NFL Draft: Chris Polk

Chris Polk is one of the most electric running backs in this year’s 2012 NFL Draft. He can make impressive plays out of the backfield, can catch, run routes, keep his feet churning after contact, and that is just to name a few of the tools he has as a part of his game.

He has been projected all over the place when it comes to mock drafts, big boards, and rankings. ESPN has had him as high as the second best back. He even picked up praise from his coach at the senior bowl, Leslie Frazier.

The above linked Yahoo article said this about Frazier’s comments:

"Leslie Frazier (Vikings), head coach of the North squad, spoke at length about Polk, a 224-pounder who registered back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons for the Huskies. “You can see that burst that he has,” Frazier said. “He could run through some of those ‘thud’ tackles.” Frazier also said that Polk has the potential to be an effective pass protector."

However, in the actual Senior Bowl Chris Polk disappeared whether by his own doing or the coaching staffs. He only had six carries for 15 yards which gave him a mere 2.5 yards a carry. Since then, his stock has dropped in the eyes of analysts, who tend to have a “what have you done for me lately approach.” Todd McShay and Mel Kiper have dropped Polk out of their top five backs. However, Scout.com still has him listed at number two and CBSsports.com has him at number five. Finally, NFLmocks.com has Chris Polk as their number four back just ahead of LaMichael James and behind Trent Richardson, Lamar Miller, and David Wilson.

There are currently two recent mock drafts up, by different authors, on NFLmocks.com. In the first, Chris Polk went to the Green Bay Packers as the 60th pick overall and the 28th pick in the second round. In the second projection, he fell to 77th pick overall to the Philadelphia Eagles. The site said this about that pick:

"The Eagles don’t generally take players like Polk in the draft, but could diverge from their pattern for Polk. The Eagles struggled for two big reasons last year. One early season defensive performances. Two, bad red-zone offense. Polk can help with that, Polk also is great insurance for McCoy, because he can run and catch the football."

These mock drafts change by the week but for now the guys over at NFLmocks.com are projecting Polk to go somewhere in the second and the third round. If Polk is able to really perform well at the NFL Combine then his projections could sky-rocket.

This is part one of a four part series- analyzing the hype, rankings, and projections of Huskies in the NFL Draft. Jermaine Kearse, Senio Kelemete, and Alameda Ta’Amu will all be covered.