DaeSean Hamilton Cracks Mel Kiper’s Top 10 NFL Draft Prospect Positional Rankings
Penn State wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton landed among the top-10 wide receivers for the upcoming NFL Draft in a position ranking released by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper on Friday.
Hamilton came in at No. 9 on Kiper’s list of wideouts, just behind D.J. Chark of LSU. The four-year starter finished his career at Penn State as the program’s all-time leader in receptions. Since last playing for the Nittany Lions, Hamilton has suited up in both the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game to tune up for the NFL Combine.
Coupled with his strong senior season, Hamilton’s solid performances in those two college all-star games (or at least practices) have helped to boost the receiver into Kiper’s top ten. The combine and Penn State’s pro day bring two more opportunities for Hamilton to continue his rise up scouts’ draft boards. Currently, NFL.com projects Hamilton as a fourth-round pick.
Also listed in Kiper’s rankings were another pair of former Nittany Lion offensive standouts – Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki.
Barkley is listed as the No. 1 ranked running back in Kiper’s rankings, in addition to still owning the title of Kiper’s No. 1 overall prospect for the draft. Kiper called Barkley “a lights-out athlete,” in addition to noting that the back is “a stellar runner.”
Gesicki landed at No. 4 in Kiper’s position rankings. Dallas Goedert (South Dakota State), Mark Andrews (Oklahoma), and Hayden Hurst (South Carolina) are the three tight ends currently ranked ahead of Gesicki.
In a somewhat surprising omission, Marcus Allen failed to make Kiper’s rankings. The safety was a standout performer on the defensive side of the ball for the Nittany Lions since his freshman season, making his exclusion from the list puzzling. NFL.com‘s current projections show Allen as a fourth-round selection, and CBS ranks Allen as the fifth-best free safety entering the draft.
Allen is a lethal hitter, superbly athletic (just ask Urban Meyer), an energetic prescence in the locker room, and a leader for a Penn State defense that contributed to a Big Ten Title and a Fiesta Bowl victory by the time the safety left Happy Valley.
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