NFL Draft: Will any UNC players be selected?

Where will UNC prospects go in the 2016 NFL Draft?

In 2015 the University of North Carolina saw no Tar Heels drafted in the NFL Draft. This is the first time that has happened since 2007 and third time over all (the other time was in 1970). In the seven drafts between 07 and 15, the Heels saw 30 players including seven first round picks.

So why did those two drafts stand out? Well both were disappointing. In 2006 the Heels went 3-9 and in 2014 they went 6-7 with two ugly losses to end the season. Bad teams tend not to produce a ton of players in the draft. Secondly the 2014 team was one of the first classes effected by the scholarship reduction. Fewer scholarships, saddled with a post season ban in 2012 left the school a little bare in the cupboard.

So will this season be different? UNC has never gone two consecutive drafts without at least one player being drafted since the NFL/AFL merger back in 1967. To be fair some of those drafts had 14 rounds, but nonetheless, Carolina has produced at least one draftable player for most NFL seasons. Add into the fact that the Heels went 11-3 with their best season since 1997 and this team should easily have a pick or two, right?

Well maybe. The same thing that plagued UNC last year, is still in effect with this class, the lack of scholarships. Toss in the fact that most of UNC’s best players are young and chose to stay in school and what you get is a small pool of candidates to choose from. In fact according to ESPN insiders, North Carolina only has five draftable players: Landon Turner, Marquise Williams, Quinshad Davis, Justin Thomason, and Jeff Schoettmer. Of those five only Turner has a grade that is higher than seventh round to undraftable.

So what are each of these players chances of getting drafted? Lets take a look one by one.