You’d be hard-pressed to find an NFL draftnik who doesn’t project Malik McDowell to be a first-round draft pick if he takes the early leap next year, with most slotting the Michigan State defensive tackle inside the Top 15 in their way-too-early mock drafts. That, though, is not good enough for McDowell -- at least publicly and in the here and now.
At MSU’s media day Monday, McDowell was asked about his plans post-2016. According to the lineman, it doesn’t involve leaving East Lansing unless he’s expected to be one of the first three players selected.
“Top 10 ain’t good enough for me,” McDowell said. “I ain’t leaving if I’m (only) Top 10. If I’m not top three, I don’t leave. Really. I’m just trying to live day by day. It’s one through three, that’s the only way I’m going. I’m happy, I like it here, I ain’t really in a rush to leave.
“The teammates I have the on-field stuff we do, the off-field stuff we do. Just good people around me. I can’t complain.”
As it stands now, sites like Walter Football, CBS Sports and the Big Lead have McDowell slotted at No. 12, while Sports Illustrated has him at No. 25. Mel Kiper, meanwhile, currently has the junior at No. 6 on his Big Board.
It’s easy for McDowell, whose name litters numerous preseason All-Amrican teams coming off a season in which he was named first-team All-Big Ten by a handful of organizations, to make such a statement in early August. Whether he makes the same claim come December and January is another matter entirely.