Penn State football: Yetur Gross-Matos, Micah Parsons potential No. 1 picks?
Could Penn State football stars Yetur Gross-Matos and Micah Parsons become No. 1 picks when they enter the NFL Draft?
Becoming the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft is perhaps the highest honor you can get as a college prospect. Sure, the individual awards at the end of the season, including the Heisman Trophy are high honors, but ultimately, players are working for one thing in the NCAA. That’s getting drafted as high as possible in the NFL.
For whatever reason, whether it’s more money or better bragging rights, players tend to obsess over where they could get drafted. And becoming the No. 1 pick is a top priority for some of college football’s best. Since 2000, only one Penn State football player was selected with the first-overall pick in the NFL Draft. It just so happened to be defensive end, Courtney Brown.
Following Brown in 2000, Lions’ linebacker LaVar Arrington got selected as well, making it back-to-back Lions. Since then, Penn State hasn’t had that kind of draft success. They’ve only had two prospects get selected within the top five in recent history — 2007 with offensive tackle Levi Brown, and most recently in 2018 with running back Sqauon Barkley.
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Last year, the Lions didn’t even have a first-round pick come off the board but don’t expect that to be the new norm. Seeing as though the Lions have quite a powerful defense, they have a handful of prospects who are already on the NFL’s radar. And in the eyes of Bleacher Report, the Lions could have two prospects currently on board who are potential No. 1 picks, or top-five at least.
Back to back first picks for the Lions?
"“Oklahoma just went back-to-back with the No. 1 picks, so could Penn State be the next team to pull it off? Gross-Matos recorded 20 tackles for loss in 2018 and is likely to be either a second-team or third-team preseason All-American. Meanwhile, Parsons led the Nittany Lions in tackles as a true freshman and should have a lot of allure among NFL scouts as a guy who could thrive at either linebacker or defensive end.”"
Yetur Gross-Matos has built quite the buzz around his name last season. He led the Lions’ defensive line in sacks with eight total. He ranked sixth on the team in total tackles with 54. After his breakout year, Gross-Matos established himself as a potential first-round pick in the eyes of many scouts. With some experience under his belt, Gross-Matos’ 2019 effort could put his draft stock over the top, having him viewed as a consensus top-five pick in 2020.
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As for Micah Parsons, he will have a little bit more time than Gross-Matos will. As a freshman, Parsons dominated on defense for the Lions. He recorded 82 total tackles, which ranked as the most on the Lions defense. Next season, he will only get better. And after a hard-working offseason, it sure sounds like Parsons could be doing a lot more than just making tackles.