Teams at the NFL Scouting Combine better get a good look at UCLA defensive end Takkarist McKinley today in drills, because they won’t see him in action until training camp at the soonest.
Via Jeff Legwold of ESPN, the likely first-rounder will have surgery on his right shoulder Monday and will be out four to six months to recover. But first, he’s going to go through all the position drills today, since he’s been playing through the injury for most of the last two seasons.
“My agent asked if anything was wrong with me, and I said I had a shoulder that was sometimes bothering me,” McKinley said. “I had an MRI and the doctor was pretty much amazed I had played with it. Me, I just told my trainers at UCLA, ‘Just tape me up I’m ready to go.’
“Why get surgery before the combine? This is a dream come true to me. I’m here to knock it out.”
Some teams could be leery of investing in a player who could miss training camp while rehabbing, the same way UCLA linebacker Myles Jack slid to the second round last year
One of the top pass-rushing prospects in the draft, McKinley had 10 sacks for the Bruins last year.