The NFL announced Monday that South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders will be eligible for April’s draft, weeks after he was initially deemed ineligible due to paperwork botched by his agent. It had been presumed that Saunders could enter the supplemental draft in July.
Saunders is ranked as the draft’s fifth-best tight end prospect by both Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, Saunders did not play a snap for the Gamecocks last season after being investigated for accepting gifts from an agent. He was later kicked off the team by coach Steve Spurrier.
Saunders was one of the top tight end recruits in the nation out of high school, going on to catch 60 passes for 718 yards and six touchdowns in three seasons at S.C.
Whereas Kiper and McShay are high on Saunders’ NFL outlook, Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly considers him unlikely to be drafted because Saunders is “too immature.”