As the NFL Draft begins tonight in Kansas City, there are two Jayhawks who are on the radar draft experts, but projections call for them to go much later than tonight’s first round.
Defensive end Lonnie Phelps, Jr. and offensive lineman Earl Bostick, Jr. both were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month.
ESPN has Phelps ranked as the No. 10 outside linebacker in the draft, and as the No. 147th player overall. Bostick is ranked as the No. 19 offensive tackle and the No. 230th player overall. The draft begins tonight at Kansas City Union Station and runs through Saturday. The event has seven rounds and a total of 259 selections. That could mean that Bostick and Phelps will have to wait late into Saturday to know their draft outcomes.
Phelps was a second team All-Big 12 selection last season, and led the Jayhawks with 11.5 tackles for loss. Bostick started 36 games for the Jayhawks during his career, and has been graded by many draft experts as having the size and speed to compete for a tackle position in the NFL with a team looking for a mobile offensive lineman.
Phelps and Bostick are the only two KU players who were invited to the NFL Draft Combine. Six other Jayhawks participated in KU Pro Day on the Lawrence campus in late March. They were: Sam Burt, Zion DeBose, Malcolm Lee, Lorenzo McCaskill, Caleb Sampson and Eddie Wilson.
KU is trying to make it two years in row in having Jayhawk drafted. Last year, linebacker Kyron Johnson was selected in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Chance Parker/Journal-World
