4 reasons BYU fans should follow the 2016 NFL Draft

The 2016 NFL Draft is upon us and that means a handful of former Cougars will be nervously waiting to see if they will get the chance to continue their football careers in the NFL.

As in recent year's there are only a few prospects out of the Y that actually have a shot of being drafted. Bronson Kaufusi is at the top of that list and the only former Cougar in this year's class that is considered to be guaranteed draftee.

But that doesn't mean that aren't a number of interesting storylines for BYU fans to keep an eye on the next few days. Several other Cougars have met with an NFL team or two and may slip into the Draft's late rounds on Saturday.

Here a list of the questions BYU fans will have answered during (and shortly after) the Draft:

1. When does Bronson Kaufusi end up being drafted?

Plenty of NFL teams have shown interest in the star BYU defensive end and Kaufusi visited with at least eight of those teams. Mock drafts have Kaufusi going as early as the late first round and as late as the fourth. It's likely that Kaufusi will actually come off the board somewhere in the middle of those projections in the third or fourth round on Day 2.

2. Does Mitch Mathews or Terenn Houk get drafted?

The other two Cougars who met with teams on official visits were Mitch Mathews and Terenn Houk.

Mathews turned several heads after putting up some impressive numbers at the BYU Pro Day and ended up taking official visits to Green Bay and Kansas City. Mathews has the measurables and on-field production worthy of a player that is drafted around the fifth round, but is expected to be more of a borderline prospect who could go anywhere between the sixth and seventh rounds or slip into the ranks of the undrafted free agents. Mathews fate will likely depend on how popular the wide receiver position is in this year's draft.

Houk reportedly had an impressive performance during his visit with his hometown Seattle Seahawks.  Right now Houk is still expected to go undrafted, but depending on how the rest of the draft plays out he could slip into the late rounds.

3. How many Cougars will get signed as undrafted free agents?

Last season six former Cougars signed undrafted free agent deals with NFL teams shortly after the draft ended, which was a bit of a surprise. Three of those six ended up spending at least some portion of last season on a 53-man roster and nearly all of them at least ended up on the practice squad.

Could the former Cougars in this year's class have similar success after going undrafted? With players like Devon Blackmon, Ryker Mathews, Manoa Pikula, and Graham Rowley likely having to rely on the free agent route, it could be another interesting year for BYU's undrafted players.

4. Will another QB that transferred away from BYU get drafted?

Back in 2013, SUU quarterback Brad Sorensen was drafted in the seventh round of the draft by the San Diego Chargers. Sorensen transferred to SUU from BYU to get more playing time given that he was buried behind Jake Heaps and Riley Nelson on the Cougars depth chart.

This season Ammon Olsen, another SUU quarterback who arrived in Cedar City via BYU (although he did attend SUU as a freshman before coming to the Y) in hope of getting more playing time, has a chance to be drafted. Olsen was invited to and played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and is consider by some as one of the more underrated quarterbacks in this year's class.