Boise State has had a player picked in the NFL Draft every year since 2010. Who’s next?
Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir didn’t even think about making the jump to the NFL last year, and he confirmed that he’ll be back this fall after the Broncos’ regular-season finale at Wyoming last December.
This year could be a different story, though. He has the option to come back for the 2022 season thanks to the extra year of eligibility the NCAA offered players because of the impact COVID-19 had on last season, but it sounds like he can feel his college career coming to an end.
“The way I’m thinking about it is I’m going into my fourth season. Usually, if there was no COVID or anything, it would be my last season,” Shakir told reporters in June. “But my mind isn’t on the 2022 draft. I’m thinking about what can I do today to be better for tomorrow.”
Shakir made an early impact for the Broncos as a freshman when his first career touchdown catch covered 49 yards and put Boise State ahead of Fresno State for good. In 2019, he led the team with 63 receptions, and he led the way last season with 52 catches for 719 yards and six receiving touchdowns.
The native of Murrieta, California, began his senior year on a down note after he missed spring ball while recovering from offseason surgery to repair a cracked bone in his foot — which he played on all last season — and a partially torn hamstring, which he suffered in the Mountain West championship game.
He only took part in the non-contact portions of the spring game in April, but Shakir said he stayed engaged even when he couldn’t get on the field and he feels as healthy as ever now.
“You can have that mentality that something has been taken from you or you can be involved and stay engaged,” Shakir said. “The best thing I did was stay in it and stay around the guys. I wasn’t thinking about that I was hurt. I was just happy to be here with everybody.”
There’s a good chance that Shakir will hear his name called sometime during the 2022 NFL Draft. If so, it will mark the 13th year in a row that Boise State has had at least one player drafted.
This year, tight end John Bates was picked in the fourth round by the Washington Football Team and signed a four-year contract worth $4.2 million. Two-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year Avery Williams went in the fifth round to the Atlanta Falcons and signed a four-year contract worth $3.7 million.
The 2022 NFL Draft — scheduled for April 28-30 in Las Vegas — is a little more than nine months away, but it’s never too early to start looking at the next crop of Broncos likely heading to the league. Here’s a look at which players may hear their names called or sign as undrafted free agents over the next two years.
2022
WR Khalil Shakir, 6-0, 190 — Shakir has the best chance on the team to hear his name called. He’s been mentioned among the best wide receivers in the Mountain West the past two years, and he may be the most versatile receiver in the conference. Last season, he lined up at wide receiver, slot receiver, running back and wildcat quarterback. In 2019, he caught six receiving touchdowns, ran for three more and threw for one.
He may not have the size most NFL scouts are looking for in a No. 1 receiver, but he runs crisp routes and barely ever drops a pass. He also has the it factor. Last season, he was the first player Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier looked to when the team needed a play to be made.
A lot of where Shakir lands in the draft will come down to how he performs this season and his 40-yard dash time at pro day or the NFL Scouting Combine. But his production in college is impossible to dismiss. In three seasons, he has caught 131 passes for 1,761 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushed for 284 yards and four more scores, thrown a touchdown pass and returned kicks and punts.
He’s not currently ranked in ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s top 10 draft-eligible wide receivers, and the NFL Draft Bible ranks him No. 25 among receivers in this year’s class, so Shakir may not hear his name called during the first two days of the draft, which cover rounds one through three. But he will almost certainly get the call somewhere in rounds four through seven.
OL Jake Stetz, 6-2, 310 — While Shakir may be the Broncos’ best chance to have a player drafted in 2022 based on production, offensive lineman Jake Stetz is a pretty safe bet to hear his name called based on size and need at his position in the NFL.
Stetz has appeared in 33 games since walking on at Boise State in 2017, and he told reporters last February that former Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell advised him to test the NFL waters in this year’s draft.
Stetz started every game last season at right guard, and he was named second-team All-Mountain West by Pro Football Focus. Earlier this month, he was named first-team preseason all-conference by PFF, which gave him a grade of 90.7 when it comes to blocking on passing plays since 2019, which leads all FBS guards.
He isn’t ranked among Kiper’s top 10 interior linemen, which makes it difficult to predict where he’ll land in the 2022 draft, but NFL teams can never have enough big bodies to throw into the trenches, so don’t be surprised to see him come off the board at some point.
Players to watch: LB Brock Miller, OL Uzo Osuji, DT Scale Igiehon, OL John Ojukwu, LB Riley Whimpey, WR CT Thomas, CB Caleb Biggers.
2023
RB George Holani, 5-11, 200 — Holani will be eligible for the 2022 draft, but he’s probably going to have to put up some pretty impressive numbers this season in order to make that jump. It might be a different story if he hadn’t missed most of last season with a knee injury. He did, after all, burst onto the scene with 1,014 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman. If he can repeat that kind of performance, it’s hard to imagine him sticking around for the 2023 season. He has the size, explosiveness and vision NFL scouts look for, and running backs are always in high demand.
S JL Skinner, 6-4, 216 — Skinner is another player who has all the physical tools NFL scouts are looking for. He’ll be a senior in 2022, and with a couple of big seasons under his belt, he could find himself with plenty of suitors at the next level. After appearing in every game for the Broncos as a freshman, he finished with 37 tackles and one interception in six games last fall and posted a career-high 11 tackles in the conference championship game against San Jose State.
QB Hank Bachmeier, 6-1, 205 — Like Holani, Bachmeier will be eligible for the draft after this season, but his track record of missing games will make it tough for him to make the jump to the NFL as an underclassman. He missed four games as a freshman because of injuries and two last season because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Bachmeier will be a senior in 2022, though, and if he can put together a couple of impressive seasons, he might just find himself on a team’s draft board. Is he truly an NFL quarterback? Only time will tell. He doesn’t have the size scouts look for, but he has shown plenty of accuracy on deep passes, he’s completed 62% of his passes over his career and he plays the premier position in the sport. So, who knows what could happen on draft day?
Players to watch: DL/LB Demitri Washington, CB Markel Reed, OL Garrett Curran, DT Scott Matlock, TE Riley Smith.
Boise State players drafted since 2010
2021 — TE John Bates, 4th round (Washington); CB Avery Williams, 5th round (Atlanta)
2020 — OL Ezra Cleveland, 2nd round (Minnesota); DE/LB Curtis Weaver, 5th round (Miami); WR John Hightower, 5th round (Philadelphia)
2019 — RB Alexander Mattison, 3rd round (Minnesota)
2018 — LB Leighton Vander Esch, 1st round (Dallas); WR Cedrick Wilson Jr., 6th round (Dallas)
2017 — RB Jeremy McNichols, 5th round (Tampa Bay); LB Tanner Vallejo, 6th round (Buffalo)
2016 — LB Kamalei Correa, 2nd round (Baltimore); S Darian Thompson, 3rd round (Giants); OL Rees Odhiambo, 3rd round (Seattle)
2015 — RB Jay Ajayi, 5th round (Baltimore)
2014 — DE DeMarcus Lawrence, 2nd round (Dallas); OL Matt Paradis, 6th round (Denver); OL Charles Leno Jr., 7th round (Chicago)
2013 — DB Jamar Taylor, 2nd round (Miami)
2012 — DE/LB Shea McClellin, 1st round (Chicago); RB Doug Martin, 1st round (Tampa Bay); DE Tyrone Crawford, 3rd round (Dallas); DB George Iloka, 5th round (Cincinnati); DT Billy Winn, 6th round (Cleveland); OL Nate Potter, 7th round (Arizona)
2011 — WR Titus Young, 2nd round (Detroit); WR Austin Pettis, 3rd round (St. Louis); DB Brandyn Thompson, 7th round (Washington)
2010 — DB Kyle Wilson, 1st round (Jets)
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
