The college football season is over, which means it is time to start talking about the NFL draft. Mississippi State has five players at the moment who have a good chance of being drafted – cornerback Johnthan Banks, defensive tackle Josh Boyd, wide receiver Chad Bumphis, outside linebacker Cameron Lawrence and cornerback Darius Slay.
Banks is the stand-out player of this bunch and the only player among the group who has the talent and potential to be a full-time NFL starter as a rookie. Scouts consider Banks the second best cornerback prospect in the entire draft class behind Alabama’s Dee Milliner.
Banks can cover, but his biggest strength is his ability to play the run, which is a rarity at his position. In coverage, Banks is capable of playing both man and zone well but, of the two, is better in man coverage.
Banks has average speed at the corner position but his 6’2, 185-pound frame is great size for a cornerback and will allow him to be physical at the line of scrimmage with receivers and to match up with a lot of the bigger receivers at the NFL level who are 6’3 or 6’4. I think Banks, if he reaches his full potential, can be a bigger, more athletic version of Antoine Winfield, the three-time Pro Bowl cornerback who currently plays for the Vikings.
As of right now, three players from MSU have been invited to the NFL Combine: Banks, Boyd and Slay. Banks got all the attention this season, but Slay proved to be a ball hawk this year with five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. 
Of all the guys who are projected to be drafted from State, Slay is the only one who was not on the NFL radar at the beginning of the season, but he is now projected to go in the third round.
Slay has average speed for the NFL level, but being 6’1, 190 pounds helps his stock. Slay still has room to improve in terms of technique and pure coverage skills at the next level, but he’s rocketed up draft boards because of his ball skills and playmaking abilities.
Boyd is projected to be a fifth rounder. In college, Boyd was a one-technique defensive tackle, and as of right now, scouts believe he will be too small and not physically dominant enough to play that role in the NFL. Yet, at the same time, he is not athletic enough nor a good enough pass rusher to be a three-technique. But scouts praise Boyd for his high motor and his ability to play the run, and because of that, he will make an NFL roster.  
Lawrence was named to the All-SEC second team for his outstanding play this season. As of now, he is only projected to be a sixth or seventh round pick, but that could change as he begins to work out for teams and scouts take a closer look at him.
He had 111 tackles this season and 123 his junior year. That shows consistency, which is always valued when looking at seniors who played well in their junior years. At only 230 pounds, though, he is small and needs to get bigger and stronger to hold up against the run at the next level.
Coming into the year, it looked like Bumphis might end up on the outside looking in on draft day, but after putting together the best season of his career during his senior campaign with 12 touchdowns, he put himself in a great position to be drafted.
He shows quickness rather than speed, and at 5’11 he best translates as a slot WR in the NFL. He is currently projected to be a seventh-round pick. He brings value to a team as a kick or punt returner, which should play a big role in him being drafted.
Cornerback Corey Broomfield, offensive tackle Tobias Smith and wide receiver Chris Smith are in the mix but may not get drafted; however, all three should be able to receive an invite to camp and have a chance to make a team as an undrafted free agent if they are not selected in the draft.