A detailed look on where South Carolina players might land in this week’s NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is almost here.

Several former Gamecocks are expected to hear their names called this week. Draft festivities get started with the first round on Thursday night and continue Friday and Saturday.

The State spoke with NFL.com draft analyst Eric Edholm to get more insight into where former South Carolina players might land and what pro teams are expecting out of this year’s crop of prospects from Columbia.

Note: Some answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Ben Portnoy: Most South Carolina draft talk this year has centered on Cam Smith and Darius Rush. What are your thoughts on either guy heading into next week?

Eric Edholm: “Well, first off, if you look big picture, the Gamecocks have done pretty well for themselves at that position in recent years. Between Jaycee Horn, Israel Mukuamu and Rashad Fenton, core special-teams guys like Keisean Nixon and Chris Lammons, and even Stephon Gilmore if you want to go back that far, it’s been a nice little spot for mining DB talent. People like to shop on busy streets, I like to say, so I don’t discount that element.

“With Smith, there’s perhaps a wider range of outcomes — from near-bust to near-star — whereas I see Rush as being maybe just a little more of a reliable prospect. I think both will be off the board by the middle of Round 3 at the latest, with Round 2 very possible for both.”

BP: Sticking with Smith, he’s seemingly slipped a bit from a projected mid-first round pick to the back-end of Day 1 or early Day 2. Why is that and where do you think he ends up landing?

EE: “I think it’s thanks to a few factors. One, he only weighed 180 pounds, which is on the leaner side for a 6-foot-1 corner. The play style is also something you have to grapple with. He’s aggressive — sometimes to a fault — and it didn’t result in a ton of plays on the ball. I think he averaged a penalty a game last season, and I watched the Vandy and Tennessee games that had some shaky moments.

“I love Smith’s confidence, but his temperament might not be for everyone. He’s also had a slew of little injuries that have added up. Plus, it’s a good CB crop — one of the deeper ones in years.

“There might be teams that rate him as a late 1, but I have not specifically heard that from the ones I’ve talked to and asked about him. So it’s possible. First 20 to 25 picks of Round 2 feels a bit more likely given the depth of this class.”

BP: On Rush, he’s shot up draft boards post-Senior Bowl. What about him has people intrigued and where could we expect to see him go?

“My guess is that scouts didn’t know he was quite as fast as he ran at the combine. I think they saw him as a 4.5-range guy coming into the season. Rush also had a very good Senior Bowl overall — he played well in the practices and also measured as one of the faster on-field testers, too. So you have 6-2, 200 pounds, sub-4.4 speed and quality character and football temperament, and it’s about as good of prospect calculus — at a priority position — as you can ask for. Plus, he was a late bloomer and still relatively new to the position, too, so even though he’s a fifth-year player, there might be some untapped upside there.

“I think he has a shot to be pretty good, maybe like a Martin Emerson for the Browns or Michael Davis for the Chargers. “

BP: Zacch Pickens was a five-star, elite-level recruit. What do NFL teams see in him?

EE: “He might have been their highest-rated senior prospect entering the season, too. The feeling seemed to be that last season could be his breakout year, but the production just never took off. I thought Pickens played well at the Senior Bowl overall, and his combine testing numbers were really nice — you just wish he had a little more sand in his pants and a little more power in his game.

“I doubt he’ll suddenly develop into a game wrecker, but I see a very solid, dependable starter or rotational player who might be able to harness a little more pass-rush ability in the NFL. I’d guess he’s in that mid-third to early-fourth range as a nose tackle/1-technique or perhaps a 3-tech. He also could be an odd-front end for a team like the Steelers.”

BP: Are there any other guys in the South Carolina contingent we’re not talking about (Nate Adkins, Jovaughn Gwyn, Josh Vann, Jalen Brooks, Dylan Wonnum, etc.) that maybe we should be?

“With Gwyn, he’s been talked about a lot as a center convert. He’s just so short-framed, it’s basically his best shot, although he’s played guard well in the SEC. If he has proven to teams he’s worth a shot as a backup center, I could see him being a late pick. OL coaches will appreciate the strength and the durability he’s shown.

“Brooks is borderline draftable. He just missed so much time in his career and isn’t really fast at all. He’s really long, which is fascinating, and could be an intriguing 50-50 guy, but I don’t quite see a full package there.

“I’d rate Adkins and Vann as (priority free agents). Adkins, I think, has to be a fullback, which limits his options — teams like the Ravens, Raiders, 49ers, Dolphins, Falcons and Texans are the only ones that really keep one on the roster. I saw Vann had some nice workout numbers, but he probably has to make it as a special-teamer. I don’t know what to do with Wonnum. He chose not to lift and weighed 263 pounds. That’s not going to cut it. His best shot is landing on a practice squad Year 1 and being put through an NFL strength program, if he can stay healthy.”

BP: Any other parting thoughts on the South Carolina crew going through this year’s draft process?

EE: “Overall, it’s a good group, albeit lacking in household names and higher-end talent. I know they’ve lost some guys to the portal and even could have had more in this class. I secretly wish Jaheim Bell came out instead of leaving, but we’ll circle back on him — in another uniform — in about six months’ time.”