Another NFL draft analyst has professed his admiration for former Arizona Wildcats star linebacker Scooby Wright.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com ranked Wright 31st in his initial list of the top 100 prospects for the 2016 draft.
Zierlein is the second analyst to place Wright in the late-first-round range. Earlier this month, Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus put Wright in his first-round mock draft, at No. 28.
My initial polling regarding Wright, pre-New Mexico Bowl, placed him in the third-round range. It’s important to note that virtually everything you read and/or hear about prospects between now and the April 28-30 draft in Chicago is opinion. Some opinions are more informed than others. And those opinions will change.
As Zierlein concedes in his introductory paragraph, “We're still in the early stages of draft season, so this list will evolve as I get deeper into evaluations.” In addition to further film study – which is especially critical in vetting underclassmen – evaluators still have to factor in all-star game performances, the scouting combine (Feb. 24-29 in Indianapolis), pro days, one-on-one interviews and background checks. So take January rankings and projections for what they're worth.
Zierlein was bullish on Wright before the 2015 season started, ranking him as the third-best linebacker prospect for 2016. Only UCLA’s Myles Jack and Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith were ahead of him. (Worth noting: All three suffered significant injuries since then.)
Here’s what Zierlein wrote about Wright in July:
“The champ is here! When it comes to productivity, nobody in college football touches Wright, who won the triple crown of awards for college front-seven players -- Bronko Nagurski, Lombardi and Chuck Bednarik -- last season. Wright finished 2014 with 163 tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 15 sacks thanks to a defense that allowed him to unleash his natural, attacking field demeanor. While Wright isn't the most athletic linebacker you'll see, he more than makes up for it with his elite instincts and quickness to beat blockers to the spot. Wright is incredibly decisive and generally reliable as a tackler. Posting these numbers as a sophomore is no accident. His junior year should be more of the same.”
Wright’s junior year obviously wasn’t more of the same; he played in only two-plus games because of knee and foot injuries. He returned for the New Mexico Bowl looking like his old self, albeit a bigger version of himself. Wright since has trimmed down, per Bruce Feldman of FoxSports.com:
In Miami, Wright has been working hard with trainer Pete Bommarito to get a bit smaller. By the end of this season, Wright was 254 pounds. “I couldn’t really run this year because I was in a boot for eight weeks,” Wright said. “All I was able to do (while injured) was lift, and I got as much cardio as I could on the bike.”
In a little over three weeks of training in South Florida, Wright told FOX Sports, he’s shed 18 pounds and is down to 238. Bommarito also changed the way Wright eats, putting him on a low-carb diet, which means lots of fish and chicken and no bread. Wright said he played at 245 in 2014 and plans on testing at the combine at 238.
We’ll have much more on Wright, receiver Cayleb Jones and Arizona’s other pro prospects as the pre-draft process continues over the coming months.
