AUBURN | It’s the biggest moment of his football career and Roger McCreary just wants to be home.

And that’s where the former Auburn cornerback will be, surrounded by his family, when he hears his name chosen in the 2022 NFL Draft.

It’s likely that happens Friday night in the second or third round.

“I thought about that since I was young. People asked me if I wanted to go to the draft, and I was like, nah, I just want to be there with my family because my support system is the reason why I’m here. That’s who I want to celebrate it with,” said McCreary.

In a new mock draft on ESPN.com, Steve Muench of Scouts Inc. has McCreary going 19th in the second round, No. 51 overall, to the Philadelphia Eagles. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com lists McCreary has the 21st best available player after the first round.

A new Sports Illustrated mock draft has McCreary going to the Houston Texans with the 4th pick in the third round, No. 68 overall.

“Just to hear them say, ‘we finally want you.’ That’s all I need, just one chance from a team, and I’m going to give them all that I got. That’s all I need, just that one call,” said McCreary.

McCreary was a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior. He finished his Auburn career with 135 tackles, 32 pass breakups and six interceptions including one he returned for a 35-yard touchdown against Alabama State in 2021.

He played in 43 career games with 23 starts after coming to AU as a 3-star in the 2018 class who was committed to South Alabama until picking up an offer from AU the December after his senior year.

“Coming in as a three-star, everybody overlooked me, so just coming in with a three-star under me, I just wanted to prove everybody wrong,” said McCreary. “That was my mindset—just prove everybody wrong and dominate the No. 1 receiver. That was my mindset the whole time with a chip on my shoulder.”

McCreary is expected to join an impressive string of AU cornerbacks taken early in the NFL Draft. Carlton Davis was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round in 2018, Jamel Dean in the third round by the Buccaneers in 2019 and Noah Igbinoghene in the first round by the Miami Dolphins in 2020.

“A dog. You’re getting a dog,” said safety Smoke Monday of what NFL teams can expect from McCreary. “You’re getting a guy that’s going to go 100 percent every single play. If he ain’t got nothing, he’s going to give you every single thing he’s got. I promise you.”

The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft took place Thursday evening in Las Vegas. The second and third rounds begin Friday at 6 p.m. CT and rounds 4-7 will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. It’s being televised on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.