With the 2018 NFL Draft upon us, we expect to see at least three Texas Tech football players drafted in the next three days. However, that number could be surpassed in next year’s draft.
The 2017 Texas Tech football team was a young squad that graduated only a handful of significant contributors. As a result, there were nor a lot of Red Raiders on this year’s NFL Draft boards. That could change next year as a group of talented 2018 seniors could be NFL draftees in 2019. Here’s a look at the five most likely to be selected in next year’s draft.
Linebacker Dakota Allen
The most likely Red Raider to be drafted next year is Dakota Allen. The linebacker has been one of the best feel-good stories in Texas Tech history thanks to his journey from an arrest in Lubbock that took him to East Mississippi junior college (“Last Chance U”) followed by a triumphant return to West Texas.
But inspirational stories aside, Allen is a hell of a football player. From the day he stepped on campus, he has been one of the most productive players in the Big 12.
As a freshman, he totaled 87 tackles and two interceptions. That season, he was second on the team in tackles and ranked ninth in the Big 12 with 7.2 per game.
Last season, he was even more productive as he returned from his year in JUCO ball. He amassed 102 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
He was named a team captain in 2017 and his leadership was a steadying influence on a defense that improved over 20 spots in total defense rankings from the previous season. For his efforts, he was named a second-team all-Big 12 member and he will likely enter 2018 as a preseason first-team all-conference selection.
NFL teams will love his instincts, leadership, maturity and productivity. Allen is a brilliant player who knows exactly where he needs to be at all times. He has a knack for finding the ball, something that is a key for linebackers.
However, at 235 pounds, Allen is not as big as NFL teams would like a middle linebacker to be. Yet, he might not have the sheer speed that teams covet in outside linebackers, something hopefully he can improve with the help of strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt.
Fortunately, he has proven he can defend both the run and the pass making him the type of linebacker that does not have to come off the field. Since 2000, only three Texas Tech linebackers (Mike Smith-2005, Keyunta Dawson-2007 and Will Smith-2014) have been drafted but Dakota Allen could be the first of several in the upcoming years with players like Jordyn Brooks and Riko Jeffers also being strong NFL prospects as underclassmen.