All three Tennessee football juniors who turned pro early were taken in the 2018 NFL Draft. In the process, these Volunteers proved Phillip Fulmer wrong.
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Phillip Fulmer knows all too well what it’s like to lose players early to the NFL Draft. Tennessee football lost three early departures after the 1999 season in Jamal Lewis, Cosey Coleman and Deon Grant.
At the time, it was rare to have so many players leave early. But the Vols have matched that output the past two years, each time seeing three players who left early get drafted into the NFL.
This year, their only draft picks were early departures. They had three in Rashaan Gaulden in the third round and then Kahlil McKenzie and John Kelly in the sixth round. While the early departures are more common now than in Fulmer’s day, he still didn’t think it was the right move for all three of them.
Emily Proud of WATE recently tweeted a video of Fulmer saying a couple of them should still be here. If he’s saying “a couple,” that means more than one. And, well, honestly, the NFL Draft results proved him wrong on that.
The only player who may have made a mistake by leaving early is Kahlil McKenzie. That’s because he’s going to the Kansas City Chiefs, not a proven fit for him, and could convert to offensive line. Given those facts, it may have been better for him to improve his draft stock another year and get to a better situation.
However, that’s just a wildcard one. McKenzie could still work out long-term. And if he does, then going to the Chiefs and converting to offensive line made leaving early the perfect decision for him.
The other two players had no business staying another year. John Kelly is not as great of a fit for the offense that Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton want to run. He did all he could for Tennessee football, even in last year’s horrific offense.
As a result, the Los Angeles Rams took him. Sure, it was in the sixth round, but he went to a team that gives him a great chance to make an impact. So by going into a good situation, he clearly made the right move. Staying another year in a new system could have knocked him out of the draft altogether.
Gaulden likely would’ve thrived even more for Tennessee football under Pruitt and Kevin Sherrer. However, he went in the third round. That is high enough to validate the decision. On top of that, he went to an almost perfect situation with the Carolina Panthers.
If he had stayed another year, he could have gotten hurt and seen his stock fall. And like Kelly, there’s the chance that he would not have gone to as good of a situation.
As a result, those players all made the right choice. McKenzie is the only iffy one, and that’s a 50/50 chance. Hindsight will tell the tale on that. Because of this, Fulmer’s statements were just wrong.
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It’s understandable since Fulmer comes from a different time. But nowadays, a player that can make it needs to go. There is no reason to risk hurting your draft stock, even if you go late in the draft. McKenzie, Kelly and Gaulden knew that. And the NFL Draft proved them right.