Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Louisville Cardinals take the field before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

The Louisville football team was placed in the top-25 of CBS’ NFL Draft talent rankings for the 2016 college football season.

Louisville football has incredible expectations for themselves in 2016. Sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson is set to have a breakout year, the offensive line is reportedly playing well and the team returns many starters back to the field. Louisville is sure to be a top-25 team to open the year, but where do they rank in terms of NFL Draft talent in 2016-2017?

Dan Brugler from NFL Draft Scout on CBS, has Louisville ranked 20th in terms of draft talent on their current roster.

“After a school-record 10 draft picks in the 2015 class, Louisville was due for a dip in the 2016 NFL Draft as Sheldon Rankins was the Cardinals‘ only draft pick. His spot at No. 12 overall was the highest selection for a Louisville player since 2007 and gave the program a first-round pick for the third straight season, which is a first in U of L history.”

This is another article of reassurance for Louisville fans who are worried if their Cardinals can compete with Clemson and Florida State in 2016. The Cardinals lost a ton of talent to the draft in 2015, which can have an impact on the draft class coming out a year later. Aka, Louisville only having Sheldon Rankins drafted in 2016.

This doesn’t mean that the Cardinals are losing draft talent each year, it just means that their most talented players are still young and currently on the team.

Brugler also mentioned that, “The Cardinals don’t have a lock first round pick in the 2017 class, but the school will be well represented over seven rounds with half a dozen seniors projecting as draftable. It will be tough to catch Clemson, but Louisville will compete with Florida State to be the second-most represented ACC program in the 2017 NFL Draft”

I definitely disagree with that statement. You can never say that anyone is a sure thing because of injuries and other circumstances, but Devonte Fields is one of the best linebackers in the entire country. He is looking to add his second conference defensive player of the year award this season, while leading the Cardinals to ACC Championship glory.

Fields is an elite player on a team who could have a phenomenal year. That is the closest thing to a lock that any other University in the country could have.

Brugler noted six Cardinals that he felt were the most ready for the NFL Draft as we speak: Devonte Fields, Keith Kelsey, DeAngelo Brown, James Quick, Josh Harvey-Clemons and Brandon Radcliff.

The two that jumped out were Quick and Radcliff. Both of these guys are solid college players, but they are going to need big 2016 seasons to make the jump into any round of the NFL Draft. Radcliff and Quick are in positions where Louisville has incredible depth. If they cannot find ways to excel, there are sure to be other guys ready to take a share of their touches in 2016.

For example, Jamari Staples is a guy who NFL teams should take a look at before they consider James Quick. Staples is a big receiver at 6-foot-3 and has a “DeVante Parker-like” ability to go up and catch the football in traffic. In the NFL game, teams are going to take a guy who can make the tough catches during big games, not a guy who consistently struggles with drops.

The point of all of this is to show that Louisville has great depth and talent within their 2016 roster. They are not as far away from Clemson and Florida State as some people may think. All this preseason Louisville hype means nothing, unless they can show everyone that they can beat the top-dogs in the ACC in 2016.

If they can do that, don’t be surprised to see more than the six featured players listed in the Brugler’s article get drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft.