2017 NFL Draft: Draft Radar Heading into NFL Week 12
As we approach Turkey Day, college football is quickly coming to an end. The characters the public needs to know about regarding the playoff race are well-established, and there was little movement among them this weekend.
Though the Houston Cougars were able to upset the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday night, no other major contender fell, though Ohio State-Michigan State and Indiana-Michigan were closer than expected.
On the flip side, in the NFL, 12 of the 32 franchises in the league already have six losses. That means that unless a third of the NFL wins out from this point forward, they're likely out of the playoff race.
With both the college football regular season and NFL playoff hopes dwindling, there's never been a better time to dip your toe into the NFL draft cycle. We'll go over some recent news regarding potential 2017 draft prospects as we overview college football as a whole.
Stock Up
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Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma
In today's NFL, with so many teams running man-heavy, quarters-heavy and Cover 3-heavy schemes, all which lead to cornerbacks matching with vertical receivers, you have to find receivers who can win one-on-one. Some franchises, like the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, are struggling tremendously this year because they lack that option.
Dede Westbrook, a 6'0" fifth-year senior, has posted 1,354 receiving yards and 15 touchdown receptions this season. Westbrook has proven himself as a home run threat, maybe the second-best behind Washington's John Ross, in college football. This past week against West Virginia, his 75-yard touchdown reception helped put the Sooners in the lead early on, flashing what he can do at the next level.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
While Deshaun Watson may not be having the Heisman season many expected him to heading into the year, he's still looking like a first-round quarterback and his performance against Wake Forest only furthered that notion. He completed 69.7 percent of his passes, didn't throw an interception, averaged 6.7 yards per carry on the ground and scored twice with his feet.
In terms of ESPN's adjusted QBR statistic, this was Watson's best game of the season. Pro Football Focus noted that he was doing well both against the blitz and against heavy coverage.
Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
In a weak offensive tackle class, Ryan Ramczyk is a name you're going to want to learn as quickly as possible. The Wisconsin-Stevens Point transfer went from a Division III player two years ago to redshirting last year and now may be the second offensive lineman off the board in the 2017 draft, behind Alabama's Cam Robinson.
Against Purdue this week, the Badgers ran for 221 rushing yards and four touchdowns while only allowing two sacks. Those numbers don't happen by accident, and Ramczyk is as big of a reason for the team's playoff hopes as anyone else.
Stock Down
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Devonte Fields, EDGE, Louisville
No one may have a more odd path through college football than Devonte Fields. In 2012, Fields was named the Big 12 Conference's Defensive Rookie of the Year during his true freshman season with TCU, but he only played two more games with the Horned Frogs and was forced to transfer to a junior college in 2014 after he was "separated" from the program.
After a year at Trinity Valley Community College, Fields transferred into Louisville, where he posted 22 tackles for a loss last season. This year, he only has eight, and he's only recorded a sack in one of the Cardinals' last eight games.
Him falling off as a pass-rusher has not only disappointed those interested in his NFL potential, but you can make the case that Louisville's four-score loss to the Houston Cougars would have looked a lot different if they could have gotten after quarterback Greg Ward.
Mitch Leidner, QB, Minnesota
Heading into the season, Mitch Leidner was a trendy selection for a potential rising senior with plus arm talent. In 11 games, though, Leidner has only thrown a touchdown in three games. Over the last seven games, Leidner has only posted a single passing touchdown.
For the year, Leidner has thrown six touchdowns and eight interceptions. To say the least, the dream of Leidner being a top-100 selection has died. Even if he does have the arm strength of an NFL passer, he's not even as consistent as a Tom Savage, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Kemoko Turay, EDGE, Rutgers
Kemoko Turay is a 241-pound edge-defender who as a 6'6" redshirt freshman was able to flash as a pass-rusher and kick-blocking specialist. On nearly every Freshman All-American list, you could find Turay, but in the two seasons since then, he's recorded just three sacks.
A former phenom, who was producing quickly after transitioning to football late in his high school career, is now a rare sight on Rutgers' starting defense. If you caught Rutgers-Penn State this weekend, you caught Turay playing just a handful of plays, which according to head coach Chris Ash, is because he's in the dog house for effort questions, per NJ.com.
Turay could have been eligible for last year's draft, but he now looks like he's going to have to return for a fifth year in New Jersey if he wants to be drafted.
Eye-Popping Prospect Numbers of the Week
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While the future of Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong is up in the air, there is a certainty in Austin: running back D'Onta Foreman can handle an NFL-share of carries. Foreman, who has 151 carries since Oct. 29, had 52 touches in an overtime loss to Kansas this weekend.
Visibly, Foreman looks closer to a fullback than a scatback, but his potential as a first- and second-down back in the NFL is going to push him up draft boards. Think of him as a LeGarrette Blount or Derrick Henry type of a big back with balance.
Another running back who went off this week was Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, a 2015 Heisman Trophy contender. While McCaffrey's 2016 season has been a bit of a disappointment, he made the most out of what might be his final game in Pac-12 play.
Against the University of California, McCaffrey rushed for 284 yards, good for an average of 9.2 yards per carry. The Cardinal back also ran for three rushing touchdowns, including a 90-yard breakaway run.
A forgotten player in college football is Fred Ross of Mississippi State. While De'Runnya Wilson declared a year early last season, it was actually Ross who was Dak Prescott's favorite target in his final year as a Bulldog.
Ross only recorded two 100-yard games this season heading into his game against Arkansas, but he ripped off a 10-reception, 171-yard and two-touchdown game against the Razorbacks. Don't be shocked if Ross is one of the "risers" in the draft process when he gets to an all-star game.
