South Carolina football star mocked in 1st round of NFL Draft by Mel Kiper

With the NFL Draft about a month away, the majority of football coverage on major networks centers around the draft. Draft prep like the NFL Combine and pro days, draft projections, and draft analysis is on ESPN each day, and a couple of South Carolina football stars have been major points of discussion.

Spencer Rattler and Xavier Legette have been heavily debated as prospects this offseason. Rattler has been mocked all over the draft, projected anywhere from a 2nd round selection to a 5th round pick. Legette has seen some variance in his draft stock, as well, coming in at the back end of the 1st round in some mocks and in the 3rd round of others.

With over 5 weeks remaining until the 2024 NFL Draft, things still have plenty of time to change, but a recent mock draft from one of the biggest names in the NFL Draft world will be of interest to South Carolina foootball fans.

ESPN's Mel Kiper released his latest mock draft on Tuesday, and the 40-year draft veteran projected Gamecock receiver Xavier Legette to go in the 1st round to the Detroit Lions. The Lions already have Amon-Ra St. Brown on the roster, so if Legette was drafted by Detroit, he would be in a situation where receiver help is needed, but he would not be the only focus of defenses.

Kiper wrote that he pushed Legette up to the 1st round in his latest mock because of his strong showing at the NFL Combine. His 4.39 in the 40-yard dash showed that his run-away-from-the-defense production in 2023 was no fluke. If the Mullins, South Carolina native can get into space, he is a home run threat, whether on deep balls or on crossing routes through the middle of a defense.

In Kiper's mock draft, Legette was the 6th wide receiver drafted behind Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., and Xavier Worthy.