SEC Football: 10 Juniors Who Will Declare for the 2016 NFL Draft

Three years after he graduates high school, a college football player can declare for the NFL draft. Whether they're ready or not, a good amount of players take advantage of this opportunity.

Many of the players who decide to come out early are from the SEC. Nineteen juniors and one redshirt sophomore from the SEC have waived their remaining year of college eligibility and entered the 2015 NFL draft.

Which rising juniors in the SEC will undoubtedly do the same in 2016?

The total might be higher or lower 10 months from now, following the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft, but the 10 players mentioned here are the safest bets to make the jump. There will probably be more than 10 SEC juniors who do declare early, but with the NFL Draft Advisory Board changing how they do things last year, we won't get near the record for underclassmen in the draft anytime soon.

Reggie Carter, Georgia

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Reggie Carter hasn't been a regular starter for Georgia yet, but that hasn't stopped him from getting love from NFL people. Now that he's in line to start at one of the Bulldogs' two inside linebacker positions, Carter will show why he's the top-rated inside linebacker prospect in the Class of 2017.

Yes, NFL Draft Scout has Carter rated higher than Scooby Wright III, the nation's top defensive player in 2014, and Alabama super-prospect Reuben Foster.

Aside from the coaching staff, Carter credits departing inside linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson with getting him to this point. Herrera and Wilson combined for 225 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks last season.

Even though Herrera and Wilson are gone, Georgia will maintain a great linebacker group in 2015. Carter, Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins all have the ability to get their name called early in the 2016 NFL draft.

Alex Collins, Arkansas

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Alex Collins would have the chance to be the clear feature back in Arkansas' offense in 2016, but he won't wait around for that, because he really doesn't need to.

To be worthy of a first-round pick in the NFL draft, most running backs would need to generate a significant majority of their team's rushing output. Collins shares the load with fellow back Jonathan Williams, a rising senior, but this hasn't prevented him from going in the first rounds of some 2016 mock drafts, like this one. Why?

Collins has put up feature back-type numbers in his two collegiate seasons, despite Williams being around for both.

As a freshman in 2013, Collins ran 190 times for 1,026 yards and four touchdowns. Last season, his production spiked to 204 carries for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Barring a catastrophe, Collins will join Williams in the 2016 NFL draft. Once he hits the pro ranks, Collins will have to share touches with a more experienced player, but he'll thrive in that all-too-familiar situation. 

Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

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When college football fans heard the name Cooper associated with an SEC wide receiver in 2014, they thought Amari. There wasn't anything wrong with that, as Amari Cooper finished third in the 2014 Heisman voting, but Pharoh's performance showed Amari wasn't the only one who made the surname proud.

In 2015, Pharoh will be the new king among SEC offensive weapons.

Both Coopers were first-team All-SEC picks, but Pharoh was arguably a bigger piece of South Carolina's offense than Amari was of Alabama's. Pharoh rushed, caught, threw and returned his way onto the stat sheet in 2014. In fact, head coach Steve Spurrier received questions about the potential of Cooper being the team's starting quarterback in 2015. Though he's the Gamecocks' returning passing leader, he won't be the quarterback; but he'll appear under center in Wildcat packages.

SEC defenses aren't going to take their eyes off Cooper in 2015, and once he declares for the 2016 NFL draft following his junior season, those at the next level will have to work hard to keep him contained as well.

Leonard Floyd, Georgia

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Leonard Floyd didn't declare for the 2015 NFL draft, but as a redshirt sophomore in 2014, he could have. Floyd won't stay in school after this season, though.

The rising redshirt junior put up eerily similar numbers in 2013 and 2014. As a redshirt freshman, Floyd had 55 total tackles (35 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Last season, Floyd had 55 total tackles (again, but 21 solo this time), 8.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and three forced fumbles.

The trend suggests Floyd will get 55 total tackles (seven solo), 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2015, but more is in store. Floyd was Georgia's fifth-leading tackler in 2014, but three of the guys ahead of him have moved on, and two of them are linebackers.

Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida

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Vernon Hargreaves III, arguably the best cornerback in college football, will be the first of his position to come off the board in the 2016 NFL draft.

Hargreaves has dominated his opponents from the moment he first stepped onto the field for Florida as a true freshman in 2013. The AP second-team All-American in 2014 has been a first-team All-SEC selection in each of his two seasons as well.

Hargreaves' standing as a rising junior is the only reason he's not in the NFL already. After this season, though, the son of current Arkansas linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves Jr. will get his opportunity to be drafted in the top 10.

Derrick Henry, Alabama

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Terry Grant, Glenn Coffee, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry. What does everyone in this group have in common?

After 2015, they'll be running backs who left Alabama football and head coach Nick Saban with a year of college eligibility remaining.

Henry's main competition among rising junior running backs across the country is Ezekiel Elliott of Ohio State; the latter is the only one in the class rated higher by NFL Draft Scout. Henry and Elliott faced each other in the Sugar Bowl for the right to play for the inaugural College Football Playoff title. Elliott outdid Henry in the game, but some believe Henry was underused.

With Yeldon, quarterback Blake Sims, and wide receiver Amari Cooper now former members of the Crimson Tide, nobody will have to worry about Henry getting enough touches.  

Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss

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As the top overall prospect coming out of high school in 2013, if there was one player most predicted to go three-and-out in college, then Robert Nkemdiche was the one. After two seasons, he's lived up to the hype.

Nkemdiche was named an All-American by numerous media outlets in 2014, despite not putting up huge numbers. The defensive tackle's greatest value comes from holding offensive linemen at the point of attack, allowing his teammates to make plays. Nkemdiche did his job well enough in 2014 for Ole Miss to have the nation's top-scoring defense.

With another All-American season in 2015, Nkemdiche will earn himself a high selection in the 2016 NFL draft.

A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama

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A'Shawn Robinson sits right behind Robert Nkemdiche among rising junior defensive tackle prospects, but Robinson has one glaring advantage over Nkemdiche: He's 40 pounds heavier. At 320 pounds, Robinson weighs more than many of the offensive linemen he's trying to beat.

Robinson anchors arguably the best defensive line in the country; Jarran Reed and Jonathan Allen are back at defensive end. Together, they formed the front line of the nation's fourth-rated rush defense in 2014.

Robinson hasn't let many ball-carriers get up the field in his time at Alabama, and often, he causes them to lose yards. In his two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Robinson has 87 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

Quite simply, Robinson is a big part of Alabama's defense, and he'll be a big part of an NFL defense come 2016. 

Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss

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If not for an injury suffered in Ole Miss' ninth game of the season in 2014, against Auburn, Laquon Treadwell would've been among the top five wide receivers in the SEC in total production. Instead, he'll have 2015 to prove he's an all-conference talent and a future NFL player.

That future will begin after Treadwell's junior season.

Despite playing in four fewer games as a sophomore, Treadwell had a much better season statistically. He eclipsed his numbers from his freshman season on 24 fewer receptions.

The top-rated wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2017 was part of the historic recruiting class of 2013 at Ole Miss, along with Robert Nkemdiche and Laremy Tunsil (see next slide). Like Nkemdiche and Tunsil, Treadwell will head for the NFL after this season.

More good news for Treadwell in the more immediate future: Tyler Conway of B/R says he'll be ready for spring practice.

Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss

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Laremy Tunsil has struggled to stay healthy during his time at Ole Miss, but when he's on the field, perhaps nobody plays the offensive tackle position better.

If Tunsil recovers from his latest setback, a broken leg suffered in the Peach Bowl, then he'll be a top-10 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

Tunsil was the only underclassman to earn an AP first-team All-SEC nod in 2014, and now that the latest wave of college talent has moved on, he'll slide right into All-American contention in 2015.

Thanks to Tunsil, the second-rated offensive tackle prospect in the Class of 2017, Ole Miss won't have to worry as much about breaking in a new starting quarterback this season.