that this team is getting, the more guys that are going to start getting drafted. And you'll see playing on NFL's on NFL Sunday, right? But the last time that KU had a player drafted in back-to-back drafts, which they have a chance to do, because obviously Kyron Johnson went last year. So they just need one of those two guys to get drafted this year. The last time they had players taken in back-to-back drafts, you might think, oh, I don't know. maybe it happened in the mid-2000s. They had some NFL players go. Maybe it happened in like 08, 09, or 07, 08. No, you have to go back to 04, 05, the last time that they had players drafted in back-to-back NFL draft seasons. It was Adrian Jones and David McMillan were picked in back-to-back

drafts in 2004 and 2005. So you have to go back 18 years at that point for the last time KU had players drafted in back-to-back drafts. They have a chance to do that this year after Kyron Johnson was taken last year and now Phelps or Bostic this year. The last time that KU had two players drafted in the same draft, you have to go back to 2015. KU actually had three players taken in the same draft that year. Ben Heaney got taken in the fifth. Ja'Cory Shep three players taken in the same draft that year. Ben Heaney got taken in

the fifth. Ja'Cory Shepard got taken in the sixth. Dexter McDonald got taken in the seventh. He had three pros on your roster and he only won like three games. Hello, Charlie Weiss. Nonetheless, you have a chance to do that for the first time in eight years. Have multiple players drafted on your team. I mean, there have been some years that, you know, I think like Texas is maybe only had like one guy drafted over the past, you know, handful of years or something like that. So it's a very big deal for KU to have this opportunity and shows the increasing talent level shows the increasing production, the increase in, you know, people interested in the program because you're getting more scouts out because they're winning because they're having more success, why they having more success what players are doing well and it is a reflection of

that and this is just you know really the early going as as you're building a program you're probably going to see more of those nfl guys go in terms of the program guys that you do bring in so you're looking at year three year four year five down the road this is just going to be kind of the surface level of everything. But again, that is really cool. And to see more guys get drafted, it's only going to help you more in the recruiting level. It's only going to help you more rise your own talent

and success of your own program. And we'll see what happens with Phelps and Bostic. We're going to get on to the projections for both those guys into the NFL draft in a second. First, though, this episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Built Bar. Are you looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories? Then you need the best tasting protein bar ever built. You might be wanting to snack throughout the day.

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seventh round everything is up in the air sometimes agents will even tell teams hey we don't we don't want you to draft him because basically they want to pick their destination at that point you're six or seventh rounder sometimes you're better off just you know finding your best solution to getting onto the roster somewhere else other times kids just really want to be drafted like it just kind of is dependent sometimes being drafted is going to work out into that right situation anyway so um it is kind of a crapshoot at that point, whether you go drafted or undrafted, but that is the projected range there. Sporting News has him undrafted.

He is a non-top 200 player on the Pro Football Focus big board. He's number 362 on CBS, number 320 on ESPN. So basically, the collection, you look at him everywhere. He's somewhere between a sixth round pick and undrafted. The scouting report in the athletic, the beast from the athletic is very awesome stuff from Dane Brugler. Highly recommend checking it out. I'm not going to go through everything on there because there's some really cool stuff

and it gets into the background of like Earl Bostic and what motivated him and what turned him into this point and gets into the scouting report the strengths and weaknesses and stuff I'm not going to read everything on there but a couple things that I you know snipped out to talk about for the scouting report in his strengths big athletic frame with functional length I think we saw that at Kansas like really big player he has the frame that you would want from an ideal tackle his lateral quickness allows him to make cutoffs reach blocks or mere rushers to the corner saw that a lot when you know he was getting out and moving and KU was you know maybe running a speed option or something one way he added 40 pounds when he made the transition from tight end to offensive tackle in 2019 that's something that I almost

forgot that you know he was a tight end when he came into the KU program and he moved to offensive tackle now that does happen a good amount from the high school level to college, like not just at KU, but across the country. So it's not like super rare or anything, but you know, that is certainly of interest. He returned for his sixth season at Kansas to be part of the change in the program. So you get bonus points there for, you know, really wanting to make an impact on a team as a veteran.

