Our projections for USC's NFL draft hopefuls

This year, USC has seven draft entrants and we're projecting six of them to be taken over the course of the seven rounds the next few days in OL Alijah Vera-Tucker, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, DT Jay Tufele, S Talanoa Hufanga, DT Marlon Tuipulotu and CB Olaijah Griffin, while WR Tyler Vaughns will also hope to hear his name called.

Round 1 of the draft starts at 5 p.m. PT Thursday on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network and continues with rounds 2-3 starting at 4 p.m. PT Friday and the final four rounds starting at 9 a.m. PT Saturday.

Here's how we see it going for those Trojans ...

OL Alijah Vera-Tucker -- 6-foot-4, 308 pounds

Vera-Tucker is pretty much penciled in as one of the offensive linemen who’ll go in the first round of the draft. As a guard, he immediately projects as one of the best in this class, with great upper body strength and impressive reaction skills. Though he’s played extensively outside as well, manning USC’s left tackle spot in 2020, there’s generally a consensus that he’s best suited to play on the interior. His shorter arm length (32 1/8’’) might pose problems against longer edge rushers at the NFL level, as it did against Kayvon Thibodeaux in the Pac-12 Championship last year. Nonetheless, Vera-Tucker’s positional versatility will be an added plus to most teams, some of whom might still see him as a potential tackle. Vera-Tucker could hear his name called as early as the low teens, with the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings both in the market for offensive line help at picks 13 and 14 and the two elite tackle prospects likely off the board by that point. If he falls past those spots, there’s a host of other offensive line-needy teams waiting in the remainder of the first round who might leap at the chance to pick him, including the Cardinals, Dolphins, Jets, and Bills.

Projection: Mid-1st Round

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown -- 5-foot-11, 197 pounds

St. Brown’s draft stock has been tough to gauge in a year with a deep wide receiver class. Due to his middling athletic profile, St. Brown has gotten a bit buried in the top end of the receiver class and seems widely ranked between 10-15th at the position by most draft analysts. Despite the lack of hype surrounding him into the draft, St. Brown possesses the tools to be a quality NFL wide receiver, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a team values him higher than where the media generally does. A lack of elite athleticism has been a consistent criticism, but there’s not much to scoff at looking at the pro day numbers. He ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, which is plenty serviceable enough for a receiver at the next level, and put up genuinely impressive numbers in his explosiveness testing with a 10’7 broad jump and a 38.5 inch vertical. His game tape shows a lot of NFL-ready traits as well -- sharp route running, good ball tracking and an ability to win on contested catches despite his limited height. St. Brown could thrive from the slot early in his NFL career, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be productive out wide either. With a capable quarterback, St. Brown could be poised to contribute from day one. I don’t think he’ll go any higher than the mid-second round, but there should be a number of teams there and into the third round looking to add a plug-and-play 2nd or 3rd wide receiver. The Titans, Colts, Packers and Saints all could be good fits for St. Brown in the latter frame of the 2nd round

Projection: Mid-2nd to 3rd Round

DT Jay Tufele -- 6-foot-2, 305 pounds

Tufele is one of the many players who chose to opt-out of the 2020 college football seasons due to COVID concerns, and that makes it difficult to gauge where he’ll be picked. His 2019 tape shows an explosive, high motor interior lineman with plus athleticism for the position. The “Dancing Bear” trope is a good one to describe Tufele’s game, and he could be drafted as early as the late-2nd round due to the lack of depth at the DT position in this year’s draft. Though his pass-rush moves require refinement, Tufele’s natural traits make him an exciting prospect and I’m willing to bet a team takes a gamble on him before the third round finishes on Friday.

Projection: 3rd Round

S Talanoa Hufanga -- 6-foot, 199 pounds

Hufanga boosted his draft stock in a big way during the 2020 season as he turned in a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year campaign, notching 62 tackles, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 3 sacks in only six games. His natural instincts for the game shine whenever you watch his tape. Hufanga does an excellent job of reading and diagnosing plays, whether in determining run fits or recognizing route patterns. USC lined him up in practically every possible alignment in 2020, using him as a linebacker, an edge rusher, a deep safety and even like a nickelback at times. Hufanga generally takes great angles to the football and has improved mightily in his ability to finish tackles. He’s always been a hard hitter and offers great potential value playing a “robber” role in the middle of the field for NFL defenses. His coverage abilities have been an area of concern throughout his career, but he took significant strides forward in that regard during the 2020 season, showing a much-improved feel for zone drops and better ball skills. Hufanga’s extensive injury history and lack of elite speed (4.61 40-yard dash) are areas of concern and might cause many teams to pass on him. Even still, his diverse skill set has the potential to be of great value in the modern NFL, where he can be deployed as a matchup specific chess piece. Though he could surprise and go higher, I’d expect him to go somewhere between the 3rd and 4th rounds.

Projection: 3rd-4th Round

DT Marlon Tuipulotu -- 6-foot-2, 307 pounds

The big defensive tackle had a breakout 2020 season, where he capitalized on Jay Tufele’s absence to have his best year in a USC uniform. Tuipulotu’s raw power flashes off the screen, especially in his bull rushes and ability to take on run blocks. He pairs that strength with above-average quickness and a good get-off, giving him an intriguing set of tools to work with at the next level. His back injury history will be concerning to teams, and his limited pass-rushing repertoire will also keep him from being drafted in the early rounds. Like Tufele though, as a plus-athlete in a poor class of interior D-linemen, Tuipulotu will be a valuable pick. Look for him to get taken off the board somewhere between the 4th and 5th rounds.

Projection: 4th-5th Round

CB Olaijah Griffin -- 5-foot-11, 176 pounds

The junior cornerback comes off a quietly impressive 2020 season, with few counting stats to show for six games of dominant coverage on the left side of the field. Griffin was hardly targeted and allowed little to get past him when he was. He’s exceptionally fluid in man coverage, and his long arms and aggression at the catch point allow him to make up for his smaller frame. Griffin is also a surprisingly sound tackler for his size and was arguably one of the Trojans’ best defenders in that area last season. Griffin’s draft stock will be hampered by his lack of ball skills on tape (only 1 career INT), his injury history, and concerns regarding his size. Though team’s might pigeonhole him as a slot corner due to his smaller stature, I think his skill set is best suited to playing on the outside, where he can win with his fluid hips and long arms. Though he might last well into Day 3 with a deep cornerback class ahead of him, it’s more likely than not that a team will take a chance on him somewhere in the final stages of the draft.

Projection: 6th Round

Wide receiver Tyler Vaughns had a steadily productive USC career, but concerns about his speed were furthered when he ran a 4.62 40-yard dash at his Trojans pro day. Vaughns has an impressive highlight reel from his time with the Trojans and has showed enough to deserve a chance to prove himself at the next level, but that might come as an undrafted free agent if he can't sneak into the final rounds as part of this deep WR class.