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Brett Hundley of UCLA and P.J. Williams (below) of Florida State are among Priority’s signees.
Photos by: GETTY IMAGES
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Priority Sports & Entertainment signed a smaller class of NFL draft prospects than usual this year, but it features several high-ranked players, including Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory, who some football analysts say has a shot at being the No. 1 overall pick.
Priority signed 10 players (see list below), compared with a class of 15 players last year, said Kenny Zuckerman, NFL agent and Priority president of athlete representation. The agency, which has represented NBA and NFL players for 25 years, usually signs an NFL class of about 15 players.
Zuckerman said that the agency signed fewer players by design and that its agents shared that with players when recruiting them. “It was important to them to be one of a smaller group. They didn’t want to be part of a class of 20 guys.”
CBS Sports ranks six of the 10 clients among the top 41 prospects for the draft, which will be held April 30 through
May 2 in Chicago this year. Those six are Gregory, Pittsburgh offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings, LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins, Utah outside linebacker/defensive end Nate Orchard, Florida State defensive back P.J. Williams and UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley.
Gregory, Williams and Collins are being co-represented by Priority agent Deryk Gilmore and Maven Sports Group agent Darren Jones. Gilmore and Jones co-represented wide receiver Mike Evans, who was drafted No. 7 overall last year by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones and Gilmore said last week that the relationship worked out so well with Evans last year that they decided to continue to recruit and represent players together.
Gregory is seen as a possible No. 1 pick, along with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Gregory was ranked No. 3 on the CBS Sports mock draft last week.
Gregory played both football and basketball in high school and attracted interest from Division I schools in both sports. On the prospect of him going No. 1 overall, Jones said, “I think Randy has a great chance, once he comes out to the combine and people see how athletic he is.”
Hundley, who is represented by Zuckerman, is seen by many draft analysts as the third quarterback, behind Winston and Mariota, in this year’s draft. “Teams have said to me he didn’t have the weapons on the outside or the offensive line that the other two guys had.” Zuckerman said. “He can run it. He can throw it. He’s a dual-threat guy. There is a ton of interest and people are really excited to see him at the combine, and hopefully he gets to throw next to those guys.”
Zuckerman also represents Orchard, Utah wide receiver Dres Anderson and Arizona offensive lineman Mickey Baucus. Priority’s Mike McCartney represents Clemmings, Penn State linebacker Mike Hull and Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft.
