Arizona Wildcats produce three picks at NFL Draft, the most for UA in a decade

In the last decade, not too many Arizona Wildcats have heard their names called at the NFL Draft. Heck, some years didn't have any Wildcats drafted — and it's a reflection of the program's three winning seasons since 2014. 

Even the years with draft picks from Arizona had guys taken late on Day 3 in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. There wasn't much to celebrate during the latter part of Rich Rodriguez's tenure and the entirety of the Kevin Sumlin era and the first two years with Jedd Fisch as the head coach in ’21 and ’22.

Coupled with grooming carry-over players, the Wildcats brought in high-level recruits and turned them into pro prospects — three of them, the most for the program since 2014. Left tackle Jordan Morgan, slot receiver Jacob Cowing and tight end Tanner McLachlan were the three Wildcats drafted this week. Running back Michael Wiley was not selected in the draft, but will likely sign with a team as an undrafted free agent. Defensive end Taylor Upshaw signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent; defensive tackle Tyler Manoa signed with the Minnesota Vikings. 

The first one off the board: Morgan, who was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 25th overall pick. The Tucson-area native and Marana High grad became the first UA first-rounder since cornerback Antoine Cason in 2008, and the highest-selected Wildcat since Chris McAlister in 1999.

The last Arizona offensive lineman to land in the first round was fellow Tucsonan John Fina in 1992. Morgan, who conceivably could've been a first-round pick last year but returned following a season-ending knee injury, is the 11th first-round draft pick in Arizona history.

"The whole process was just so crazy, and when it happened, man, my heart stopped," Morgan told Green Bay reporters. "Everything froze and then I got that call. ... It's such an honor. I cannot wait to get out there and protect for (quarterback Jordan Love). That's what offensive linemen are supposed to do: protect the quarterback, open holes for the running back, and that's what I'm here to do."

During Saturday's Day 3 of the draft, which is Rounds 4-7, Cowing was taken by the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers at No. 135 in the fourth round, while McLachlan, who was a projected fourth- or fifth-round pick, slipped to the sixth round and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals at 194th overall. 

Cowing became the first UA wide receiver drafted since Juron Criner in 2012. Cowing is the highest-selected Arizona receiver since Mike Thomas in 2009.

Cowing was the second wide receiver drafted by the San Francisco 49ers this year, along with former Florida Gator and Arizona State Sun Devil Ricky Pearsall. They join a wide receiver room that currently has standouts Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, also a former Sun Devil.

With Phoenix-area product Brock Purdy at quarterback, the 49ers averaged the second-most yards (398.4) in the NFL last season, and fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Cowing is now the second ex-Wildcat on San Francisco's roster for the upcoming season, along with linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. 

Before becoming a Niner, Cowing ended his collegiate career seventh all time in college football’s bowl subdivision (former Division I-A) with 4,477 career yards and ninth with 316 receptions. The slot receiver’s two touchdowns in the Alamo Bowl earned him offensive MVP honors for the bowl game and boosted him to first in program history in single-season touchdowns (13). Cowing’s 175 catches in two seasons at the UA placed him fifth on the school’s all-time receptions list.

Cowing, a two-year starter at Arizona after beginning his career at UTEP, displayed NFL-level speed at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis with a 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds, the 10th-best at the draft combine — fifth-best among wide receivers. Former Texas receiver Xavier Worthy, who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds, an all-time record at the combine. NFL's "Next Gen Stats" tracked Cowing at 14.96 miles per hour in the first five yards of the 40-yard dash — the best at the combine.

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Following an uber-productive college career and impressive showing at the combine, the 5-8, 168-pound Cowing entered the NFL Draft pool as a potential steal on Day 3 of the draft.   

"A lot of people question my height and stuff like that, but that's what my life has been ever since I first started playing football," Cowing told reporters in Indianapolis. "I like to use that as fuel to my fire, go out there and prove everyone wrong, and continue to be me, play my game and go out there and have fun with it." 

McLachlan is the first Arizona tight end drafted since four-time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski in 2010.

McLachlan bolsters a Cincinnati tight end room that just added former Dolphins and Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki and Erick All, the former Iowa tight end who the Bengals drafted in the fourth round on Saturday. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor worked with former UA head coach Jedd Fisch with the Los Angeles Rams, and visited Tucson during McLachlan's career.  

After transferring from Southern Utah in 2022, McLachlan ascended Arizona’s depth chart and morphed into the most productive UA tight end since "Gronk". McLachlan’s 79 career receptions passed Gronkowski for the most ever by an Arizona tight end. McLachlan concluded his UA career with 984 yards and six touchdowns. Arizona's pro-style offense under Fisch "prepared me for my next journey through the NFL,” McLachlan said.

“I wouldn’t change it at all. It was a great approach. Running the pro-style offense, I loved it. I don’t know why you would do anything different," he told the Star last month. "At the end of the day, you can say you love college ball, but every guy in college ball is trying to get to the NFL. To have something like implemented in, I don’t know why you would go a different direction. ...  It became easier and easier and I know that’s going to help me be more prepared when I go into NFL meeting rooms and see how well I know these offenses.”

The 6-5, 244-pound McLachlan ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds, the third-fastest time for tight ends at the NFL Scouting Combine this year. He posted a 35-inch vertical jump and nine-foot, nine-inch long jump. McLachlan received a 75 grade by NFL’s “Next Gen Stats,” which is the seventh-best grade for tight ends at the combine.

In his analysis of McLachlan on NFL.com, draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote, “While McLachlan has short arms and average speed, he still finds ways to go get the football outside his frame and does whatever it takes to add yards after catch. There are boxes that go unchecked, but his ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is the kind of intangible that often turns prospects into pros.”

While McLachlan has “the utmost confidence in my hands and catching the ball and I always find a way to get open,” his run-blocking is his most prominent weakness as he transitions to the NFL. McLachlan had a 54.6 run-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus this past season at Arizona. 

“If you turn on the film, a lot of people would say the same thing — and that’s the feedback I’ve been getting,” McLachlan said. “Converting from wide receiver to tight end, it is what it is, and I think I’m relatively new to the position, but on the same token, it shows I have a lot of growth still to be made. I’m an older guy in this draft class, but my ceiling is very high and I have a lot of football left in me.”

Next year could have even more Wildcats selected at the NFL Draft. Notable draft-eligible players next season include star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, quarterback Noah Fifita, cornerback Tacario Davis and defensive back Treydan Stukes, among others.

For the first time in a while, the NFL Draft is relevant at Arizona.