For the second straight draft period, a player has suffered a significant injury during the latter phases of the NFL draft evaluation process.
Outside linebacker/defensive end Zack Wagenmann (Montana), who is projected to be selected anywhere between the fourth and sixth rounds, broke a foot during a recent private workout with an NFL team.
"We were just going through drills and I kind of threw my foot down to plant and it kind of popped," Wagenmann told ESPN.com. "We were doing some simple linebacker stuff and I was doing a drop and plant and redirect drill, and I just planted on it weird and rolled the outside of my foot. And that was it."
While Wagenmann got better-than-expected news after surgery was performed to help repair the break, he still will not be able to participate in football-related activities for at least eight weeks.
"These are the situations that keep you up at night as you are guiding guys through this process," his agent, Noel LaMontagne from Eastern Athletic Service Inc., said. "Part of this deal is putting yourself out there and allowing for these multiple rounds of tests and evaluations, but during this stage, the risk is all on these players. If something happens, there is no safety net, and no matter how much we make sure they are insured, trained to the utmost, and that the environment is as controlled as possible, accidents still happen.
"The key is making sure that when something does happen, everything gets done right to ensure the best possible outcome. The team has been outstanding from the first moment we knew something was wrong. There has been no doubt that all of us involved, including the NFL, want what is best for Zack and want to make sure that he gets the best of everything he needs to get healthy. Zack is always going to be a part of our family and our responsibility, but even though the draft hasn't happened and he isn't in the NFL yet, they have treated him like one of their own, and that means a lot."
Former Clemson offensive lineman Brandon Thomas, who was projected as an early-to-mid-second-round pick prior to last year's draft, tore an ACL in a noncontact drill during a private workout with the New Orleans Saints and dropped all the way to the last pick of the third round (100th overall by San Francisco 49ers). Thomas spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list.