Arkansas Players in the 2014 NFL Draft

 

CONGRATS TO TRAVIS SWANSON

ARKANSAS’ 1st 2014 NFL DRAFT PICK

76th OVERALL to the Detroit Lions

And

CONGRATS TO CHRIS SMITH

ARKANSAS’ 2nd 2014 NFL DRAFT PICK

159th Overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars

Smith’s Bio is here

And

CONGRATS TO A-STATE’S RYAN CARRETHERS

Selected 165th Overall in the 2014 NFL DRAFT

By the San Diego Chargers

Carrethers’ Bio is here

And

Congrats to Kiero Small

Selected 227th in the 2014 NFL Draft

By the Seattle Seahawks

Small’s Bio is here 

And

Congrats to Zach Hocker

Selected 228th Overall in the 2014 NFL Draft

By the Washington Redskins

Hocker’s Bio is here

One of the best Zach Hocker profiles you will ever read is here from Jim Harris.

Here is a little fun fact on Travis Swanson you may not have known. He was pretty good lacrosse player in high school credits the sport with helping him be a better football player. You can read the interview with Swanson on that at this link.

Here is what they are saying in Detroit about Swanson:

He started 50 consecutive games for the Razorbacks, which tied the school record.

“He’s got a lot of starts against really good competition,” Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said. “That usually bodes well for guys early, gives those guys confidence when they get here, so that’s definitely a factor.”

A heady player, Swanson was just the 11th player in school history to be a two-time captain.

In his last 24 games, Swanson had the highest blocking consistency grade for any active offensive lineman in college football (90 percent).

Dominic Raiola is coming off probably his best season as a professional in 2013, but he is 35 years old and the Lions need to start thinking about the future.

In the short term, NFL rules mandate that teams can only dress 46 players on game day. Before the drafting of Swanson, the Lions didn’t have a swing player who could play both center and guard.

“The biggest thing I will focus on is to learn as much as I can,” Swanson said in a conference call. “I want to contribute whether that’s at center or guard. I am just going to come into work every single day and I know if I do that each day then it will take care of itself.”

Also, in the video below, after Senior Day in Fayetteville – a loss to Auburn – Swanson discusses the game and his time as a Razorback. Good stuff. Also, we have Swanson’s bio and his draft projections below for your review, too.

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For the next several days we will monitor the 2014 NFL Draft and provide updates on this page profiling Arkansas football players who are drafted and sign as undrafted free agents. We share with you profiles, highlights, comments from the world of sports and respond to you comments here and on Twitter @SportingLifeArk, so check this page often. Bookmark it. Do what you do. We’ll keep at it on our end and enjoy the next several days.

This year’s draft starts with the Houston Texans and ends with the Seattle Seahawks in Round One. Most experts have Jadeveon Clowney going first overall. Speculation on where former Texas Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel winds up runs high, too, with some wondering if the ball slinging playboy could wind up a Cowboy.

Answering a question from our Mailbag last month, Jim Harris said he thought the Houston Texans should take Manziel in the top spot.

You can also listen to some draft thoughts from Jim here from his appearance on The Buzz earlier this week.

Ah, fun times. Like we said, we will keep an eye on things and hope to see back here throughout the spectacle that is the 2014 NFL Draft.

* * *

So does the pick of Jadeveon Clowney by the Texans bolster rumors that former Razorback Ryan Mallett is on his way there?

The Texans are expected to draft Jadeveon Clowney with the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft but they’re creating a stir before the draft even begins, reportedly working on a Ryan Mallett trade with the Patriots.

Tom Curran of CSN New England reports the two sides are working on a deal and that it “may be done soon.”

Curran adds, however, that it’s “not a done deal but the machinations have begun.” He later added that, well, let’s all pump the brakes a bit.

* * *

 

UPDATE May 9, 2014, 10:53 am:

A bit of an update on the possible Mallett-to-Texans talk this morning from NFL.com:

The Texans have a “lot of interest” in Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport confirmed Thursday on NFL Network’s “2014 NFL Draft Kickoff.”

O’Brien, the new Texans coach, was Mallett’s offensive coordinator during his rookie season in New England. Mallett has been mentioned in potential trade talks ever since — despite mediocre preseason results.

The Texans are expected to add at least one quarterback this week, and Rapoport said on NFL Network that he would not be surprised if Mallett was the guy. That would create a scenario where Mallett and Ryan Fitzpatrick would battle for the starting job.

Mallett would basically be the Texans‘ way of adding options at quarterback without commiting too much. The Texans could entertain a short-term contract extension for Mallett and then get back in the market for a rookie quarterback at this time next year.

We will keep an eye on this and update as needed.

* * *

Here are a few profiles of Arkansas players who expected to go in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Travis Swanson

CAREER SUMMARY: Swanson has started all 50 games of his Razorback career, tied for the 2nd-longest active streak in the country, and blocked for three seasons with a 3,000-yard passer, including the first season in school history with a 3,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher in 2010, and two seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher.

2013: Swanson was named one of six Rimington Trophy finalists. He also was a third-team Midseason All-American and first-team Midseason All-SEC performer by Phil Steele. Swanson was voted a team captain for the second consecutive season, becoming just the 11th Razorback in school history to serve as captain for back-to-back years. The offensive line has blocked for the first freshman in SEC history to begin his career with three straight 100-yard rushing games and as Alex Collins became the 10th true freshman in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards. The offenssive line also allowed the Razorbacks to produce eight 100-yard rushing performances. Arkansas leads the SEC and is tied for 2nd in the NCAA allowing just 0.67 sacks per game, leads the conference and ranks seventh in the nation with one sack allowed every 37.63 pass attempts and has allowed one or fewer sacks in 10 games this season. In the season opener vs. Louisiana he recorded 16 knockdown blocks as Arkansas piled up 522 yards of total offense, 292 on the ground and 230 through the air. The next week vs. Samford he registered 10 knockdown blocks with a grade of 85 percent while paving the way for a 333-yard rushing effort, including 163 in the 4th quarter when Arkansas ran the ball on all 21 of its offensive plays. In the 24-3 win vs. Southern Miss, he graded at 82 percent with 10 knockdown blocks as the offense gained 258 yards rushing and put the game away with 13:07 time of possession in the 4th quarter. For his play at Rutgers, including four knockdown blocks, Swanson earned a grade of 89 percent. Against No. 10 Texas A&M, Swanson graded out at 90 percent with six knockdown blocks as the Razorbacks gained 483 yards of total offense, 201 rushing and 282 passing, and averaged 7.3 yards per play for the game while starting a true freshman at both guard positions. At No. 18 Florida, he earned a grade of 85 percent while anchoring the line as Arkansas rushed for 111 yards, the first team to top 100 yards on the ground in Gainesville since Sept. 22, 2012. Against No. 14 South Carolina, the offense averaged 6.7 yards per play while rushing for 218 yards and allowing 0 sacks, and he registered four knockdown blocks. He graded at 81 percent with five knockdown blocks at No. 1 Alabama as Arkansas became the first team since Texas A&M in 2012 to rush for 100 yards in Tuscaloosa, finishing the game with 165 yards on the ground. He registered 12 knockdown blocks with a grade of 81 percent vs. No. 8 Auburn, allowing the Razorbacks to rush for 222 yards and total 346 yards of offense while possessing the ball for 34:14, the team’s highest time of possession against a top-10 team since 2008. At Ole Miss, he earned a grade of 83 percent and recorded six knockdown blocks as the Razorbacks averaged 5.8 yards per rush and allowed no sacks on 32 pass attempts. Against Mississippi State, Arkansas rushed for 225 yards and allowed zero sacks. At No. 15 LSU, the Razorbacks averaged 5.7 yards per play, including 5.4 yards per rush, while allowing just one sack and scoring on all five Red Zone trips. Before the season, he was named a preseason All-American and preseason All-SEC performer as well as to watch lists for the Rimington Trophy, Outland Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award, Senior Bowl and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

2012: He was selected as a team captain, started all 12 games and was named second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press. The offensive line paved the way as 20 UA or SEC records were broken and Arkansas produced a 1,000-yard receiver in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history and a 3,000-yard passer for the fourth straight year. Quarterback Tyler Wilson led the SEC in passing, while Cobi Hamilton topped the conference in receptions per game and receiving yards per game. Hamilton’s season totals of 90 catches and 1,335 receiving yards broke school records and allowed him to break the UA record for career receptions with 175. In addition, the offensive line allowed 1.0 or fewer sacks in eight games in 2012 and ranked third in the SEC with an average of just 1.58 sacks allowed per game.

