The NFL season is now over after the conclusion of the Super Bowl, and now it’s time for most NFL fans to look ahead to the draft. The Vols have several draft eligible players for the upcoming 2018 draft, and two of them have been predicted to get selected by a top NFL draft scout.
Matt Miller, the chief NFL draft scout for Bleacher Report, put out his full seven round mock draft on Monday morning, and two Vols were predicted to be drafted in the later rounds by him.
Running back John Kelly and defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie will both be drafted on the third and final day of the 2018 NFL Draft according to Miller. He has Kelly going to the New York Giants in the fifth round with the 130th overall pick, and he has McKenzie being selected by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round with the 169th overall pick.
Kelly would be the first Vol to be drafted by the New York Giants since Gibril Wilson was selected by them in the fifth round of the 2004 draft. The Giants only had one former Vol on roster this past season, and that was defensive lineman/linebacker Jordan Williams.
If McKenzie is drafted by the Dolphins, he would be the first Vol to be selected by Miami since Ja’Wuan James was drafted in the first round by the Dolphins in the 2014 draft. James is the only former Vols on Miami’s current roster.
Kelly finished his Tennessee career with 1,923 all-purpose yards and 15 total touchdowns. He had 1,573 rushing yards on 327 carries and added 350 receiving yards on 43 catches. McKenzie finished his Vol career with 72 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass break-ups, and a forced fumble in 31 games.
