Chubb, Finley, and some NFL mock drafts

To the surprise of absolutely nobody who has watched NC State football over the past two-plus years, Bradley Chubb is a very good football player at both doing awesome football things himself and at making other people do most decidedly un-awesome football things. This, it turns out, is going to get Bradley payed handsomely. Good for him.

As the season has progressed, Chubb has worked his way up draft boards. Starting as a fringe first rounder to a definite first rounder to a top-15 pick to a top-10 pick to now a top-5 pick, Chubb has been fun to watch both on the field and off of it in the imaginary paper GM world.

Come April, Chubb won’t be the only State player to hear his name called in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he hasn’t been the only State player working his way up draft boards this year either. The talented group that Dave Doeren and staff have assembled in Raleigh could see half a dozen or more players drafted. Among them, Ryan Finley has used his excellent 2017 super-redshirt-junior campaign to work his way into the discussion as a potential early entry and high draft pick.

Taking a look at some of the mock drafts making their way around:

• USA Today’s DraftWire (11/15) mock draft has Chubb going 4th overall to the Colts, Finley going in the 2nd round (39th overall) to the Broncos, and Jaylen Samuels going in the 3rd round (94th overall) to the Patriots.
• CBS Sports (11/15) has Chubb going 1st overall to the Browns (this would be fine) and Finley projected as a first round pick at 21st overall to the Bills.
• This other CBS Sports mock draft from Chris Trapasso (10/27) has Finley going 7th overall as the QB of the future in Arizona, with Chubb dropping to 20th to the Panthers. Interestingly, this would have both players being drafted by their hometown/state teams.
• Sports Illustrated (11/7) and the mothership at SB Nation (11/13) both have Chubb at 4th overall to the Colts. Bleacher Report (11/13) has him going 5th overall to the Bengals.
• The San Diego Union Tribune (11/15), like the Bleacher Report mock draft, has Chubb going 5th overall to the Bengals, while Ryan Finley goes 11th overall to the Jets.