NC State will be well represented at the NFL Draft Combine for the second straight year.
Six Wolfpack players were invited, third most in the ACC behind Clemson (11) and Boston College (seven).
Headlining the group is quarterback Ryan Finley, who is aiming to become the fifth former NC State signal-caller in the NFL. Finley threw for 10,501 yards and 60 touchdowns while completing a school-record 64.5 percent of his passes during his NC State career. He ranks second in many passing statistical categories to Philip Rivers, including passing yards, passing efficiency rating, completions and attempts.
Finley, though, is not likely to be the first NC State player chosen. That will probably be a battle between center Garrett Bradbury and wide receiver Kelvin Harmon. Bradbury, fresh off a strong performance at the Senior Bowl, was NC State’s eighth-ever consensus All-American and won the Rimington Award for college football’s best center in 2018.
Harmon left school early and is viewed by some as a potential first-round draft pick. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at NC State, joining Torry Holt and Jerricho Cotchery as the only NC State receivers to achieve that. He was first-team All-ACC in 2018 after hauling in 81 receptions for 1,186 yards and seven touchdowns despite sitting out the Pack’s bowl game.
Fellow wide receiver Jakobi Meyers will also be at the combine. Like Harmon, Meyers left school a year early after setting a school record with 92 receptions in 2018. He had 1,047 receiving yards and four scores en route to being named first-team All-ACC. He participated in the Senior Bowl with Bradbury and Finley.
Joining Bradbury in the offensive line drills at the combine will be NC State’s starting left tackle for the past three years in Tyler Jones. Jones won an invite to the East-West Shrine Game and was named first-team All-ACC in 2018.
Rounding out the invites was linebacker Germaine Pratt, another first-team All-ACC performer in 2018 and a participant in the Senior Bowl. He was second in the ACC last season with an average of 9.45 tackles per game and likely would have led the conference in total tackles had he not missed two games, including the bowl.
The NFL Combine is Feb. 26-March 4 in Indianapolis.
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