STARKVILLE — Benardrick McKinney hasn’t played in a football game in more than three months.
That hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the most polarizing prospects in the upcoming NFL draft.
McKinney, a three-year stalwart in the middle of Mississippi State’s defense, ended his college career following a 49-34 loss to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. With two days remaining until the draft kicks off, even the most embedded experts are having trouble predicting where the 6-foot-4, 246-pound linebacker is headed.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, who had McKinney slotted as the draft’s No. 2 inside linebacker prospect following February’s NFL Combine, has dropped McKinney to fifth on that list. But Bucky Brooks, who also works for NFL Network, has McKinney listed as the draft’s top inside linebacker.
“He is a hard-hitting ‘Mike’ linebacker,” Brooks said. “He has the physical skills and intangibles to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player early in his career.”
The divide between Brooks and Mayock has become the norm. As the draft nears, mock drafts on sites like ESPN.com and SportsIllustrated.com, have varied. Sports Illustrated predicts McKinney will go to the Minnesota Vikings early in the second round, while ESPN slots him as a potential third-round pick.
ESPN analyst Todd McShay, who once had McKinney in the top 30 prospects, dropped the Tunica native to No. 62 Monday.
So why the wide range of opinions about McKinney? And why the sudden fall in some experts’ mock drafts?
“I think it has a lot to do with production versus potential,” said Eric Galko of OptimumScouting.com. “He has an NFL body and he’s played in a great league. But some might look at say that 71 tackles as a junior, that’s not very much production, so it will be a choice teams will have to make on him come draft night.”
McKinney is staying above the fray.
“I can’t worry about that,” McKinney said March 18 after MSU’s Pro Day. “I can control what I can control, and the rest is up to somebody else. I have a belief in myself and I plan to make some team happy with me.”
It’s hard to tell which team that would be. Since MSU’s Pro Day, McKinney has been on a whirlwind of a pre-draft tour. He has been flown in to more than 10 cities to meet with NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins, the Minnesota Vikings, the Denver Broncos, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Dolphins, who have a need at linebacker, have the 14th pick in the first round. Minnesota has the 12th pick.
Still, a first-round pick seems unlikely for McKinney, who likely will be selected on the second day of the draft. The first round will be Thursday night in Chicago. Rounds two and three will be Friday. The final four rounds will be Saturday.
At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, McKinney ran a 4.66-second 40-yard dash, good for sixth among middle linebackers. He also recorded a vertical jump of 40.5 inches, good for third among linebackers.
Mayock said a lack of quickness might be the biggest knock against McKinney. Appearing on NFL Network’s Path to the Draft, Mayock said, “McKinney’s straight-line speed in good, but he is not as quick as other linebackers in the draft.”
A first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection as a junior, McKinney finished his career with 244 tackles and 7.5 sacks in three seasons. As a junior, he helped the Bulldogs race to a 9-0 start and claim the school’s first No. 1 ranking.
Those around McKinney believe in the former two-star recruit out of Rosa Fort High School.
“I think a guy like Benardrick McKinney is basically the poster child for our football program,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “He had one offer out of high school, played in a very small town, and not a lot of people noticed him. But he put in the work, he showed up here and became one of the best players in the country. He will be making money to play football.”
Mullen isn’t the only observer from MSU betting on McKinney.
“It really doesn’t matter where he gets drafted,” said former MSU safety Jay Hughes, who also was a part of a defense that helped MSU win 10 games this past season. “Whether he’s drafted in the first round or second round or third round, Benardrick is a beast. He’s a very hard worker. He’s smart. He has all the tools, so whatever teams are seeing that they don’t like, it’s not going to matter. Whoever picks Benardrick is going to get a great player.”
Regardless of where he is selected, McKinney plans to have fun. Two weeks ago, he accepted an invitation to attend the draft.
“I am just enjoying the process,” McKinney said. “This is something that only happens once, so I am going to let it play out and we will see what happens.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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