Star receiver from Boise State and a legacy for the Vandals to compete at NFL Combine
Boise State has had a player selected in the NFL Draft for 12 consecutive years, dating back to 2010.
The most likely candidate to be the next Bronco hearing his name called is wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who has a chance to improve his draft stock this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The event begins Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and wraps up next Monday. Shakir is one of 324 players from around the country who were invited. They’ll showcase their speed, agility and strength in workouts in front of scouts, and do their best to impress during interviews with NFL teams.
For Shakir — a 6-foot, 190-pound slot receiver — the 40-yard dash and three-cone drill will be especially important. A 40-yard dash time anywhere near 4.4 seconds could put him squarely in the second-round range, according to analysts from the NFL Mock Draft Database.
Overall, NFL Draft analysts have been split on Shakir. Some see him coming off the board somewhere between the second and fourth rounds. Other have referred to him as a “late-round steal.”
ESPN Draft Analyst Todd McShay said Shakir helped his case as a possible second- or third-round pick with his performance during a week’s worth of practices leading up to the Senior Bowl in January.
“There’s a bunch of guys vying for that second- or third-round range, and I think Shakir really helped himself today,” McShay said during an ESPN broadcast from the Senior Bowl.
Shakir earned a lot of praise for his elusiveness and ability to run crisp routes during those practices, but he didn’t play in the annual all-star game in Mobile, Alabama, for unspecified reasons.
Scouts can comb through plenty of game film from Shakir’s four-year career at Boise State, though. The native of Murrieta, California, posted a career’s worth of improbable catches last season alone.
Shakir, who has hired agents from Steinberg Sports, ended his college career ranked No. 5 all-time at Boise State with 208 receptions, No. 4 with 2,878 receiving yards and tied for No. 9 with 20 receiving touchdowns.
A family tradition
Shakir is the only Boise State player who earned an invitation to the NFL Combine this year. He isn’t the only college football player from Idaho heading to Lucas Oil Stadium, though.
University of Idaho defensive lineman Noah Elliss will also work out for scouts this week.
Elliss — a former four-star recruit who signed with Mississippi State in 2017 — transferred to Idaho in 2019. Lining up primarily at nose tackle, he posted career highs in tackles (46) and tackles for loss (6.5) last season.
The 6-foot-4, 359-pound nose tackle is one of the biggest players available in this year’s draft. He also comes from a long line of NFL players.
His father, Luther, began his NFL career as the No. 20 overall pick in the 1995 draft. He spent the next nine seasons as a defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions and the final season of his playing career with the Denver Broncos in 2004.
Luther Elliss began his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Idaho in 2017, and he spent five seasons with the Vandals. After former Idaho coach Paul Petrino and his staff were fired last November, Elliss was hired in January as the defensive line coach at his alma mater, the University of Utah.
Noah Elliss also has the chance to be the third member of his family to move on to the NFL after suiting up for the Vandals. His older brothers, Kaden and Christian, were both linebackers.
Kaden was picked by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in 13 games and posted eight solo tackles last season. Christian wasn’t drafted last year, but he signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings. He was waived before the season began and made a brief stop on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad before spending most of last season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
Mountain West players at NFL Combine
Shakir isn’t the only player from the Mountain West who will perform this week at the event. Six San Diego State players will be there, among the 14 from the league who earned invitations.
- QB Carson Strong, Nevada
- RB Greg Bell, San Diego State
- RB Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State
- WR Khalil Shakir, Boise State
- WR Romeo Doubs, Nevada
- TE Daniel Bellinger, San Diego State
- TE Trey McBride, Colorado State
- TE Cole Turner, Nevada
- OL Bill Dunkle, San Diego State
- OL Zach Thomas, San Diego State
- DL Jordan Jackson, Air Force
- Cameron Thomas, San Diego State
- LB Chad Muma, Wyoming
- P Matt Araiza, San Diego State