2011: He started all 13 games as part of an offensive line that allowed the offense to break 16 game or season school records and produce a 3,000-yard passer for the third straight season. Arkansas led the SEC in total offense, passing offense and scoring offense to become just the fifth different school, and first since 2001, to lead the conference in all three categories in a single season and became the sixth team in conference history, and second since 1992, to lead the SEC in passing offense for three straight seasons. The Razorbacks ranked 13th in the country with their average of 300.7 passing yards per game, 15th in the nation with an average of 36.8 points per game and 29th in the NCAA with an average of 438.1 yards of total offense per game. Quarterback Tyler Wilson broke nine UA records and led the SEC in passing and total offense while becoming the first Razorback to be a first-team All-SEC selection at quarterback. Wide receiver Jarius Wright also earned first-team All-SEC honors after he broke seven school records and led the conference in receiving yards per game with an average of 93.1 to rank 18th in the country and in receiving touchdowns with 12, a total that tied for seventh in the NCAA. The Razorback offense posted the second-best single-season total in school history for completions (299), passing yards (3,909), passing yards per game (300.7), first downs (279) and passing first downs (166) while totaling the third-highest total offense yardage total (5,695) and third-best total offense per play average (6.45).

2010: He started all 13 games for the Razorbacks at center as Arkansas was the only school in the SEC to start the same offensive line every game in 2010. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. The line allowed Arkansas to break 24 game or season school records on offense. He blocked for the first season in UA history with a 3,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher. Quarterback Ryan Mallett set the Arkansas single-season passing yards record with 3,869 and running back Knile Davis posted the fourth-highest single-season rushing yards total in program history with 1,322 yards. The Razorbacks were the only team in the country to boast a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and five 600-yard receivers. Arkansas finished the season first in the SEC and fourth in the NCAA in passing (333.7), becoming just the third team since 1992 to lead the conference in passing in consecutive seasons. The Razorbacks also ranked second in the SEC and ninth in the country in total offense (482.5) and second in the conference and 17th in the NCAA in scoring offense (36.5).

2009: He redshirted and worked out with the Arkansas scout team.

HIGH SCHOOL: Swanson was a first-team all-state selection by the writers and a second-team honoree by the coaches. He was rated as the No. 33 offensive guard by Scout.com and the No. 73 offensive guard by Rivals.com. He was named one of 10 finalists for the Greater Houston Area Offensive Player of the Year and was the only lineman among the finalists. He was coached by Dougald McDougald. He was also recruited by Arizona, Houston, Kansas and Texas Tech.

PERSONAL: Born, Jan. 30, 1991, he is the son of Todd and Gina Swanson. He is majoring in sociology. He was named to the Razorback Honor Roll for his work in the classroom in the fall of 2011.

Travis Swanson NFL Scouting Report:

Prepped in Texas. Redshirted in 2009. Started all 50 games at center 2010-13. First two-time captain in Razorback history.

STRENGTHS Functional base in pass protection. Can work his hips and seal and execute combo blocks. Aware and alert — good in-line reactions. Durable and battle-tested — started all 50 games of his career and has experience locking horns with NFL-caliber defensive tackles. Highly respected two-time captain. Intelligent vocal leader with outstanding football character.

WEAKNESSES Needs to bulk up his frame and get stronger. Limited push, power and explosion — too often content to stalemate. Does not play with a load in his hands. Tends to bend at the waist, lean and fall off blocks. Spends too much time on the ground. Struggles to sustain on the second level. Center only. Produced the fewest reps (20) of 225 pounds of any lineman at the combine.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 3-4

BOTTOM LINE Experienced, dependable pivot who lacks starter-caliber power and athleticism. Lack of versatility hurts his chances, and he will have to survive on smarts, leadership and competitiveness.

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