The Razorbacks maintained their streak this weekend with 26 straight years with a player taken in the NFL Draft, thanks to sixth-round pick Jonathan Marshall, but it was still one of the quietest drafts the Hogs have had in a while–especially in comparison to other SEC programs.
While Arkansas and Vanderbilt each had one player drafted, Alabama had 10, Georgia had nine, Florida had eight, LSU had seven, Kentucky had six, Mizzou had five, A&M, Auburn and South Carolina had four and Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee had two.
Arkansas beat Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee and had close losses to Auburn and Missouri, so it should be noted that the number of draft picks doesn't perfectly correlate to victories. The Hogs also had 10 seniors opt to stay on the Hill for another season, including a couple who may have been drafted in the later rounds like Myron Cunningham and Grant Morgan.
Looking ahead to next year's draft, not only will the Hogs very likely have more than one player drafted, they'll probably have at least two taken in the first four rounds.
Right on cue, a dozen different outlets have already posted mock drafts for 2022 and several have sophomore wide receiver Treylon Burks slotted around the bottom of the first round. Sports Illustrated has the Warren native going at No. 29, Bleacher Report lists him at No. 25 and he's easily top 10 at his position (there were more than a dozen selected in this year's draft).
Burks caught 51 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games this season and PFF graded him No. 1 for QB passer rating when targeted. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound former Rivals 4-star did suffer an ACL injury coming out of high school and another knee injury kept him out of the game versus Auburn, but that shouldn't have a big effect on his draft stock. The Razorbacks are apparently already making adjustments to keep Burks healthy, relieving him of returning duties on special teams this spring.
Another Hog with very good NFL projections is safety Jalen Catalon. After overcoming a shoulder injury that forced him to redshirt his first year on the Hill, the Texas native broke out in 2020 and was named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
Catalon racked up a whopping 99 tackles with two forced fumbles and three interceptions, including one pick six. His overall defensive grade was 11th amongst those eligible for the 2022 draft at 79.4 with an 80.7 in coverage.
At left tackle, Cunningham could've taken a gamble on the 2021 draft but he chose to continue working with one of the best offensive line coaching duos in the country for one more year. The former JUCO standout graded out as the 17th best pass blocker in his class, allowing just 10 pressures with two sacks in 10 games. Run blocking is where he can make the most improvement heading into the 2021 season.
Cornerback Montaric Brown and guard Ty Clary are two from Arkansas's 2017 class that could go in next year's draft.
