LAWRENCE, Kan. – The 2023 NFL Draft is set for Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29, and it will take place in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, surrounding iconic Union Station Kansas City and the National World War I Museum and Memorial.
Among the prospects hoping to hear their names called are several Jayhawks including defensive end Lonnie Phelps Jr., and offensive lineman Earl Bostick Jr. Both players were invited to participate in the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, which took place February 28-March 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
On March 31, Kansas held its annual Pro Day in Lawrence, which featured eight Jayhawks participating in on-field drills and weight room workouts. In addition to Phelps and Bostick, Sam Burt, Zion DeBose, Malcolm Lee, Lorenzo McCaskill, Caleb Sampson and Eddie Wilson participated in the Pro Day.
Phelps has emerged as one the most powerful edge rushing prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, after one year at Kansas in which he started 11 games and tallied seven sacks in 505 snaps. In 2022, Phelps ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 57 (45 solo, 12 assisted) and led the Jayhawks with 11.5 tackles-for-loss. Phelps also added one forced fumble on the season and was named Second Team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches and by the Associated Press. He’s ranked as the No. 10 outside linebacker and No. 147 overall player in this year’s draft by ESPN.com and projects as a mid-round selection in the draft.
Prior to his time at KU, Phelps was a Second Team All-MAC selection at the University of Miami (Ohio), recording 13.5 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks in 2021. Phelps played in 37 games throughout his four-year college career, tallying 114 tackles and 32.0 tackles-for-loss and 21.5 sacks.
A mainstay on Kansas’ offensive line over the last five years, Bostick enters this year’s NFL Draft as an intriguing offensive tackle prospect. Bostick started 36 games as a Jayhawk, while playing in 59 throughout his career. Bostick’s size and strength makes him a solid prospect to NFL Scouts that are looking for a swing tackle that can get to the second level in the run game. Bostick is ranked the No. 19 offensive tackle and No. 230 player overall in this year’s draft by ESPN.com and projected as a late round draft pick.
A story of humble determination and hard work 💪@EBJ_1K has earned this moment.#RockChalk x #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/irrCxYYLeo
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) April 26, 2023
Last year, linebacker Kyron Johnson was selected in the sixth round as selection No. 181 by the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to that, offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji was the last Jayhawk drafted, going to the Cincinnati Bengals as pick No. 180 in the 2020 NFL Draft. The last time Kansas had more than one player drafted was 2015, when Ben Heeney (fifth round, Oakland Raiders), JaCorey Shepherd (sixth round, Philadelphia Eagles), and Dexter McDonald (seventh round, Oakland Raiders) were each picked.
Kansas currently has six players on active NFL rosters this offseason, including: Adeniji and Kwamie Lassiter II (Cincinnati Bengals), Dorance Armstrong (Dallas Cowboys), Steven Sims (Houston Texans), Daniel Wise (Kansas City Chiefs) and Johnson (Philadelphia Eagles).
