Three Syracuse football DBs who declared will play on Sundays next year

Ifeatu Melifonwu is the latest member of the Syracuse football secondary to declare.

Syracuse football slugged through a rough 2020 term in which it went 1-10 and saw a boatload of its players either opt-out amid the novel coronavirus pandemic or unfortunately get injured.

But Orange Nation can revel in the possibility that three members of the ‘Cuse secondary from the recently concluded campaign have a realistic chance to hear their name called in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu, a redshirt junior, said via Twitter that he will forgo his remaining eligibility on the Hill and enter his name into next year’s NFL Draft.

Melifonwu is an extremely talented defensive back who has received some buzz as a possible 2021 NFL Draft selection, according to analysts.

He joins star junior safety Andre Cisco and fellow junior defensive back Trill Williams, who by his own right is really, really good, as those players within the Syracuse football secondary who have declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.

That’s quite exciting to see for all of us ‘Cuse fanatics out there, although, at the same time, an Orange squad that proved sub-par in 2020 will have a lot to replace at defensive back in the 2021 stanza.

Thankfully, the ‘Cuse secondary boasts multiple other excellent players already on the roster. Plus, the team’s 2021 recruiting cycle features three-star safety Malcolm Folk and cornerback Duce Chestnut, who is rated three stars by 247Sports and four stars by Rivals.com.

Syracuse football could have a trio of its present defensive backs in the NFL.

As the 2020 college football season wraps up over the next few weeks and there is a better understanding of which underclassmen are declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft rather than returning to their respective schools, experts will continue to update their projected draft boards.

That, in turn, may help gives us a better indication of where Cisco, Williams and Melifonwu might possibly get chosen in the 2021 NFL Draft.

For now, I’m seeing Cisco pop up here and there in 2021 mock drafts, but not the other two guys, and at least not in the first round. Cisco undeniably is the most well-known player of the three, as he was a third-team All-American as a true freshman in 2018.

Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, noted in an article this interesting fact that we wanted to pass along. “The Orange has never had three defensive backs selected in the same NFL Draft. This, obviously, does not include undrafted free agents, but only those actually selected by a team in one of the available rounds.”

Let’s cross our collective fingers that the ‘Cuse makes history in the 2021 NFL Draft with Cisco, Williams and Melifonwu all picked!