Mason Reiger was only in Madison for one season after transferring from Louisville, but in that one season, he drank from the OLB-U well. He went from being someone who didn't project to be an NFL player before the season, to an UDFA, and now he's starting to pop up in NFL Mock Drafts, and NFL Scouts were paying attention when he won the defensive MVP award at the East West Shrine Bowl.
It's not quite NFL Mock Draft season, with most coming out after the NFL Combine when the picture becomes clearer. However, that doesn't stop writers from seeing Reiger jump into the NFL Draft. There are now two mock drafts in the last week that have popped Reiger's name in the draft.
Clutch Points: Round 7 to the Cincinnati Bengals
The first came out shortly after the East-West Shrine Bowl and was published on the website ClutchPoints (note that this mock was generated by the PFF mock draft simulator). It was a seven round mock draft for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Reiger is projected to be one of their seventh-round picks. Writer Ben Straus said this about him, "It is also easy to wonder about his upside after dominating at this week's East-West Shrine game."
Denver Broncos on SI: Round 7
The other mock draft that Reiger was found on is a Broncos site on SI.com. Reiger was once again predicted to be a seventh-round pick and to go to the Broncos. Yet, similar to the article above, writer Erick Trickel said, "He is going to be a coach's favorite and likely be drafted earlier than the seventh round."
These are two different mocks that include Reiger in the seventh round, but neither is sure that's actually fair for him. Thinking that he has a chance to rise even higher and go even sooner. It's because he was dominant at the Shrine Bowl, and articles are popping up about how NFL Draft Analysts are noticing.