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NFL draft prospect Dre Kirkpatrick has at least 10 visits set up with interested teams.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, a potential top-10 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, was arrested on Jan. 17 on charges of marijuana possession, five days after he declared he was turning pro. It's hurt his draft stock, of course, as SBNation.com's latest 2012 mock draft has him slipping to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 12 thanks to the great spectre of character concerns.
This might help ease the mind of NFL general manager or two, though:
@SBJLizMullen SBJ Labor & Agents: Brian Overstreet, agent for 'Bama CB Dre Kirkpatrick says he expects drug charges to be dropped soon.
#NFLDraft
Kirkpatrick was named a second-team AP All-American in 2011, concluding a college career that began when he arrived in Tuscaloosa as a consensus five-star recruit. Be not surprised if he ends up wowing at the NFL Combine and finds himself picked in single digits after all, as long as he can convince the suits he won't have his name in the news like this again.
For more on Kirkpatrick and the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll. For more NFL Draft, visit Mocking the Draft.
A day after news emerged that former Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick had been arrested just after midnight Tuesday in Florida for possessing a small amount of marijuana, more details about the case have come out. Kirkpatrick was a passenger in a rental car driven by former Tide defensive back Chris Rogers, AL.com's Don Kausler, Jr. reports.
Both were released on $120 bond, with court dates set for Feb. 21. According to the report, Kirkpatrick admitted to being present when Rogers purchased drugs, but said he didn't know drugs had been bought. However, police reported that Kirkpatrick was under the influence of drugs at the time.
How this affects his NFL Draft standing remains to be seen, obviously. Last year, Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett saw his stock plummet after questions about his drug use emerged, and there wasn't even an arrest to cite in his case. However, if Kirkpatrick accepts full responsibility and pledges he's learned his lesson, surely some sympathetic NFL general manager will find it in his heart to let one little old drug arrest slide.
For more on Kirkpatrick and the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll. For more NFL Draft, visit Mocking the Draft.
Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick, was arrested late Monday night for possession of fewer than 20 grams of cannabis, Manatee County Sheriff's Office records show.
Kirkpatrick, a junior, declared early for the 2012 NFL Draft after Alabama won the BCS National Championship Game over the LSU Tigers. Until the arrest, he was expected to be perhaps the first defensive back taken, going No. 7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in SBNation.com's latest 2012 mock draft. Now he'll probably tumble into Bill Belichick's waiting arms, where he'll be a perfect citizen for the next decade and everybody will wonder how he ended up in New England. That's what usually happens.
Kirkpatrick was named a second-team AP All-American in 2011, concluding a college career that began when he arrived in Tuscaloosa as a consensus five-star recruit.
For more on Kirkpatrick at the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll.
As expected, Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson and defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick are leaving school early to enter the 2012 NFL Draft. Both expressed bittersweet emotions about leaving Alabama. Said Richardson on what he and his contemporaries have accomplished in Tuscaloosa:
To have two national championships in three years is pretty big. To only lose four games since we've been here is big.
Richardson is considered a solid first-rounder, which has otherwise been becoming something of a rarity for modern running backs. Kirkpatrick is also expected to go in the first round. In SBNation.com's latest 2012 mock draft, Kirkpatrick went No. 11 to the Seattle Seahawks and Richardson went No. 21 to the Cincinnati Bengals, along with a host of other Bama players going all over the place.
Coach Nick Saban said both players are committed to returning at some point to finish up their degrees. Richardson has previously said he was torn due to how close he was to graduating.
For more on the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll. For more NFL Draft, visit Mocking the Draft.
If you're trying to figure out why people are so high on Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, you're going to have to dig a little deeper than his statistics. In three years, Kirpatrick made just three interceptions and 86 tackles. There will be countless cornerbacks who do not get picked in the 2012 NFL Draft with considerably more impressive numbers than those.
Yet, most seem to agree that Kirkpatrick will be one of the top defensive players in the draft, assuming he comes out. A lot of that is because he was so good, teams just decided to stay away from his side of the field. No pass defense was better than the Rolling Tide's this year, as they allowed just 116.3 passing yards per game.
Kirkpatrick is currently the No. 19 overall prospect according to Mocking the Draft and the second best cornerback, after LSU's Morris Claiborne. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to be a likely landing space for Kirkpatrick, as they are in need of playmakers all over the field. In fact, in two recent SB Nation Mock Drafts, that is exactly where he ended up:
Who knows what this team will do in the draft. Some think Trent Richardson could be the pick here. They could stand some defensive improvements, and addressing the cornerback spot with a player of Kirkpatrick's ability is the best can they can do.
Analysts seem to like Kirkpatrick's size (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) and see him as someone who can help against the running game, but some of his technical skills have been questioned.
For more on Kirkpatrick, be sure to check out Alabama blog Roll 'Bama Roll. Check out SB Nation's NFL Draft coverage for more news and analysis.
NFL Draft 2012: Dre Kirkpatrick Has Several Visits Lined Up
Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick is expected to draw quite a bit of interest from NFL teams as we head toward the 2012 NFL Draft. Kirkpatrick is expected to be a first-round pick in April, but the questions are just how high will the big defensive back will go and whether he will be selected as a cornerback or a safety. Kirkpatrick is scheduled to make a visit with 10 different teams, according to a report by Aaron Wilson of Scout.com.
Kirkpatrick could realistically find himself with any of these teams in the first round at their original draft position, depending on how other players fall, or as a priority target if a team trades down in the first round.
For more on Kirkpatrick and the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll. For more NFL Draft, visit Mocking the Draft.
Mar 19 11:47a by Alfie Crow - 0 comments