Mykael Wright will be Oregon football’s highest-drafted DB since 1996

Mykael Wright has a chance to do something no Oregon defensive back has done since 1996; he has a chance of being drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The sophomore cornerback had one of the best encores of any Duck defensive back in 2020, leading the Pac-12 with nine pass breakups in just seven games. He was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and he will head into his third season as an All-American candidate.

But when speaking of the 2022 NFL Draft class, his name comes up as a second or third-rounder, but people really should be talking about him more like a Day 1 pick.

Wright has decent size at 5-11 and 185 pounds and he’s one of the more athletic prospects in this year’s class in the defensive backfield. He’s probably the best returning cornerback in the entire league after an all-conference season and he allowed just a 52 percent completion rate when targeted and according to PFF, he was the highest-graded Pac-12 corner against the run.

Now, heading into potentially his final season with the Ducks, Wright is looking like a Day 2 pick, at the worst, and he has the potential to be a first-rounder.

That’s where I think he’ll end up.

Wright will set the Oregon football DB draftee standard

Wright has the speed, size, and aggressiveness to play cornerback in the NFL at a high level and compete for a starting job from day one.

After proving himself for a couple of seasons, he looks the part of a first-round prospect.

The last Duck to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft was Alex Molden to the Saints at No. 11 overall back in 1996. Since then, the highest-selected Oregon defensive back has been Patrick Chung who went No. 34 overall to the Patriots back in 2009. And then there was Jevon Holland at No. 36 overall to the Dolphins in this past draft.

Wright will be the highest-drafted defensive back since Molden and he’ll sneak into that first-round range after a full season to showcase his talent and potential.

Don’t be surprised when he hears his name called in the 2022 NFL Draft somewhere in the 15-32 pick range.