COLUMN: Paxton DeLaurent faces uphill climb to NFL draft

Paxton DeLaurent ended his college career as one of, if not the most consequential athlete in the history of Southeast Missouri State athletics.

DeLaurent leaves SEMO with two of the Redhawks’ five Ohio Valley Conference titles and all the significant passing records (8,563 yards, 737 completions, 63 touchdowns in three years). He has punctuated his end by revealing his future plans by declaring for the 2025 NFL draft.

DeLaurent threw for 4,087 yards this year and tied the FCS record for pass attempts in a single game (85) in his final collegiate contest. If he can’t make it into the NFL, what chance does the next Redhawk quarterback have?

DeLaurent follows the road paved by his former teammate, Dallas Cowboys receiver Ryan Flournoy, but his climb is much steeper.

The National Football League will find talent anywhere across the country. No level of college football is too remote. Flournoy is one of five FCS players on the Cowboys and the roster includes a nine-year veteran from Division II California (Pennsylvania). The team they played on Monday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals, has two players from Division II programs on their roster.

However, all positions on the football field are grunts compared to the quarterback. A position as prestigious and consequential as the signal-caller behind center comes with a less macro scope in scouting.

There are only six quarterbacks from the FCS in the NFL this year, and half of them played for North Dakota State. Two of them were drafted in the first round, based on their size and the reputation of a program that has dominated the FCS level for over a decade and is being courted by FBS conferences.

Eastern Illinois’ legacy of producing NFL quarterbacks from Tony Romo to Jimmy Garoppolo gives fellow OVC members hope of producing similar quarterbacks. While Romo went underrated during his rise to franchise quarterback status, Garoppolo threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns his senior season and those numbers could not be ignored. He was drafted in the second round by the New England Patriots.

DeLaurent is entering a prospect pool with the likes of Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, who are both likely to play in All-Star games such as the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl. Both Ward and Sanders have been projected to be selected among the top five in the first round of the NFL draft. Texas’ Quinn Ewers and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier round out the quarterbacks expected to be picked in the first round.

None of the 10 quarterbacks in CBS Sports’ prospect rankings are from Group of Five conferences, let alone the FCS. Pro Football Focus lists 24 potential quarterbacks to be drafted and they are all from Power Four programs.

The deck is stacked against DeLaurent, and if he were to hear his name called, it would be on the third day, between the fifth and seventh rounds.

However, he can follow the path set forth by Flournoy. DeLaurent already has a head start by taking part in the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor. The Senior Bowl or Shrine Bowl are out of the question given his recovery from surgery.

An invitation to the NFL scouting combine would be a sign of progress. His pro day may be irrelevant, but the NFL representatives in attendance are always a source of clues as to which team may make the pick.

Then, all that’s left is the draft party and the waiting process that comes with it. Even if he doesn’t get drafted, there’s always an offer to join a team’s minicamp or training camp.

And below all that is the United Football League, the spring football league where the St. Louis Battlehawks play. The NFL draft is typically in late April, so if DeLaurent were to pivot to that league afterward, it would be as a late addition.

DeLaurent’s declaration is just the start of a five-month journey we shall eagerly follow.