Gareon Conley Declares for 2017 NFL Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction

Ohio State junior cornerback Gareon Conley announced Tuesday via Instagram he will enter the 2017 NFL draft:

His full post read [sic]:

"

Mannnnn it's been a wonderful journey from recruiting to playing in the shoe. I feel like the past four years have really expanded and opened my mind and made me grow as a student an athlete and a man! It's been an honor to play as a buckeye and a silver bullet and also to be apart of the great secondary this past year! I wanna thank everyone from family to friends to buckeye nation for all the love and support it's a tremendous blessing to have played for yall. Most importantly I wanna thanks all my team mates who I was in the trenches with and through thick and thin I love y'all boys and y'all my brothas for life once a buckeye always a buckeye! I have decided to declare for the 2017 NFL draft. I wanna thank God cause I didn't earn any of this he blessed me and I took advantage of the blessings and I'm just glorifying him. Thanks again buckeye nation.

"

In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected Conley to be the No. 30 pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, writing: "One of the best all-around cornerbacks in college, Conley has size (6'0", 195 lbs) and ball skills to be an excellent No. 2 cornerback." 

Miller also listed Conley as his No. 17 prospect overall on his Dec. 30 big board and his No. 2 cornerback overall. He believes he could even surpass another former Buckeye corner in the NFL:

Eli Apple was solid for the New York Giants during his 2016 rookie season, so saying Conley might be better is high praise.

At the least, Conley seems likely to be off the board in either the first or second round, with Dane Brugler of CBS Sports noting that many NFL teams see him as a top-50 talent.

Conley combined with cornerback Marshon Lattimore and safety Malik Hooker to give the Buckeyes one of the best secondaries in college football this year. He posted 26 tackles and four interceptions in 2016, helping lead the Buckeyes to a berth in the College Football Playoff.

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