ESPN’s draft model projects range in NFL Draft for ASU’s Aiyuk, Benjamin
Apr 22, 2020, 10:32 AM
ASU wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) and running back Eno Benjamin. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
We try to use as much as possible to get a decent forecast on what could happen in the NFL Draft. Whether it’s assessing a team’s needs or the range of certain prospects, it’s a combination of several different factors.
ESPN’s Stats & Information Group created a tool that does just that, factoring in mock drafts, team needs, scouting assessment and trade possibilities to determine where prospects could land in the draft.
The draft projection model includes the range for two Arizona State products: wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and running back Eno Benjamin.
Aiyuk is slotted anywhere from 20th to No. 50, with his average landing spot just outside the first round at 33.3.
Aiyuk’s draft stock has been helped by his burst onto the scene in 2019 but dinged some by the unusual depth of this wide receiver class. Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III along with Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb project to get taken before Aiyuk, but the Sun Devil standout from last season could be the next pass-catcher off the board.
The junior college transfer had 474 yards from scrimmage for ASU in 2018 as now-Patriots wideout N’Keal Harry carried much of the load at receiver. But in 2019, Aiyuk emerged as the No. 1 receiver threat for the Sun Devils as he went on to have 1,192 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games, often racking up a lot of his yards after the catch.
As for Benjamin, with him being ranked in the Day 2 and 3 area, his range is a lot wider. The model has his best-case scenario as 92nd in the end of the third round, while his average pick at 145th places him on the bubble of the fourth round.
Benjamin rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his last two seasons. Over three years for the Sun Devils, Benjamin accumulated 2,687 yards on the ground and 27 touchdowns.
