One of the names rising fast up the draft boards is that of former LSU pass-rusher Barkevious Mingo, who seems to have visited or has visit or workout scheduled with about half the teams, as projections are now placing him in the top half of the first round in the 2013 NFL draft, according to the kind of interest he’s generating from the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.

According to recent mocks, Mingo is projected to go in the top 15, maybe even the top 10. Pass-rushing is something that you can never have too much of, and even if some scouts around the NFL are saying that his film doesn’t really support the notion that he should be picked so soon in the draft, it seems teams are loving what they see from him in workouts, not to mention that wonderful word, upside.

He is scheduled to have workouts with the Chiefs, Browns and Falcons, while he’s going to have visits with the Jags, Bills, Titans and Panthers when the whole draft sorting out business is over. Mingo played for the LSU Tigers since 2010, recording 15 sacks in 50 games, including 8 during his Sophomore season. He was on the All-SEC second team in 2011, but like the entire LSU team, suffered somewhat of a regression in 2012, with injuries and a bit of bad coaching from Les Miles hurting them along the way.