NFL Draft 2016: Connor Cook Still in the First Round Mix

Connor Cook has been well scrutinized as a 2016 NFL Draft prospect since ending his Michigan State football career, but he may end up a first round pick.

Connor Cook ended his Michigan State football career as one of the most, if not the most, accomplished quarterbacks in school history. He had the eye of NFL evaluators long before leading the Spartans to the college football playoff last season but it has been off-field concerns rather than his play could keep him from hearing his name called until day two of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Fair or unfair, Cook has had to deal with questions about his character as a leader and a teammate. A returning senior starting quarterback not being voted by his teammates as a team captain raises and eyebrow.

But in the NFL there is always a group of teams thirsting for their answer at quarterback and that pulls signal callers up draft boards. That could be Cook’s ticket to the first round and it isn’t wouldn’t be a shock if Cook goes to bed Thursday night as one of the NFL’s newest first round draft picks.

CBS Sports’ NFL insider Jason La Canfora is out with a new mock draft that he did in tandem with an scout to help him in the process. La Canfora doesn’t name this person, but offers the following in his introduction in his mock draft piece:

"In what I suppose is becoming a quasi-annual exercise, I concocted a mock draft with a highly-qualified NFL college scout, who has exhaustive first-hand knowledge with most of the top talent in this draft, and has seen pretty much all of the other names of note on tape. He’s spent time with many of these kids personally, he’s been on campus to talk to coaches and trainers and he’s been inside draft meetings.This is someone who has an exceedingly keen eye for talent that I have seen borne out over many years, and someone who isn’t trying to steer or sway me."

Notable in his mock draft is not only that Cook’s name appears as the Kansas City Chiefs’ first round pick, but with the following commentary accompanying the pick:

"We’re playing a hunch here. Plenty of teams have a first-round grade on him."

All it takes is one team with the right situation in one spot for Cook to become a first round pick but it sounds like there will be more than one opportunity for Cook to come off the board before Thursday night’s festivities end.

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Of course, it still needs to play out such that one of those “plenty teams” is on the clock with Cook at the top of their wish list. While there hasn’t been buzz about Cook going in the top half of the first round but there are a lot of intriguing options for Cook to be selected later on day one.

It has become vogue for teams to trade up from the top of the second round into the bottom of the first round to select a quarterback because first round rookie contracts come with team options for a fifth year after the standard four-year rookie contract. Teams like the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and San Francicso 49ers are teams that could bypass a quarterback in the top ten but pursue one via a trade up later.

This year’s draft also sees teams picking late in the first round that may like to sit tight and use the pick their quarterback of the future. That puts the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in play.

Next: Jack Conklin Generating Top Ten Draft Buzz

There is no guarantee but it looks like Michigan State football fans can watch the 2016 NFL Draft with high hopes that they see Connor Cook become the first Spartans quarterback drafted in the first round since Earl Morrall in 1956.

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