Every Pac-12 school had a player picked in the 2020 NFL draft except one.
No Arizona Wildcats were selected in the three-day, seven-round draft, which concluded Saturday. The shutout continued a disconcerting pattern for the UA, which has struggled to produce NFL players in the post-Mike Stoops era.
This year’s draft marked the fourth time in the past eight years that no Wildcats were selected. Arizona has had four total players picked in the past five drafts, none higher than the fifth round.
From 2007-12, Arizona had at least two players drafted every year. Stoops was the Wildcats’ coach from 2004-11.
Successor Rich Rodriguez produced winning seasons in five of his six years as coach, but he and his staff failed to recruit and develop NFL players.
Three Wildcats were picked in the 2014 draft — tailback Ka’Deem Carey, cornerback Shaq Richardson and linebacker Marquis Flowers — but all were Stoops’ recruits.
Three Wildcats, all recruited by Rodriguez, had a chance to be picked in this year’s draft: tailback J.J. Taylor, quarterback Khalil Tate and cornerback Jace Whittaker.
Taylor and Whittaker were set to sign with teams as undrafted free agents — Taylor with the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, Whittaker with the Cardinals. Tate also was expected to sign as a UDFA with an NFL club.
It’s impossible to say how much the cancellation of Arizona’s pro day hurt the Wildcats’ 2020 prospects, but it definitely didn’t help. UA pro day had been scheduled for March 17, a few days after the sports world shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tate surely would have benefited from a pro day. Unlike Taylor and Whittaker, Tate wasn’t invited to a postseason all-star game or the NFL scouting combine.
Jace Whittaker finished his senior season with three interceptions, 55 tackles and a sack.
Tate spent much of his pre-draft prep working with former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb after an erratic career at Arizona. Tate had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2017 but struggled with injuries and the adjustment to a new coaching staff the following two seasons.
Tate might have had a better chance of being drafted had he been willing to try another position such as wide receiver. As an NFC area scout told NFL.com: “On paper he’s an easy position-switch candidate, but I doubt it happens.”
Kevin Sumlin took over as Arizona’s coach in January 2018, so it’s unfair to blame him and his staff for the Wildcats’ dearth of draftees; none of the high school players Sumlin has recruited has been eligible for the draft yet.
Sumlin and his staff did inherit Tate at a time when he seemed like a sure-fire pro. Tate failed to progress as an all-around quarterback under Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone.
Taylor, a third-team All-American in 2018, undoubtedly was hurt by his size (5-5, 185) and so-so time in the 40-yard dash (4.61 seconds). Taylor ranked in the top three among running backs at the combine in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle. But it wasn’t enough for Taylor to get drafted.
With his pass-catching skills, Taylor seemed like a good fit for the Cardinals’ wide-open offense. The Cardinals did take a tailback from the state in the seventh round, but it was Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin.
Taylor now heads to New England, which is rebuilding its offense without longtime starting quarterback Tom Brady. Taylor’s high football IQ and dogged work ethic will make him a good fit in Bill Belichick’s program.
Whittaker had a productive college career, recording 159 tackles and 41 passes defensed, including seven interceptions. He missed almost all of the 2018 season because of injuries and elected to return for a fifth year. He struggled at times after moving to safety.
Whittaker played his natural position, cornerback, at the East-West Shrine Bowl and projects as a slot corner in the pros. The Cardinals didn’t select any defensive backs in the draft, although their first-round pick, Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, could project to safety.