Senior Bowl Gems
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Last Monday, the Senior Bowl announced their first dozen players to accept an invitation to the postseason all-star game. Of those 12 players, there was only a single defender on the list.
Despite it being an offense-heavy slate, there are plenty of interesting names on the list that even the casual draft follower should get to know as soon as possible.
Davis Webb, QB, California
He wasn't Jared Goff's backup at California, but Davis Webb transferred in from Texas Tech to become the Golden Bear starter post-Goff. Webb runs a lot of the offense at the line of scrimmage with various hand signals, and the California offense is about as "system" as you can get.
Webb has the tools to play in the NFL, but getting him out of Air Raid offenses in Mobile, Alabama will be huge for his NFL projection. Webb has a total of 35 passing touchdowns this season, and six of his first seven games of the year featured at least four passing touchdowns.
Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan
The Western Michigan Broncos are undefeated, and their star player is receiver Corey Davis. With that being said, Taylor Moton, their right tackle, has a chance to have a better NFL career.
Moton leads the Outland Trophy's Schneider Scale metric, which helps quantify offensive line play. Moton can move like an NFL bookend, though he hasn't been tested much as a pass protector in the MAC this year. Those one-on-one battles at the Senior Bowl will be huge to fill in the blanks.
Amba Etta-Tawo, WR, Syracuse
If you would have brought up Amba Etta-Tawo's name in August, everyone would have asked who you were talking about. Etta-Tawo posted 500 receiving yards as a freshman, but combined for 436 yards between his sophomore and junior years combined.
Somehow, the Syracuse product posted 100-yard games in his first five games of his senior season. Currently, Etta-Tawo has 1,304 receiving yards on the year, good for the sixth-best mark in the FBS.
If Etta-Tawo wants to have a Kevin White-like rise, he's going to need a strong performance in the all-star circuit, as well as the combine.
Match Maker: Quarterback-Needy Teams
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Cleveland Browns: Deshone Kizer, Notre Dame
The Cleveland Browns need pieces to build their team around. They have skill players and splinters of talent on the offensive line, but they have no identity because they lack leadership on defense and at quarterback.
Deshone Kizer, a redshirt sophomore from Notre Dame, is very similar to an Eli Manning or Jameis Winston in terms of a quarterback with great potential, but has some high-variance tendencies. The 4-7 Fighting Irish are going to have to make a compelling case to bring Kizer back in 2017.
San Francisco 49ers: Deshaun Watson, Clemson
As everyone knows, Chip Kelly's offensive system works best with a quarterback who can use his mobility as a threat. It's hard to think Deshaun Watson is a worse passer than Colin Kaepernick is right now, though they may be similar as runners.
Watson's comparison going into the draft cycle is likely to be Teddy Bridgewater, the former starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, if the junior does declare.
Chicago Bears: Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina
Mitch Trubisky is a one-year starter who is making the most of his junior season at North Carolina. Under Larry Fedora, Trubisky has the freedom to play in a spread-happy system, but he's playing incredibly efficiently, even after using the decoder ring of a spread offense.
Trubisky is a big, tall and mobile passer who is young. That sounds a lot like Brock Osweiler coming out of Arizona State, who Chicago Bears head coach John Fox drafted when he was with the Denver Broncos.
Arizona Cardinals: Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
Since Carson Palmer's injury against the Philadelphia Eagles last season, he's thrown just one more touchdown than interception. That's a problem, considering the fact that the Arizona Cardinals' offense is completely based off the home run ball, stretching defenses vertically.
If you're looking for a vertical passer from the college football world, Mason Rudolph is at the top of the list. Rudolph plays in one of the most wide open offenses in the country, and he tests a multitude of deep coverages in the Big 12 Conference. No one is a better fit for Bruce Arians' system than Rudolph.
Underclassmen Spotlight: Redshirt Sophomores
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While the majority of draft coverage revolves around juniors and seniors, there are several redshirt sophomores who figure to make an impact on the 2017 NFL draft. Last year, for example, seven redshirt sophomores declared early for the draft, and four of them (Clemson's Mackensie Alexander, Ohio State's Eli Apple, Ohio State's Austin Hooper and Ohio State's Darron Lee) became top-100 selections.
This year, the names DeShone Kizer of Notre Dame and Jabrill Peppers of Michigan are already being mocked as top-10 picks, despite the fact they have two more years of eligibility available. There are a handful of other names that could make sense as early declarations, too, though.
Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
Joe Mixon has rushed for 1,837 yards for the Oklahoma Sooners in his career, including a 263-yard game against Texas Tech this season. He will be just 20 years old at the time of the draft, but he has been suspended twice, most recently for "team rules violation," but most notably for punching a woman.
Mixon has the talent to be a first-round running back, but his off-field issues make his draft future cloudy.
Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
If you're looking for a player with Josh Gordon-like talent without the off-field baggage, Courtland Sutton is as close as you're going to come. Sutton already has over 2,000 receiving yards to his name and is approaching a 20-touchdown mark, insane numbers for a sophomore.
Against South Florida last week, Sutton was able to post 252 receiving yards and two scores in a one-score loss.
Solomon Thomas, DL, Stanford
The most dominant defensive player in the Pac-12 is Solomon Thomas, a former high school All-American who is now in his second year of heavy reps on Stanford's defensive line. This class is absolutely loaded with edge-defender talent, but Thomas' ability to flex as an interior defensive lineman, a role he plays often in Stanford's 3-4 defense, sets him apart.
He has 21.5 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks in 23 games in college football. There's little for him to prove from this point forward, now matter what class he's in.
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