The 2017 NFL Draft starts tonight at 7:00 pm and a handful of Red Raiders hope to have their name called. We are almost all but guaranteed that Patrick Mahomes will have his named called at some point during the draft, most likely tonight in the first round.

Dates and Times:

• Round 1 – April 27th @ 7:00 pm CST
• Rounds 2 & 3 – April 28th @ 6:00 pm CST
• Rounds 4 through 7 – April 29th @ 11:00 am CST

Television and Streaming: ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network and online at NFL.com

Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Texas Tech NFL Draft Hopefuls: QB Patrick Mahomes II, CB Paul Banks III, WR Reginald Davis III, LB Malik Jenkins, WR Devin Lauderdale, CB Thierry Nguema, DT Ondre Pipkins, TE/FB Tyler Scalzi, LB Kris Williams and LB Luke Stice.

Most likely, the players other than Mahomes might get a look as 7th round picks to undrafted free agents. There has been a ton of chatter about Tyler Scalzi of all guys as a tight end / linebacker / special teams crazy guy. Scalzi has had a ton of press from Philly of all things (see here)and LAJ’s Don Williams wrote about Scalzi’s ascension since the Texas Tech pro day:

“That was a life-changing day so far as my image, so far as in the public image goes,” Scalzi said this week. “I’m still the same man I was the day before, but it definitely helped me get closer to the goal: the realization of the dream of playing in the NFL.

“(Agent) Scott Bergman has helped me get educated on the other side of the process that I had no idea about, but pro day was huge. I got a lot of help from Patrick Mahomes with all the publicity he brought and the knowledge he bestowed on me. His quarterback coach helped me get the Ts crossed and the I’s dotted. It’s been a fun time, to say the least.”

The USA Today’s Tom Pelissero writes that Patrick Mahomes is the NFL Draft’s biggest conundrum, but head coach Kliff Kingsbury says that things are changing:

“I understand that it’s a different game, and it translates differently,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “But I watch a lot of the NFL offenses these days — the ones that are really successful — and there’s a lot of people in shotgun, a lot of spreading people out, a lot of plays being made out of rhythm and not on schedule. So all the arguments you hear about (Mahomes) not being able to adjust, I’m not buying it.”

 SI’s Andy Benoit on Cal quarterback, and former Red Raider, Davis Webb:

If Webb comes across as a prototypical Type-A quarterback, well, it’s true. The son of a high school coach, he grew up in four different Texas towns near Dallas, his family moving every time his dad, Matt, was offered a better job. After high school, Webb attended Texas Tech, where he was the starting quarterback for part of his freshmen and sophomore years. Midway through his sophomore season, he tore the labrum on his throwing shoulder and hurt his ankle; that’s when Patrick Mahomes took over. Webb has lamented that he never got an opportunity to win his starting job back. But in our time together, he shows no animosity toward Texas Tech. He pulls up his phone and checks in on their spring game. He also refers to having graduated from there, which he did in 2016.

You get a ton of Webb going through and watching video with Benoit. It’s good stuff.

 Campus Sports has a sports science video on Patrick Mahomes.

Miscellaneous . . .

• CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco’s mock draft has Mahomes going #6 to Cleveland (via trade with the J-E-T-S).
• The Ringer’s mock draft had Mahomes going to the Cardinals at #13.
• LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot mocks his draft and has Mahomes going to Arizona at #13.