NFL bosses break down players taken from Mizzou, Central Missouri in NFL Draft
The NFL Draft was good for the Missouri Tigers.
Five players were selected, the program’s most since 2015. The Chiefs made linebacker Nick Bolton their first selection, in the second round, No. 58 overall.
On Saturday, four more Tigers were taken: safety Tyree Gillespie by the Raiders in the fourth round (No. 138 overall); offensive lineman Larry Borom by the Bears in the fifth round (No. 151); safety Joshuah Bledsoe by the Patriots in the sixth round (No. 188) and running back Larry Roundtree III by the Chargers, also in the sixth round (No. 198).
Also, Central Missouri tight end Zach Davidson was selected in the fifth round by the Minnesota Vikings (No. 168). He’s the first Mules player drafted since 2006.
Here is what team personnel said about each of the Tigers and Davidson.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach on Bolton
“He’s a guy that can come in here and play at both the Mike position and Will position. He’s got sideline-to-sideline range. Tough, smart, can make all the (play) calls and has made all the calls. You look at Anthony Hitchens and he’s one of the guys who does that for us. But we’re really looking for some depth there.”
Raiders general manager Mike Mayock on Gillespie
“Going into today, we had no intention of trying to get Tyree Gillespie. But at a certain point he stood out like a sore thumb on our draft board. It wasn’t about need. It was about what we thought was a really good football player available much longer than we thought he’d be available. So we traded up and got Gillespie.”
Bears general manager Ryan Pace on Borom
“Just a versatile, big, powerful guy. Really transformed his body this spring. Moves really well on tape for his size. He lost of weight through the spring process, and at his pro day we thought he moved around really well. That gives us confidence that his best football is ahead of him. He can play tackle. He can play guard. There’s some versatility with him.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Bledsoe
“Bledsoe was a versatile player for Missouri, did a lot of different things for their team. Was in a couple of different staffs there. But through it all was a very athletic player. Was a high school quarterback, point guard. As a safety, a very instinctive player.”
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco on Roundtree
“This is one the scouts liked a lot. Played very well in the Senior Bowl. A lot of production at Missouri. Built well, strong, good body type, very good pass protector, catches the ball out of the backfield, and ran for a lot of yards. We think he can come in and compete for a job in the backfield and compete on special teams too.”
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on Davidson
“He’s a very unique story and unique athlete. He’s a 6-7 kid, 250, he ran 4.62 on our watch and he had an incredible vertical. They didn’t play this year (Central didn’t play a fall schedule because of the pandemic), so we went back to 2019 and you see this raw, natural athletic ability. At his pro day he made an incredible one-handed catch. This guy has a lot of potential we’d like to work with.”