Former Stanford star Christian McCaffrey has seen his stock rise leading up to the NFL Draft, and it seems like he is confident he is not going to slip past the first round. He may have a very good reason for being so certain.
Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com is reporting that NFL insiders told him McCaffrey has received a “draft guarantee” from some team with a pick in the teens. In other words, a team selecting somewhere in the middle of the first round has assured McCaffrey that they are going to pick the running back if he is still on the board.
A previous report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk stated that McCaffrey has declined all private workout requests, and the belief is that he is not going to be drafted any lower than 15th overall. Interestingly enough, the Indianapolis Colts — who have a former Stanford star running their offense and a major need at running back with Frank Gore turning 34 in May — currently hold the 15th overall pick. Could they be the team that issued the guarantee to McCaffrey?
It’s unusual to hear that a team would make a promise to a player, especially since so much can change once the draft begins. Either way, there are a number of teams — including one with a pick in the top 10 — that could use McCaffrey. He probably won’t last very long on day one.
