Penn State star stays in-state in latest PFF mock draft

Pro Football Focus analyst Austin Gayle released a two-round mock draft earlier this week, featuring three Nittany Lions and a fun twist for Penn State fans from the eastern side of Pennsylvania.

Gayle projects that the Philadelphia Eagles will select Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker in the second round at No. 51 overall.

The PFF Big Board has Brisker at No. 38 overall, meaning the Eagles would be getting some nice value for their pick if this scenario played out.

Brisker is the third safety prospect off Gayle’s board in this mock draft, following Kyle Hamilton of Notre Dame and Jalen Pitre of Baylor.

Brisker spent three seasons at Penn State after transferring from Lackawanna College. Last season, he made 63 total tackles, came down with two interceptions and broke up five passes. He also compiled six tackles for loss.

Pro Football Focus gave him an 82.4 overall defensive grade on the season.

Penn State WR Jahan Dotson

Star Nittany Lion wideout Jahan Dotson seems to be trending outside the first round among some draft experts. He did not appear in first-round mocks released this week by NFL.com and CBS.

Gayle has him going early in the second round in this projection, with the Houston Texans taking the Penn State product at No. 35 overall.

Dotson is the sixth wideout off Gayle’s board.

The Texans are a franchise in transition, and, while Brandin Cooks is a nice option, there is certainly a dearth of outside weapons in Houston. Dotson would get plenty of opportunities to form a connection with quarterback Davis Mills.

Dotson finished the 2021 season with 1,182 receiving yards in 12 games. He found the end zone 12 times, injecting some much-needed dynamism into a Penn State offense that was stale at times.

Nittany Lion DE Arnold Ebiketie

Edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie is another prospect who seems to be causing some disagreement among experts.

He was the subject of an interesting debate between ESPN analysts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, which you can read about here.

For his part, Gayle projects Ebiketie to go 42nd overall to the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle had a below-average pass rush in 2021, getting to the quarterback just 34 times in 17 games, the worst mark in the highly competitive NFC West division.

Ebiketie’s pure pass-rushing abilities would certainly help them with that problem.

A transfer from Temple, Ebiketie garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors for his fantastic season at Penn State in 2021, which saw him get to the quarterback 9.5 times and make 18 tackles for loss as well.