This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
NFL Draft expert and analyst Mike Mayock held a press conference call Thursday afternoon to discuss prospects in next week's draft. Here are his thoughts on Utes prospects Eric Rowe, Nate Orchard and C.J. Poutasi:
On Eric Rowe: "Eric Rowe is a really fun conversation. I've talked to a lot of teams about him and teams are really split. I happen to like him a lot and I've got him in my top 50. About half the league thinks he's a third round pick. The team's that like him like I do, then they go to another level and say 'If he's a top 40 or 50 pick, is he a corner or a safety and where is the value?' The way I look at Eric Rowe in today's pass first league is I don't care if you call him a corner or a safety. If he can do one job and do it well, matching up with a Kelvin Benjamin one week oustide and a Rob Gronkowski next week on the inside. If he can do that one job, he's got a completely different value, which for me would be somewhere late first round. I'm not convinced he can do that one job, but that's a conversation. Even if he can't cover both those guys back-to-back weeks, I feel very strongly he's a second round corner, he's got length, he can play safety which he played before. There's no way he gets out of the second round and if he went early in that second round, it wouldn't surprise me at all."
On Nate Orchard: "It's just amazing how many coaches tell me 'wow, couldn't block number eight.' Every week: 'Couldn't block number eight.' The offensive linemen in the Pac-12, who's the best guy you've played against? 'Nate Orchard, best guy I've played against.' So, even though he's not twitchy and didn't run great times, I think he innately understands how to rush a quarterback, how to set up an offensive tackle and I think he's got naturally heavy hands. That's the thing I've heard from offensive linemen around the country, this guy just grabs you and shakes you to your core. I think he's going in the second round, I really like the kid and I think he's a good fit for a 3-4 team."
On C.J. Poutasi: "I'm probabaly higher on him also. I think most of the league feels like he should have stayed in school, but if I'm not mistaken he's still 20-years-old. He's raw as can be, a little bit heavy footed. Best case scenario is at right tackle, he's probably going to end up kicking inside where he can take advantage of that strength. He probably will go in the fourth or fifth round, but I kind of have a late third round grade on him because I believe in him down the road. He's 20-years-old and his best football is in front of him, but he has to go to a team that's a gap scheme, run mauler-type team."
Twitter: @BrennanJSmith