The weaknesses here, it says upright, narrow blocker, and still learning the importance of body posture. Undisciplined hand usage and raw technique make his job harder. Lacks the lower body girth to easily drop his anchor to answer power rushers. Only three years of playing experience on the offensive line. Will turn 25 during his rookie season. I think we saw some of the inconsistencies with Bostic. He was still learning the position. He got better, I think, each some of the inconsistencies with Bostic. He was still learning the position.

He got better. I think each and every year that he was with the program, there were still times when, I mean, I mean, it's hard. It's hard playing left tackle. It's hard being on that Island.

I think last year to me, Dominic Poonie was KU's best offensive lineman. Mike Novitski was probably number two. I mean, if you want to go Novitski one, because of the duties and roles as a center, that's fine too. But, lineman Mike Nowitzki was probably number two I mean if you want to go Nowitzki one because the duties and roles as a center that's fine too but I will say there is a certain curve that you almost have to grade like left tackles on and sometimes right tackles but specifically left tackles

with how much you are put on an island not getting to double team a lot of times like sometimes you might get a chip from running back or a tight end or something but uh you're pretty lonely out there and so your struggles are going to be magnified more than if a guard struggles because the center might come over and just pick him up or something or it's going to be easier for the running back if they're in pass protection to pick him up because he's coming straight through the middle so i will say say you do get bonus points for that. And I thought he overall had a good season, but you did see some inconsistencies over the course of the year.

That would make sense. Here's the summary from the athletic three-year starter at Kansas Bostic lined up and left tackle and offensive coordinator, Andy Kotelnicki's multiple scheme playing for eight different position coaches in six seasons in Lawrence. That is a remarkable. He made the full-time move from tight end offense tackle in 2019 and his return in 2022 helped Kansas to its first bowl game in 14 years. Bostic is a long and athletic with the movement skills to answer speed in his past sets

to show off his range in the run game. However, his shaky anchor false steps and unpolished technique lead to negative reps. Overall, Bostic moves at the slide quickness and athletic body control expected of a former tight end, but his play strength and timing aren't currently on an nfl level especially in the run game he has the developmental tools that will give an nfl team optimism and that's what a lot of times this is when you're drafting someone in the late round it's can you just fit a niche right it's either somebody who like we feel is going to be a very safe player that didn't go earlier because they don't have the athletic traits and they're going to be good in the locker room and all this stuff.

Or they're going to be somebody who is a player like this, where it's like, they have all the physical tools you could want size, length, speed, quickness, but we don't know about the production. Now,

maybe if we get him in an NFL coaching building and get him more reps as a guy who hasn't played offensive tackle for a ton of time, he can develop into that guy. I feel like Earl Bostic is going to be someone who sticks on an NFL roster. I think he's going to continue to get those reps, whether it's a starting tackle or a backup. I mean, Akeem Adenoji was such a different guy. He was a four-year starter. He was more of a technician. Bostic has more of the athletic traits than Adenogy did. But Adenogy came right in and was immediately kind of playing for the Bengals because he had the higher floor there. But I think Bostic has the higher ceiling. So we'll see if he can he can fit that and make it work in the NFL. The other guy is Lonnie Phelps. He is ranked the number 23 edge by the athletic with a fourth to fifth round grade uh sporting nation sporting

news has him undrafted uh he's number 178 overall on pro football focus is big board 313 on cbs number 147 on espn so a lot more variance here for lonnie phelps than with earl bostick but basically that puts him anywhere between being like a fourth round pick and being undrafted. Realistically, the strengths that he was listed with burst off the ball to race around the arc or fire through the B gap attacks, the corner with momentum, uh, naturally low pads. He has cat like lateral quickness to work inside counters and effectively cross the face of blockers uses a swift swipe rip move to clear the blockers outside shoulder violently chops at the quarterback's arms once he reaches uh the pocket agility helps him secure open field tackles high motor pursuit player and chases run away from him plays with enduring toughness consistent

production the last two seasons at two different programs i think we saw that a lot at lonnie phelps i mean he was having to deal with a ton of double teams but he kept fighting through you think of some of the just i don't, hustle sacks that he got over the course of the season. And yeah, that just, the plays where he would just rip through the guy were so, so impressive. It felt like he was getting held more than anyone in the country. I don't know if that's just how his move came through and it made it look like that. Cause keep in mind, offensive linemen can hold the inside of your shoulder pads,

