Mel Kiper Jr. has three B1G players in top eight of Mock Draft 2.0

If you follow the NFL draft closely, you probably heard Mel Kiper Jr. speak highly of Taco Charlton. Kiper was high on the former Michigan defensive end in his Mock Draft 1.0, putting him at No. 19 overall.

At one point on a conference call last month, Kiper even called Charlton the best pass rusher in the draft. Perhaps forgetting about possible No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett, Kiper backed off that stance.

But he’s still clearly high on Charlton.

In his Mock Draft 2.0, Kiper had Charlton going off the board at No. 8 overall, which was 11 spots higher than he had him slotted at last time.

Kiper broke down Charlton’s rare skill-set:

He closed the season on an absolute tear as a pass-rusher, and he doesn’t just do it with speed. He offers legitimate size that you’d typically look for in a 4-3 edge defender, with length and weighing just a hair under 280 pounds.

Charlton was one of three B1G players in Kiper’s top eight and one of five B1G players overall. Ryan Ramczyk and Jabrill Peppers were pushed back while Malik McDowell was left out of the first round.

Here was where Kiper had each B1G player: