Rice defensive tackle Christian Covington has opted to forgo his senior year and declare for the 2015 NFL Draft. Covington came into the season with some chatter as a potential big time player but suffered a season ending knee injury in November. As a result, Covington may not be healthy enough to participate in the NFL Combine, which could have an unfortunate impact on his potential draft status in April.
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Covington, listed at 6’3″ 300lbs, had a big impact in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Combined, he collected 64 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, a recovery, 4 pass deflections and a blocked kick in 26 games. In the seven games he played before the injury as a junior, Covington had 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a pass deflection.
Covington is going to work to rehab in hopes that he can be able to show NFL teams something at the combine that will get them excited about his prospects for the NFL Draft in addition to the tape. As long as medical teams are happy with the recovery of Covington’s knee, he could potentially be a nice value selection that can give a team a nice boost maybe the second half of 2015 but more likely for 2016. Covington is also a native Canadian from Vancouver, which is part of an increasing trend of talent being born and developed in Canada, contributing in college football in the United States and going to the NFL.