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http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2014/05/05/nfl-draft-former-gophers-db-brock-vereen-could-get-drafted-on-second-day/
Brock Vereen was a backup safety for the Gophers two years ago but he ended the final year of his career as an All-Big Ten first-team performer after starting at safety and cornerback in 2013.
Now the 6-foot, 200-pound Vereen is getting closer to joining his older brother, New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen, in the NFL. Brock Vereen’s path to the next level seemed destined at one time for the undrafted free agent route at best.
But Vereen’s projected to go as early as the second day of this week’s NFL Draft, which starts with the first round on Thursday. The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday. I wrote about fellow Gopher Ra’Shede Hageman’s chances as a first-round pick here
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, who has Vereen going in the third round, called the sleeper University of Minnesota product “one of the most underrated players in the draft.”
NFL Network analyst Charles Davis expects Vereen to get selected no later than the fourth or fifth round.
“He’s played a lot of safety,” Davis said. “He’s one of those quicker safeties that you can plug in and play free and strong, although he seems to be a lot more closer to the line of scrimmage. He’s more of a playmaker in that way. I’ve had some teams that thought with his speed and quickness he might be corner.”
After the NFL combine, Vereen saw his chances of getting drafted go from probable to almost definite. He ranked among the top performers at his position in 40-yard dash (4.47 seconds), bench press (25 reps of 225 pounds), three-cone drill (6.9 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.07 seconds). His vertical jump also measured at a respectable 34 inches.
Vereen finished his senior season with 59 tackles and six pass breakups. He started the last seven games at cornerback but started at safety for the first six games last year.
“He’s a guy who we haven’t talked about much going into the draft,” Davis said. “But it wouldn’t surprise me for him to come off the board on Day 3. I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
Vereen’s brother told Patriots.com radio last week that Brock was trying hard not to pay attention to all of the mock drafts. Shane Vereen went in the second round and 56th overall to New England in 2011.
“He never really knows, and he’s so anxious that he more or less just keeps to himself,” Shane Vereen said. “I was a nervous wreck for a solid two weeks (when he got drafted). I didn’t want to talk to anybody. I didn’t want to be bothered. I’m trying to help him be calm about it, knowing that ‘it’s going to be OK’. It doesn’t really matter where you get drafted but it matters what happens when you get there.”
Shane admitted that Brock was a better athlete and has many attractive traits for NFL teams.
“He’s a good kid,” Shane said. “He’s not going to cause any problems. He’s going to give you his best, day in and day out. He’s smart. He’s smarter than me I would say. He got better grades than me in school. He’s got all the potential in the world.”
Brock Vereen was a backup safety for the Gophers two years ago but he ended the final year of his career as an All-Big Ten first-team performer after starting at safety and cornerback in 2013.
Now the 6-foot, 200-pound Vereen is getting closer to joining his older brother, New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen, in the NFL. Brock Vereen’s path to the next level seemed destined at one time for the undrafted free agent route at best.
But Vereen’s projected to go as early as the second day of this week’s NFL Draft, which starts with the first round on Thursday. The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday. I wrote about fellow Gopher Ra’Shede Hageman’s chances as a first-round pick here
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, who has Vereen going in the third round, called the sleeper University of Minnesota product “one of the most underrated players in the draft.”
NFL Network analyst Charles Davis expects Vereen to get selected no later than the fourth or fifth round.
“He’s played a lot of safety,” Davis said. “He’s one of those quicker safeties that you can plug in and play free and strong, although he seems to be a lot more closer to the line of scrimmage. He’s more of a playmaker in that way. I’ve had some teams that thought with his speed and quickness he might be corner.”
After the NFL combine, Vereen saw his chances of getting drafted go from probable to almost definite. He ranked among the top performers at his position in 40-yard dash (4.47 seconds), bench press (25 reps of 225 pounds), three-cone drill (6.9 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.07 seconds). His vertical jump also measured at a respectable 34 inches.
Vereen finished his senior season with 59 tackles and six pass breakups. He started the last seven games at cornerback but started at safety for the first six games last year.
“He’s a guy who we haven’t talked about much going into the draft,” Davis said. “But it wouldn’t surprise me for him to come off the board on Day 3. I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
Vereen’s brother told Patriots.com radio last week that Brock was trying hard not to pay attention to all of the mock drafts. Shane Vereen went in the second round and 56th overall to New England in 2011.
“He never really knows, and he’s so anxious that he more or less just keeps to himself,” Shane Vereen said. “I was a nervous wreck for a solid two weeks (when he got drafted). I didn’t want to talk to anybody. I didn’t want to be bothered. I’m trying to help him be calm about it, knowing that ‘it’s going to be OK’. It doesn’t really matter where you get drafted but it matters what happens when you get there.”
Shane admitted that Brock was a better athlete and has many attractive traits for NFL teams.
“He’s a good kid,” Shane said. “He’s not going to cause any problems. He’s going to give you his best, day in and day out. He’s smart. He’s smarter than me I would say. He got better grades than me in school. He’s got all the potential in the world.”
