Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard’s long and winding road from lightly recruited prospect coming out of high school to first round NFL Draft pick culminates tonight when the annual three-day event gets underway in Nashville.

Ever since Dillard impressed scouts and talent evaluators at the Senior Bowl in late January, nearly every major NFL Draft analyst has had Dillard going in the first round. Some have him in the Top 10. Nearly all have him in the Top 20.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper predicts in his final mock draft released Thursday that Dillard will be selected No. 16 overall by the Carolina Panthers, whose GM, Marty Hurney, visited Pullman for Pro Day earlier this month.

“Dillard, the best true pass protector in this draft, would improve this team,” Kiper wrote. “He might play right tackle if he goes there.”

Todd McShay, Kiper’s compatriot at ESPN, has Dillard lasting until No. 23 when the Houston Texans make their first round selection. “Considering the Texans allowed 62 sacks of Deshaun Watson in 2018, the fact Dillard allowed just one all season for the Cougars might be of interest. He has excellent feet.”

USA Today draft analyst Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz agrees with Kiper that Dillard will be picked No. 16 by Carolina. “Cam Newton is long overdue for a long-term investment in a blindside protector, and Dillard is the most experienced and fleet-footed option in this class,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote.

Three NFL Draft analysts for CBSSports.com have Dillard going anywhere from No. 11 (Cincinnati) to No. 23 (Houston). Same for most NFL.com analysts. Bucky Brooks has Dillard going No. 14 to Atlanta. “Adding a quality edge blocker is a priority with Matt Ryan still in the prime of his career,” Brook wrote Thursday. “Dillard is a polished technician with the footwork and athleticism to shine on either side of the line.”

NFL.com’s Peter Schrager predicts Houston will trade up to No. 8 and take Dillard. “Houston trades up for an offensive tackle to watch Deshaun Watson's blind side, trading picks Nos. 23, 55 and 86,” Schrager wrote. “There are three offensive linemen viewed as elite guys in this draft. They'll go early. And teams will trade up to get them.”

Former NFL GM and current NFL.com analyst Charlie Casserly predicts the Buffalo Bills will take Dillard at No. 9. “Dillard is the best pass blocker in the 2019 draft,” Casserly wrote. “Ty Nsekhe (2019 free-agent signing) and Dion Dawkins (2017 second-rounder) are currently set to start at the two tackle spots, but that shouldn't prohibit the Bills from bolstering their O-line. It's all about building around Josh Allen.”

Here is Yahoo’s scouting report on Dillard:

Key stat: Dillard’s broad-jump number at the NFL scouting combine (118 inches) tied for the third-best mark in the past 20 years among all offensive linemen. The record, set in 2018 by UCLA’s Kolton Miller (who was the 15th overall pick of the Oakland Raiders), is 121 inches.

The skinny: Dillard was a lightly recruited, 240-pound tackle who was attracting interest mostly from lower-level programs (Eastern Washington, Idaho, Portland State) before the Cougars entered the picture. Dillard’s father, Mitch, had played for WSU in the 1980s and Andre committed in early 2014 before redshirting his freshman season – when he was 17 years old to start the year – and playing three games as a reserve left tackle (backing up 2016 Detroit Lions fifth-round pick Joe Dahl) in 2015.

Dillard finally got his full-time chance in 2016, replacing Dahl at left tackle, and he’d go on to start the final 39 games of his career at that spot. He was named honorable mention all-Pac-12 by the conference’s coaches in 2017 and elevated to first-team all-conference and third-team AP All-American as a senior in 2018.

Dillard, who turns 23 in October, had a standout week at the Senior Bowl as well as at the NFL scouting combine.

Upside: Lean, chiseled physique. Nothing holding him back athletically. Combo of wide frame and athletic profile put him in elite territory. Exceptional testing numbers in the 40-yard dash (4.96 seconds), broad jump, 3-cone drill (7.44 seconds), and 20-yard shuttle (4.4 seconds). Great balance and weight distribution. Natural knee bender who maintains good leverage and positioning.

Rare smoothness to his movement – silky, ease kick slide. Traps and pulls well and doesn’t whiff in space. Gets into his jump sets and 45-degree sets quickly and holds his water. Nice get off, strike, stick and finish. Passes off defenders well and climbs to find the next target. Head and eyes stay up and on a swivel. Loves to get out on screens and shovel passes to lead the way – always tries to get his paws on one more guy. Clean and crisp in combine OL drills – might have the best feet and mirror skills of any OL in this year’s draft class.

Sneaky-good jab punch. Not a mauler but plays with a little pop. Looked the part in one-on-one pass-rush drills at the Senior Bowl.

Hard-working and studious. Quick thinker – plays an intellectual brand of ball and is a fast processor with overload pressures, stunts and twists. Still relatively new to football despite his 39 college starts – didn’t start playing the sport until he was in eighth grade. Allowed only one sack on 677 pass attempts in 2018, and Cougars often were in five-man protections, so he was on an island.