2021 NFL Draft prospects to watch: Big 12 Conference
By Kyle Edmond
2021 NFL Draft prospects to watch in the Big 12 Conference.
Continuing to look forward to the 2021 NFL Draft, the Big 12 Conference has a few of the top names of next year’s class. Although the mass group doesn’t have the recognition that the Big Ten has, the Big 12 can still hold up against the competition. A year ago the conference saw 21 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft and the 2021 NFL Draft is panning out early on to see a similar number.
The number that should stick out from the Big 12 is that of those 21 players selected, five went in the first round, the second-most of any conference for the round. CeeDee Lamb headlined the Big 12 selections, going 17th to the Dallas Cowboys. Jalen Reagor, Kenneth Murray, Jordyn Brooks and Jeff Gladney joined Lamb in the first.
TCU led the way in 2020, seeing five players selected with Reagor being the first. Baylor and Oklahoma were next on the list with four selections each. Texas had three while Texas Tech and West Virginia each had two and Kansas rounded out the list with one selection.
Heading into the 2021 NFL Draft it seems like the tables might even out for draft selections across the conference. Oklahoma State, who didn’t have a selection this past season, has two of the top players in the conference going into this coming season in Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace. Similarly, Iowa State also didn’t have a selection in 2020, but Brock Purdy is likely to change that.
Meanwhile, schools like Oklahoma who have been mainstays in the conference might see a step back come April. With most of the top playmakers moving on, the Sooners will still be talented, but not everyone will be draft eligible.
Regardless of where the players are coming from, the Big 12 will have a strong representation in the 2021 NFL Draft and the following players could headline the list and should be watched closely over the next season.