Oklahoma State Football: Mason Rudolph and James Washington should be first round picks
The two best players on the Oklahoma State football roster, Mason Rudolph and James Washington, are both projected my multiple sources as first round picks.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys generated quite the hype train during the offseason. Let the hype run it’s course until we see the Pokes take the field on August 31 in the season opener against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The main reason for the hype is the return of quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington for their senior seasons.
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Add those two to the already talented Cowboy roster and you’ve got a potent combination that lies among the nation’s best. However, the actual Oklahoma State team has been analyzed more than enough entering the 2017 campaign. Instead we turn our attention to their future and the 2018 NFL Draft.
Mock drafts are the earliest indication of where certain players project in next year’s draft. Walter Football projects Washington as a first round pick. Rudolph on the other hand, is not taken in the first two rounds. Yet, according to CBS Sports’ early 2018 NFL Mock Draft, Rudolph projects as a first round pick, 10th overall, to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington goes to the Buffalo Bills with the 11th overall pick.
Rudolph to the Jags in the top 10 is a popular opinion among early mock drafts. According to USA Today’s Draft Wire, Rudolph goes ninth overall to the Jags and Washington goes 31st overall to the Dallas Cowboys. Washington going to the Cowboys is a dream for Pokes fans to see both him and Dez Bryant in the same receiving corps.
A massive season approaches for both players
Much of Rudolph and Washington’s draft stock will be determined by what happens in 2017. Washington has already solidified himself as a perennial deep threat and speedster. He could make a difference for almost any NFL team. Rudolph could use one more good season in college. He has all the tools necessary. He just needs to prove himself.
Doubt hangs around Oklahoma State alum in the NFL because of the turnout of former Cowboys Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Both players were first round picks in the 2012 NFL Draft. However, Weeden is the only one still on a roster, serving as a backup for the Houston Texans. Blackmon dealt with drug issues since he was taken in the top five by the Jaguars. Some would think that the stigma of getting drafted by the Jaguars had more of a negative effect on Blackmon’s career than his personal issues.
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Rudolph and Washington are completely different players than Weedon and Blackmon. Despite some similar numbers, Rudolph is a better prototypical NFL quarterback with his size. Likewise, Washington is a better deep threat than Blackmon. Rudolph need another 4,000 yard passing season. Washington should be fine if he tops 1,000 yards. Both should be locked in as a first round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. The opportunity is there. They just each have to take it.