ESPN experts expect several NC State players to hear names in NFL Draft

Bradley Chubb will be the face of NC State’s NFL Draft class. That’s already established. He was all over ESPN Wednesday, starting with the network’s new morning show “Get Up!” before appearing on “First Take.”

If ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay is correct, Chubb will hear his name called in the first five picks April 26. McShay said on a conference call Wednesday morning that he didn’t see a scenario that Chubb falls to the Indianapolis Colts at pick No. 6.

McShay figures that Chubb’s destination will be decided by the New York Giants. He gives the Giants a small chance of drafting Chubb, but noted it is more likely they will draft running back Saquon Barkley of Penn State. If that happens, McShay pencils Chubb into the Cleveland Browns’ pick at No. 4.

However, there is a chance if the Browns take Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with the first pick that the Giants may entertain USC quarterback Sam Darnold at No. 2, thus dropping Barkley to the Browns at No. 4 and then leaving Chubb to head to the Denver Broncos at No. 5.

“I think Denver is the parachute pick for Chubb,” McShay summed up.

That is sure to make Broncos star linebacker Von Miller happy. Miller recently told the NFL Network that Chubb is a mixture of himself and Oakland Raiders star defensive end Khalil Mack put together.

Yet Chubb is only the beginning of NC State’s lengthy list of draft prospects. NFL analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is already on record in expecting all four of NC State’s starting defensive linemen from the 2018 team to be drafted, although that was before Kentavius Street tore his ACL during a workout with the New York Giants.

Four offensive players could hear their names called, including all-purpose performers Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels. Kiper said Wednesday during the conference call that he anticipates both will be picked as early as the third round.

“They are both dynamic players,” Kiper said. “[Quarterback] Ryan Finley opted to go back another year — which was a smart move — but he is going to lose two key weapons there.”

Kiper threw out a comparison for Hines to Dion Lewis, who rushed for 896 yards and scored nine touchdowns (six rushing and three receiving) last season with the New England Patriots before leaving this offseason for the Tennessee Titans, who gave him a lucrative four-year, $20-million contract. Lewis is listed at 5-8 and 195 pounds, while Hines checked in at the NFL Combine at 5-8 and 197 pounds.

Kiper has also previously compared Hines to 13-year NFL veteran Darren Sproles, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles last year.

“His ability to catch so well out of the backfield, return punts, return kicks and be a guy that can be so versatile and so dynamic and just a guy you want on your football team,” Kiper noted of Hines. “I think he’s a third- or fourth-round guy.”

Kiper leans towards Samuels being picked in the fourth round, but speculated that he could go in the third.

“A guy you can use in the backfield to run the ball, put him in the slot; you can do a lot of things with Samuels,” he said.

Kiper added that the versatility of Hines and Samuels is both an asset and somewhat a liability.

“They [don’t have] a defined role,” he said.

Offensive tackle Will Richardson and guard/center Tony Adams were both slated to be picked on the third day, Kiper said.