KNOXVILLE - Tennessee won't have a player selected in the NFL draft's first round tonight, but at least a couple of former Volunteers appear likely to have their names called before the draft concludes Saturday.
The program ended a two-year NFL draft selection drought last year, when six former Vols were selected in the first four rounds, including Derek Barnett, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles with the 14th overall selection.
Tennessee running back John Kelly escapes LSU defensive back Donte Jackson during Saturday night's game at Neyland Stadium. Kelly completed a pass to junior walk-on Malik Elion for a 10-yard gain and a first down during the game.This year, a trio of early departures - Rashaan Gaulden, John Kelly and Kahlil McKenzie - are Tennessee's most likely draft candidates.
Most draft projections have Gaulden, a defensive back, and Kelly, a running back, as mid-round selections, while McKenzie is considered a possible late-round selection.
All three players left Tennessee with a season of eligibility remaining as the Vols came off a 4-8 campaign and underwent a coaching change.
Kelly emerged as Tennessee's lead running back in 2017 after the departures of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, who was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year as a third-round selection of the New Orleans Saints. Kelly is a step slower than Kamara but showed eye-catching versatility in 2017 with 37 receptions, which was tied for first on the team.
Kahlil McKenzie"A lot of teams have compared me to Alvin Kamara just as far as what we can do for an offense," Kelly said after working out at Tennessee's pro day last month. "I definitely feel like I was able to develop at Tennessee, being able to go out and catch the ball a little bit more, because now in the NFL there's a lot of running backs that have to catch the ball and you have to give an easy target for the quarterback."
Gaulden declared for the draft after a redshirt junior in which he emerged as the top playmaker on Tennessee's defense while playing nickel back. The biggest surprise of Tennessee's early departures was McKenzie, the son of Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. The younger McKenzie entered Tennessee as one of the top-rated players in the 2015 recruiting class.
He posted 35 tackles and two sacks in 2017. McKenzie was featured on a video by the "The Uninterrupted" that previewed the next step of his football career.
"In high school, I was thinking about what I need to do to get myself to that next level so that I can do what I need to do in college to get to the National Football League," McKenzie said. "That's all I've wanted to do. That's all I've known my whole life. With this time of being in between kind of playing and seeing where you'll end up, everything kind of slows down. You pay more attention to your body. You pay more attention to what you need to get better at on and off the field."
At least two other former Vols, punter Trevor Daniel and tight end Ethan Wolf, have an outside shot at being selected in the later rounds of the draft. Both are almost certain have free-agent opportunities if they are not selected.
Others who worked out at Tennessee's pro day in hopes of garnering interest from professional teams include: defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, athlete Evan Berry, offensive lineman Brett Kendrick, offensive lineman Coleman Thomas, offensive lineman Jashon Robertson, defensive back Shaq Wiggins, defensive back Justin Martin, linebacker Colton Jumper and kicker Aaron Medley.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.