but there were certain times where it was like, yeah, that probably should have been a hold and it wasn't called. So maybe that'll be more helpful to him in the NFL that that'll get called a little bit more. The weaknesses here, well-developed muscle tone, but undersized with shorter than ideal arms,

inconsistent versus the run hands are active but not always purposeful um over eager for contact and benefit from more finesse in his game undisciplined tendencies including seven penalties in 2022 he had five offsides one face mask one unnecessary roughness that was something where a lot of his penalties came in key moments too where it was like like i remember the tcu when i think it was like third and eight third and seven uh k you might have just taken the lead to go up three or something and it was a chance to get off the field get the ball back and really have all the momentum and then there was a a uh him jumping off sides trying to time the snap ended up tcu having a

shorter play they converted the third down ended up scoring and uh obviously they go on to win the game um lack of length puts a dent in the tackling. Did more zone dropping after he transferred to Kansas, but it's still new territory for him. Didn't play on kick or punt teams in 2022. So you're talking about, for Phelps, if he was like an inch taller and 10, 15 pounds heavier, he would be probably like a day two pick in the NFL draft.

But the arms are a little shorter. Height and weight is more of a guy that would play like a three, four outside linebacker. But then he's not a guy who has done much coverage work or played kind of that linebacker role. So it'll be interesting to see how a team uses him. The summary here, a one year starter at Kansas Phelps lined up a boundary defensive end and defensive coordinators. Brian Borland's four three base scheme after three seasons at miami of ohio phelps looked to challenge himself in a more talented conference and led the jayhawks and sacks and tackles for loss phelps is quick off the ball and rushes with both speed and power maneuvering his frame to force entry into the backfield from different

angles though he plays with better physicality than bigger defenders he needs to adapt more refined hand slash timing as both as a pass rusher and run defender to stay on the field overall phelps lack of strength or size slash length will be a limiting factor for him versus nfl competition but he is a pesky player to block because of the get off and menacing energy and pursuit he projects as a scheme versatile sub rusher i think that makes a ton of sense right he's a third defensive end on on teams where it's like you have your first two starters that are coming in they're helping with run stopping and then you're bringing in an extra pass rusher on pass downs and he's going to come in there and he's going to get you you know kind

of a mike dana role a little bit although dana has turned into a solid enough run defender too but you know maybe he gets you four five six sacks in a season um just coming off the bench i think he'll be a very useful player for a bit in the NFL. And I think that whoever does give him a shot will have a good rotation pass rusher that can just give them energy and can give them those sack numbers kind of late in downs, which I think is always super valuable. You're trying to get the quarterback late on third downs.

All right, who is next? What guys could be eligible next year? What guys could we be talking about next year? Let's finish up with that with Locked on Jayhawks. made an impact for KU or maybe haven't made the impact to the level of probably being on NFL draft boards. But if this is their last year of college, and then all of a sudden they just break out and go off, obviously they could get there as well. But here's the ones as of right now that are highlighted. The guys who are done after this year that I feel like would have a chance to be drafted next year as of now, Dominic Poonie, for sure. Now guards are less valued than tackles in the draft, right? Like if you're the best guard in the draft, you might go in the first round.

You might go in the second. If you're the best offense tackle in the draft, you're probably going to go top 10, if not top five, right? So it's just kind of a different way of valuing things. So that hurts you a little bit. But for Poonie, he was just so good, such a technician. He'll be a little bit older. But if he has the same season he had last year, Kansas, I think he's a draftable guy. Now, obviously, from I don't know, maybe an athleticism perspective, maybe there was a reason he was a central Missouri to begin with.

And maybe that knocks him into the NFL. But, man, he was so good last year for Kansas that it's hard for me not to see him and be like, yeah, he should be drafted. Mike Novitski, obviously kind of the same thing, like same thing with centers. It's you don't see a ton of centers get drafted every year, but he's someone who could absolutely get drafted into the NFL. He'll be an experienced player, like both in the case of Poonie and Novitski. You view them as kind of like day three picks in the same vein as like Phelps and Bostic, where, you know, maybe they're not the most athletic,

like largest people or whatever of the offensive line, but they're just good enough to get drafted. Mason Fairchild is one that, you know, if he does what he did last year, I think at the very least you're looking at an early day three pick like a fourth or fifth rounder. But if he improves on what he did last year and takes another step, would it be crazy for Mason Fairchild to be like a third round pick? I don't think it would. I think Mason Fairchild is very, very good. He improved a ton as a blocker last year, which was so critical. I mean, there were a lot of games where he did really, really well as a blocker. He was one of your best blockers.

