The NFL Draft is drawing close.
Missouri football has five players, including two potential first-round picks, who currently shape up to hear their name called in this year's draft. The year's three-day event will begin Thursday, April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
If Mizzou can send a player to the NFL as a first-rounder, it would be just the second time in team history that the team has had a Day 1 pick in back-to-back years. Missouri had three straight years with first-round picks from 2009-11. Last year, defensive end Darius Robinson was the No. 27 overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals .
So, where might this year's group of league-bound Tigers land?
Using recent seven-round mock drafts from ESPN's Matt Miller and Pro Football Network, as well as NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board, here is a synopsis of where Missouri's top prospects currently are projected to land:
ESPN:Round 1, No. 7 overall
PFN:Round 1, No. 11 overall
If Mizzou has a top-10 pick this year, it's looking more and more likely to be its offensive tackle out of Lee's Summit.
ESPN has Membou projected to land at No. 7 with the New York Jets , which is where the offensive lineman currently sits in the NFL Mock Draft Database.
Pro Football Network has Membou projected just outside the top 10, drawing the No. 11 overall pick from the San Francisco 49ers .
ESPN:Round 1, No. 20 overall
PFN:Round 2, No. 33 overall
Several recent mock drafts, like Pro Football Network, have Burden just falling out of the first round. First-round mock drafts from USA Today, CBS Sports, and NFL.com each do not have the star Mizzou wide receiver among the first 32 picks.
ESPN still has Burden as a Day 1 player, as Miller projects the St. Louis product to land at No. 20 with the Denver Broncos . That would make him the fourth wide receiver off the board, behind Colorado's Travis Hunter (who is entering the draft as a two-way player, also at cornerback), Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan , and Texas' Matthew Golden.
In the NFL Mock Draft Database, which compiles and averages multiple recent mock drafts to produce a consensus ranking, Burden currently is No. 34.
ESPN:Round 7, No. 230 overall
PFN:Undrafted
After an impressive NFL Scouting Combine performance, Cook appears to have helped his chances to hear his name called later this month. ESPN currently has him projected as a seventh-round pick at No. 230 overall to the Carolina Panthers , in a pick acquired from Arizona.
Mock Draft Database has Cook listed at No. 198 on its big board. The quarterback is undrafted in Pro Football Network's latest mock.
ESPN:Round 6, No. 199 overall
PFN:Round 7, No. 253 overall
Wease also looks like he'll be a candidate for a late Day 3 selection with ESPN projecting the wideout to be the No. 199 overall selection to the Los Angeles Chargers , and Pro Football Network sending him to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 253 overall pick. Mock Draft Database No. 289
ESPN:Undrafted
PFN:Round 7, No. 227 overall
Walker was a surprise omission from the NFL Scouting Combine after two stellar seasons off the edge for Mizzou's defense. Pro Football Network currently still has him as a draftee, taking the No. 227 pick from the 49ers. ESPN has Walker falling out of the draft and into free agency.
Kristian Williams, defensive tackle:No. 393 on Mock Draft Database
Marcus Bryant, offensive tackle:No. 591
Nate Noel, running back:No. 596
Marcus Carroll, running back:No. 599
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There are 257 picks in this year's draft, so it's unlikely that any other Mizzou players hear their names called other than the five players listed in the current projections.
Williams, a key three-year member of Mizzou's defensive line, appears to have the best chance at being picked up as an undrafted free agent.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's where Missouri football NFL Draft prospects are projected to land
