Jerell Adams taking care of final business before NFL Draft

NFL Draft week is starting to move fast for Jerell Adams.

The former South Carolina tight end, whose stock has risen throughout most of the evaluation process, flew to Chicago on Tuesday and remained there Wednesday for an NFL Players Association event. Adams is scheduled to travel home to Pinewood on Thursday, where he’ll wait to learn his fate.

With two days before the first day of the draft, nobody thinks more highly of Adams than the analysts at Pro Football Focus. Adams is projected to be picked by the Houston Texans in the second round with the No. 52 overall pick, according to PFF.

“More weapons for (new Texans quarterback Brock) Osweiler, Adams is the best inline-blocking tight end in the draft and he has some wiggle at the top of his routes to create separation up the seam,” PFF analyst Steve Palazzolo wrote. “He forced 10 missed tackles in 2015, tied for tops among tight ends in the class, all the more impressive when considering the poor (quarterback) situation at South Carolina.”

The first round of the draft will be held Thursday night, although it’s doubtful Adams will hear his name called then despite being the Gamecock most analysts think will be picked first this year. Rounds two and three will be held Friday, and rounds four through seven will be held Saturday. CBSSports.com also projects Adams as a second-round pick, at No. 88 overall by the Green Bay Packers.

“Jerell Adams is the most underrated of all the tight ends in this year’s class,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “He’s still developing, still growing into his frame.”

Adams, 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, caught 66 passes for 977 yards and seven touchdowns in his South Carolina career. He immediately began to shine after graduation though, posting one of the most impressive performances among tight ends at the NFL Combine in February. Adams ran a 4.64 40-yard dash that week in Indianapolis, Ind.

Adams’ workout numbers “matched the tape,” McShay said. “He gave great effort as a blocker, even though he’s probably never going to be a true in-line blocker in the NFL.”

NFL.com ranks Adams the fifth-best tight end in this year’s draft class, behind Arkansas’ Hunter Henry, Ohio State’s Nick Vannett, East Carolina’s Bryce Williams and Western Kentucky’s Tyler Higbee. The group will be trying to make a bigger impact on professional football than the last few tight end classes, which have proven deficient on frontline talent.

“There are some players in this draft,” McShay said, “but we have been without that elite true first rounder the last few years. It may have something to do with college football and the offenses. We have known the last few years the tight end groups haven’t been great, and it’s what we’ve seen in the NFL.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Jerell Adams taking care of final business before NFL Draft."