This overlooked Duke Blue Devils star is being predicted to land with a marquee NFL team.
The Duke Blue Devils do not have a ton of talent in this year's NFL Draft class. In fact, there is a chance that not a single Duke player makes it above Day 3.
However, there is one Blue Devils star who does have a chance to secure a spot on Day 2 of the draft next week: cornerback Chandler Rivers. In fact, Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Rivers going to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 99.
Rivers could very well be one of the biggest sleepers in this draft class.
The 22-year-old registered 59 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a couple of interceptions and eight passes defended this past season, establishing himself as one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the country.
Rivers spent his entire collegiate career at Duke, arriving in 2022 and becoming a full-time starter right off the bat. His most impressive year came in 2024, when he racked up 54 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, a sack, three picks (including a pick-six), two forced fumbles and eight passes defended.
Rivers plays the game with the exact type of tenacity you want from the cornerback position, but there are certainly some drawbacks to him.
Chandler Rivers. Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images.The most glaring of all is Rivers' lack of size, as he stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds. That means he'll probably have to play in the slot on the NFL level. That's perfectly fine, but generally, nickelbacks are not valued as highly.
Regardless, Rivers should definitely find a home in the pros, and while the Steelers are actually pretty set at cornerback as far as their starters are concerned, they could absolutely use some depth at the position.
Rivers ran an impressive 4.40-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine and finished ninth among all cornerbacks in total score from NFL.com, which is impressive considering how deep this class is at the position.
We'll see where the Beaumont, Tx. native lands next week, but the general consensus is that he will come off the board in either the second or third round.
It would certainly be exciting to see Rivers land with a historic franchise like Pittsburgh.
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