Mizzou Football: 3 former players will face each other often in the NFL

Mizzou football had several players drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft and funny enough, three of them will square off multiple times once they get to the pros.

Heading into the 2021 NFL Draft, the Missouri Tigers had five players who looked like they could get drafted. The first to go off the board was linebacker Nick Bolton, who went No. 58 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The second Tiger to get drafted was safety Tyree Gillespie, who went to the Raiders in the fourth round. Running back Larry Rountree II was the biggest name and he landed with the Chargers in round six.

These three teams are all in the same division meaning that Bolton, Gillespie, and Rountree will get to face each other at least twice a year. Bolton would actually be laying hits on Rountree should the former Mizzou running back find a role in Los Angeles. Gillespie could also be forced to bring Rountree down should he slip out into the secondary.

Maybe this isn’t a big story but it’s fun, especially for Missouri fans. MU fans who also root for the Chiefs will get to closely watch Bolton during the early years of his career (hopefully longer) and also can keep a close tab on both Gillespie and Rountree.

The other Mizzou players to hear their names called were Larry Borom (round four to the Bears) and Joshuah Bledsoe (sixth-round to New England). Borom is another piece to Chicago trying to rebuild their offensive line and Bledsoe is hoping to make a splash in the Patriots’ secondary.

Mizzou football had a successful outing in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Considering Eliah Drinkwitz just took over the reins as the head coach of the Missouri Tigers, this was a good look for him in just one year at the helm. Five Tigers are taking the next steps in their pro football careers and that’s impressive for Drinkwitz after just one year. If he can continue to prove that he can get his guys to the pros, there’s no reason not to think this program can take a huge leap when it comes to acquiring talent.

Out of this group, Bolton is going to get the most attention because he was the first to get drafted and is going to a team just two and a half hours from Columbia, but the others have a great opportunity ahead of them. Best of luck to these Tigers as they hope to have long NFL careers!