Kansas Football: Dorance Armstrong likely only Jayhawk to get drafted
Kansas football isn’t exactly a top notch program these days, but they should have at least one player from Lawrence hear his name called in the 2018 NFL Draft. That player is Dorance Armstrong.
Kansas football hasn’t seen many of its alum make it to the NFL in recent years, but the ones who have made it have had some pretty prestigious careers (Gale Sayers? Aqib Talib? Chris Harris? These names should sound pretty familiar). Dorance Armstrong is hoping to become the next Jayhawk to make it into the rare club of KU football players who make a name for themselves in the National Football League.
Armstrong, a junior who opted to forego his senior season and enter the draft, was the only player really worth watching over the last few years. Armstrong’s sophomore year was when KU fans really started to notice him, as he totaled ten sacks that year along with 56 tackles (20 for loss).
As a junior, Armstrong’s numbers went down a bit, but he still managed 63 tackles, despite recording a career low in sacks with just two. As noted by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, part of why Armstrong’s numbers decreased was that the KU coaching staff had him focus more on stopping the run.
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"“Don’t read too much into that sack total this year. They didn’t really cut him loose this year. I still like the talent and he will help himself at the Combine.” — NFC Director of Scouting, NFL.com"
When it comes to projections for Dorance Armstrong, he’s been rumored to go anywhere from the first few rounds to the middle rounds. NFL.com has him as a potential fourth or fifth round pick, which seems low, but his poor Combine and Pro Day didn’t do him any favors.
With Lawrence being less than an hour from Kansas City, fans would probably love to see Dorance Armstrong get drafted by the Chiefs. The Chiefs need an edge rusher pretty badly and Armstrong fits that mold perfectly.
Had he been able to showcase his abilities as a junior, Armstrong would probably be a first or second round talent, but he took one for the team and his draft stock suffered as a result. Throw in that Armstrong’s Combine and Pro Day weren’t all that great and he probably won’t be a Day 1 selection.
Hopefully, for his sake, it’s a Day 2 or early Day 3 selection, but at least he will more than likely be headed to the NFL.