Khalil Mack came out of his final season at Buffalo, of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as the darling of the mid-majors. So much of a darling, in fact, that talk grew as the 2014 NFL draft approached that the Houston Texans would take him No. 1 overall, instead of the presumed top prospect, Jadeveon Clowney.
The Oakland Raiders, rebuilding on both sides of the ball, were thankful that the four teams ahead of them passed, and they grabbed Mack, the versatile outside linebacker, at fifth overall on Thursday night.
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Mack was virtually unstoppable as a senior and impossible for offenses to stay away from. He totaled 100 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He's the ideal size for an outside linebacker at 6-feet-3 and 251 pounds. Defensive coordinators spend the evaluation period dreaming up ways to use him, at linebacker and on the line in all sorts of schemes.
A player like Mack is appreciated by coaches for coming out of nowhere and making something of himself. Mack was unheralded coming out of high school in Fort Pierce, Fla., passed up by the major-conference schools in the state and left with only one FBS scholarship offer, at Buffalo.
Mack was the No. 6 pick in Sporting News' final mock draft, and is the sixth-ranked player on the Top 100 big board of Optimum Scouting's Eric Galko.