Scooby Wright declares for NFL Draft: Arizona LB a first round prospect?

Arizona Wildcats linebacker Scooby Wright is leaving school and declaring for the 2016 NFL Draft, but will he be taken in the first round?

Scooby Wright was the best defensive player in college football last year when he led the nation in tackles, tackles for loss, forced fumbles and was third in sacks but after an injury-plagued 2015, Wright has decided to leave school early and declared for the NFL Draft, according to Laura Rutledge.

Wright was injured in Arizona’s season opener and after making a brief return against UCLA was lost for the rest of the season due to injury, but he returned for Arizona’s bowl game against New Mexico in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl and had a dominating performance.

The 6-1, 246-pound linebacker went out with a performance that harkened back to his 2014 season that saw him win the Nagurski, Bednarik and Lombardi en route to All-American honors and a ninth-place finish in the Heisman voting. Wright had 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in the team’s bowl win. He added a quarterback hurry that resulted in an interception to clinch the game and end the Lobos rally.

Wright was an elite college football player but NFL scouts don’t view him as an elite NFL Draft prospect. According to one NFL scout, via The Arizona Republic, Wright projects as a third-round pick at best. He’s been compared to seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas who was a fifth-round pick.

That’s not a bad comparison for Wright who would take the career Thomas had in a heartbeat, but he’ll work to show NFL teams at the combine in February and at Arizona’s pro day that he’s worthy of being a first round pick.