A year before, he kind of struggled in that regard. We know he's got good hands. We know he's good in the receiving game, got good hand-eye coordination. So if he takes another step forward, you're looking at a definite draft pick. I think right now he probably would be kind of a day three pick if he just does what he did last year, though. And then Kenny Logan Jr., kind of the same thing, like probably a day three pick right now.

But what if he does raise his game to, you know, all-American level or something? Has six interceptions, returns a couple kicks for touchdowns this year. Then maybe you are talking about, you know, a little bit higher than that. But, yeah, I think all those guys could very well end up being drafted next year now does that mean all four of these guys are going to get drafted probably not the odds are against that but like you know they all have shots which is uh pretty cool for ku and then you have guys this next year they're going to have possible decisions based on how they do as juniors

again same thing if there's any breakout players who are redshirt sophomores or juniors that we're not really expecting, they would go in this list as well. Hypothetically, like some of the players who transferred in, I could have added to either of these lists, but we just don't know as much about them, so that's why I didn't put them on here. But Jalen Daniels, clearly, if he has the season that everybody's hoping and expecting,

he would have a decision to make at the end of the year as a junior. Would he come back? Would he be a draft draft pick i think the arm strength is clearly there like normally the knock against well he's undersized it's going to hurt his arm strength doesn't have a strong but he has that live wire arm now there are other parts of being undersized that hurt you it's looking over the offensive line uh because in the nfl the offensive line is going to be bigger defensive line is going to be bigger and it it is from a standpoint of like being durable. And so if Jalen can get through the year, like durability wise, that would be a big check mark for him in that area.

But we have seen him get injuries in past seasons that I know for NFL scouts like that would be held against him a little bit as far as the size goes. But yeah, if he has a good season, like he'll have a decision to make. Devin Neal, he has a great season. He'll have a decision to make. And as far as running backs go, a lot of times they'll go early because you only have so much tread on the tire as a running back that sometimes you just you're best off starting

your career early on. So that would be one to monitor. Lawrence Arnold is, you know, I thought about putting Luke Graham. I mean, he's a senior. I think he can still have one more year left to play though so technically he's a junior um but with Luke Graham he's a smaller like slot receiver type that like those aren't the guys that the NFL is going to be like oh you're a third round pick come out early like he might who knows he might be a guy that gets drafted in a couple years or works on an NFL roster if he gets undrafted and I could see him sticking with an NFL roster

but Lawrence Arnold is the one who has the body for it and the maybe the straight line speed and the you know uh contested catch that if he has a even better year this year than he did last year maybe he has a decision to make Logan Brown has the body for it we don't know if he's going to start or not if he does and has a great, he could go pro offensive tackles are obviously at a premium in the NFL. Jeremy Robinson is a senior. I think he can have two more years of play. I could be wrong on that. But Robinson, again, pass rusher, premium position. He has the season you expect decision to make. I think Craig Young is expecting to go to the draft after this year, but I mean, ultimate athlete. This is going to be a guy who probably shoots up draft boards after the NFL

draft combine. And then Kobe Bryant, he was first team, all big 12 last season. What if he takes another step forward and has even more interceptions this season? And he is that all American level player. Then you probably are looking at him being like a day one or a day to pick

at that point, which would be pretty, pretty impressive. Like maybe he can be that next, you know, top two day pick in the NFL draft if he has that season moving forward. He needs to be more of a technician and be more of a lockdown guy

than just kind of a big play guy. But if he does that, he has a chance to go pretty high in the draft. And then, obviously, again, any breakout candidates. All right, that's going to do it for our KU Football NFL Draft Primer. We'll be back on tomorrow's show. And we might do a deep dive on Jalen Tyson. I don't know. Maybe we'll talk about this Arterio Morris stuff,

because he's going to be deciding on Friday. That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find me on Twitter at DJohnsonRadio. You can find us wherever you find any of your podcasts, and you can subscribe to us on YouTube. Have a good rest of your day. Later.