As the NFL draft begins in Kansas City, there are two Jayhawks who are on the radar of draft experts, but projections call for them to go much later than Thursday’s first round.

Defensive end Lonnie Phelps Jr. and offensive lineman Earl Bostick Jr. both were invited to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last month.

ESPN has Phelps ranked as the No. 10 outside linebacker in the draft and as the 147th player overall. Bostick is ranked as the No. 19 offensive tackle and the 230th player overall. The draft begins Thursday at Kansas City’s Union Station and runs through Saturday. The event has seven rounds and a total of 259 selections. That could mean that Bostick and Phelps will have to wait late into Saturday to know their draft outcomes.

Phelps was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season and led the Jayhawks in tackles for loss with 11.5. Bostick started 36 games for the Jayhawks during his career and has been graded by many draft experts as having the size and speed to compete for a tackle position in the NFL with a team looking for a mobile offensive lineman.

Phelps and Bostick are the only two KU players who were invited to the NFL draft combine. Six other Jayhawks participated in KU Pro Day on the Lawrence campus in late March. They were: Sam Burt, Zion DeBose, Malcolm Lee, Lorenzo McCaskill, Caleb Sampson and Eddie Wilson.

KU is trying to make it two years in a row of having Jayhawks drafted. Last year, linebacker Kyron Johnson was selected in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles.