Previewing Penn State and Day 2 of the NFL Draft: How many Lions will go on Friday?
Penn State football saw its first former player go off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Receiver Jahan Dotson went 16th overall to the Washington Commanders in round one. Now, other one-time Lions are hoping to join him in hearing their names called during the pro selection process.
Here is everything you need to know to get ready for the evening ahead.
When does Day 2 of the NFL Draft start?
Rounds 2 and 3 will be completed on Friday night. The first pick will be made at 7 p.m., ET and the television window runs until 11:30 p.m.
ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network all televise the draft with different casts. And, On3 has a live tracker that you can follow here.
How many Penn State players are off the board?
As noted above, it’s just Dotson. This space is expected to be much bigger on Saturday, however. We’ll cover why in a moment. First, though, let’s hear one final time why Washington wanted the 2021 Penn State All-American.
“The thing that’s really good about the way he plays, that you really appreciate, is that he goes after the football,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera told reporters.
“He’s got a tremendous catch radius, as you saw by some of the highlights. His focus on the ball is tremendous. On those 50-50 balls, he’s coming down with it. You’re excited about that.”
Added GM Martin Mayhew:
“He brings a lot to the table and helps us out in a lot of different ways.”
Dotson is the first first-round Penn State receiver taken since Bryant Johnson in 2004.
Who could go on Friday?
Penn State should see at least two of its former players go early on Friday.
Both end Arnold Ebiketie and safety Jaquan Brisker were fringe first-round possibilities who fell out of the first 32 picks. However, both are among the top-ranked prospects available on multiple draftniks boards.
“Arnold Ebiketie … a guy who went from Temple to Penn State, and all he did was produce at both schools,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper said on SportsCenter early Friday morning. “I thought he could be a late first-round pick.”
“Now he’s here in a second. I think he’s one of the best pass rushers in this draft. I think he’s going to be a great pick in Round 2. I’ll be talking about him a lot [Friday] night.”
ESPN says Ebiketie is the fifth-best player still available and has Brisker at No. 34. NFL.com has both on a similar list, as well. Former Penn State players Brandon Smith, Tariq Castro-Fields, and Jordan Stout are also inside analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s top-150 rankings.
How many Penn State players will go Friday?
If forced to set an over/under, we’d put it at 2.5 and take the under based on our pre-draft predictions, which you can read here.
While Ebiketie and Brisker are sure to be picked by the time Friday turns into Saturday, don’t be shocked if another Penn State player is picked, too, before the San Francisco 49ers close things out with pick No. 105 to end Round 3. However, we’ll bet against it heading into the evening.
