Art Briles is at it again.
Briles, Baylor's head coach, made yet another bold proclamation at the Bears' pro day Wednesday, telling reporters that he expects his former quarterback Bryce Petty will be a first-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
This isn't the first -- nor will it be the last -- time that Briles has campaigned for his signal-caller in the first round of the draft, but you can understand why he's being so supportive as coaches, scouts and front office personnel flock to Waco to see the latest group of Baylor prospects.
Briles previously said that Petty would be a "top five pick" this year and that he could be the Blake Bortles of the draft.
Such scenarios seem unlikely to play out when it comes times to submit the cards in Chicago. Only Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is considered a lock to go in the top five, and there's plenty of debate over where the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the draft, Oregon's Marcus Mariota, will be picked.
Some team will probably take a chance on Petty, however, even if his draft slot ends up a bit lower than Briles predicts. Petty is ranked by NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock as the No. 3 quarterback in the draft, and his pro day offers him a chance to solidify that status ahead of others such as UCLA's Brett Hundley and Colorado State's Garrett Grayson.
The bigger question that Petty has to answer, one that not even Briles can help him with, is whether he can transition to a pro-style offense, and whether that process will go smoother than that of another Baylor product, Robert Griffin III, for some future NFL team.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
