NFL Draft Notes: Will Campbell, Nick Emmanwori, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward

NFL Draft

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is confident that he can be a franchise-changing quarterback and doesn’t want to be drafted by a team if they don’t believe in him doing just that.

“You think I’m worried about what critics say or what people got to say?” Sanders asked, via NFL.com. “You know who my dad is? They hated on him, too. So, it’s almost normal; without people hating, it’s not normal for us. We like the adversity. We like everything that comes with the name. That’s why we are who we are. We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back to back, so you don’t think I can come to an NFL franchise and change a program again? It’s history. We’ve done it again. It’s always going to repeat itself.”

“That’s the plan. If that’s not what you’re trying to do — don’t get me,” Sanders said when asked if he can change the culture of a franchise. “If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture — don’t get me. So, you should know history repeats itself over and over and over, and I’ve done it over and over and over, so it should be no question why a franchise should pick me. It’s extremely important to keep your mental in the best place because that’s where my game is played. My game’s not played from my legs and not even just my arm, so I know longevity, the all-time greats — what’s Tom Brady‘s best trait? His mental. He’s able to think. So, if you have those traits of greatness and I know where I’m headed, then why wouldn’t a franchise pick me? You’ve got the ultimate cheat code.”

Sanders told reporters at the combine that he is ready to compete no matter what number he gets picked at in the draft. He again referenced QB Tom Brady, noting how late he was selected by the Patriots back in 2000.

“The number of where you go don’t matter,” Sanders noted. “Like I said, this is why I reference Tom Brady because he was the best of the best in my category — he didn’t go first. So, the number getting picked don’t matter. I wasn’t the top-rated quarterback coming out of high school because there’s a lot of exterior things that people like and don’t like about me. I’m realistic. I’m realistic about my family and everything that people say it comes with.”

NFL Draft

Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com mentioned that the conventional minimum arm length for tackles is 34 inches. LSU OL prospect Will Campbell comes in at 33 and 7/8ths and brushed off the fact that he’s 1/8th of an inch below the threshold while speaking with reporters.

“I think I’ve shown everything that I need to, you know, show that I can play tackle at an elite level,” Campbell said, via Legwold. “You can go look at my tape, there’s not one play on there that when I get beat you say that’s because he has shorter arms. . . . Obviously I don’t have stereotypical offensive tackle arms. I’m aware of that. People have to nitpick something. I’ve heard it all my career. When I was coming out of high school, the college coaches all said the same thing. I proved them wrong; it’s something I anticipate doing again.”

“If you told me I was going to start at right guard versus be a backup at left tackle, I’m going to tell you to put me at right guard,” Campbell added. “I’ll play anything I need to, to get on the field, but I feel like I can play tackle . . . [but] I’ve been working on everything. I’m a versatile player, I can play wherever I need to play and do whatever I’ve got to do to get on the field.”

NFL Draft

• Ian Rapoport reports that if a quarterback is taken first overall, it is likely to be Cam Ward, based on conversations he has had with general managers and evaluators around the league.
• Rapoport adds that Shedeur Sanders is in consideration to be the second quarterback taken but remains unsure, noting that Jaxon Dart or Quinn Ewers could also be the second or third quarterback off the board.
• Jordan Schultz reports that Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan has been invited to Green Bay for the draft. 
• South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori had one of the best performances in the history of the NFL Scouting Combine when he vertical jumped 43 inches and broad jumped 11 feet, 6 inches, both the best among any defensive back this year. He also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds.
• Emmanwori is the only safety in Combine history to hit all three benchmarks of under 4.4 seconds in the 40, over 43 inches in the vertical, and over 11 feet in the broad jump. He is expected to be a first-round pick at 6-2, and 220 pounds.