Earlier this spring, CBS Sports analyst Mike Renner put together an NFL Mock Draft that stood out from the crowd for one very big reason. No, it wasn't that he had defensive back Leonard Moore going No. 8 in the first round. Most teams believe Moore is a Top 10 pick, and there are some who think he could even be a Top 5 pick. What stood out in Renner's work is that wide receiver Jordan Faison was also a first-round pick, going No. 31 to the Seattle Seahawks.
More noteworthy than the idea that if Faison is right, it would mean the receiver was the second straight Fighting Irish player to be drafted in the first round by the Seahawks (following Jadarian Price this past draft), is what that would mean for Faison. Considering how good he's been as he's become one of the "go-to receivers on the team, " it is that he started his football career in South Bend without a scholarship.
Jordan Faison originally walked on to Notre Dame, in part because he wanted to focus on playing both football and lacrosse. While he was immensely successful at both, he eventually received a scholarship from Marcus Freeman and Co. and decided he saw a path to the NFL as a full-time wide receiver. Renner agrees.
"It's unlikely that Cooper Kupp reaches the third year of the deal he signed last offseason," Renner wrote. "Which could leave Seattle needing another receiver. Jordan Faison's precise route-running would feast opposite Jaxon Smith-Njigba."
Jordan Faison earns first-round NFL Draft buzz in Mike Renner mock draft
It's not just that Faison is a former walk-on and those guys don't exactly have a history of being first-round picks in the NFL Draft. One of the reasons he was a walk-on is because at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, guys of his stature don't tend to do what he's managed to do on the Power 4 level. They also tend not to be a First-round NFL pick.
Granted, guys of Faison's stature also generally don't amass 98 catches for 1,318 yards in just three seasons at Notre Dame. And yet, not only did the wide receiver do that, but he's improved by leaps and bounds every season after a freshman campaign in which he notched only 19 catches for 322 yards. Even with these limited numbers, he found the end zone four times.
Last season, Faison led the Notre Dame football team in receptions by a wide margin, tallying 49 catches for 640 yards and 4 touchdowns. The next-most catches by one player were 36, tallied by Malachi Fields.
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