Vea and Pettis both have Pro Bowl potential in the NFL, according to Daniel Jeremiah.
Washington’s Vita Vea and Dante Pettis are among the top 50 NFL draft prospects in Daniel Jeremiah’s first rankings of the year.
Jeremiah, an NFL Networks’ analyst, has Vea ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect and Pettis as the No. 46 prospect. Both, he writes, have Pro Bowl potential in the NFL.
“Vea is a massive defensive tackle prospect with remarkable power, quickness and agility,” Jeremiah writes. “He’s a dominant run defender, routinely resetting the line of scrimmage against both individual blockers and double-teams. … Â Overall, Vea is a more athletic version of Haloti Ngata and should quickly emerge as a Pro Bowl player.”
Most agree that Vea, the Pac-12’s defensive player of the year, will be a top-15 pick in the draft.
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Pettis, Jeremiah writes, has a chance to be a “solid No. 2 wideout” in the NFL, adding that Pettis is “one of the best punt returners I’ve ever evaluated. He sets up blocks, gets north/south and makes defenders miss without gearing down.”
Pettis, of course, broke the NCAA record with nine career punt-return touchdowns as a UW senior last fall. He’s generally regarded as a second- or third-round pick.
The NFL draft is scheduled for April 26-28.
Other notable players ranked in Jeremiah’s top 50:
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
6. Sam Darnold, QB, USC
7. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
12. Ronald Jones, RB, USC
13. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
32. Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford
36. Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
42. Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon
43. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville