This NFL mock draft predicts record-tying 8 Utes selected in 2020, and Taysom Hill may have USU company with Saints

Utah Utes defensive backs Jaylon Johnson, right, and Tareke Lewis warm up before the start of a game between the Utes and Arizona State Sun Devils at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. | Colter Peterson, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — The 2020 NFL Draft in three weeks could become another boon for the University of Utah program, after the Utes sent a school-record nine players to February’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller predicted as much, projecting in his seven-round mock draft released Wednesday that eight Utah players would be selected in this year’s draft. That would tie the program record set when eight players were taken in the 2017 draft.

Leading off Miller’s projections was cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who left the Utes following his junior season. Miller has him being selected by the Tennessee Titans late in the first round, with the 29th overall pick.

“Utah’s Jaylon Johnson is the kind of physical, athletic, press cover player that head coach Mike Vrabel will love. He’s tough at the line, very aggressive in run support and has the tools to run down the field with WR1s in the NFL,” Miller wrote.

Johnson isn’t the first Utah tie coming off the board. That distinction belongs to Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, who Miller has being taken by the New Orleans Saints in the first round with the 24th overall pick, where he’d be in the same quarterback room with a former BYU standout.

“Do you believe a soon-to-be 30-year-old Taysom Hill is the answer at quarterback once Drew Brees retires?” Miller wrote. “Even if head coach Sean Payton tells everyone in the media that the Saints believe in Hill, the team has not been shy about interviewing the quarterbacks in the 2020 draft class. With Jordan Love falling down the board in this no-trades mock draft, New Orleans finally gets its answer to the post-Brees era.”

Butch Dill, Associated Press

Utah State’s Jordan Love throws a pass as the North squad runs drills during practice for the Senior Bowl Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Mobile, Ala.

The Saints were one of six teams NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported have set up virtual meetings with Love, via FaceTime or other means. The other teams include the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins, per Rapoport.

All totaled, Miller predicted 11 Utah ties would be taken in this year’s draft, including three players from Utah State and six Utes in the first four rounds. Here’s a look at the rest of Miller’s local selections.

Third round

No. 72 overall: Utah DE Bradlee Anae, Arizona Cardinals

No. 76: Utah RB Zack Moss, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

No. 91: Utah DB Terrell Burgess, Las Vegas Raiders

Fourth round

No. 110: Utah S Julian Blackmon, New York Giants

No. 111: Utah DT Leki Fotu, Houston Texans

Sixth round

No. 211: Utah State DE Tipa Galeai, New York Jets

Seventh round

No. 217: Utah CB Javelin Guidry, San Francisco 49ers

No. 231: Utah State LB David Woodward, Dallas Cowboys

No. 242: Utah DT John Penisini, Green Bay Packers

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