2017 NFL Draft: Bowl Season's Hottest Rising Prospects

Right or wrong, postseason performances matter for college prospects staring the NFL draft in the face. Only a few years ago, there were some who believed that then-Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones should have declared for the NFL draft, simply off the strength of his playoff run with the Buckeyes.

Often, bowl game standouts can be fool's gold, like Margus Hunt of SMU, who was a standout in back-to-back bowl seasons, which eventually landed him with the Cincinnati Bengals after coming off the board with the 53rd pick in the 2013 draft. As a 29-year-old, though, he has just 1.5 sacks as an NFL defensive end.

In an attempt to shift through what is fake and real, we'll give an overview of this bowl season's biggest risers. With the volatility of leaning on just one game for a player's evaluation in mind, we chose five players who have top-100 pedigrees, either based on recent production or athleticism, instead of simply selecting the leaders in receiving yards and sacks during the bowl season.

If you missed some of the big college games during the holidays, or if you're a fan of one of the 20 franchises with a finalized season, consider this a crash course for where the draft cycle currently stands.

Dalvin Cook

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

One of the biggest narratives heading into college football's postseason was if a student-athlete should turn down the opportunity to play in a bowl game if the player is going to be a future professional. This conversation largely revolved around running backs, as they have a short life span in the NFL and are prone to some of the largest hits in the sport.

Two potential first-round running backs, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey and LSU's Leonard Fournette, elected to not play in the postseason, which gave Florida State's Dalvin Cook a huge platform. Fournette and Cook are considered the top backs in the class by just about everyone in the draft community, and Fournette has a history of hiccups against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In the Orange Bowl, when Florida State met Michigan, Cook had the chance to show evaluators that he, unlike Fournette, was able to create plays for himself against the best defense he went toe-to-toe with in his college football career. The Wolverines defense was ranked first in the country in Football Outsiders' S&P+ Ratings, an advanced stat that measures success and efficiency.

Though Michigan did not play with Jabrill Peppers, their Heisman Trophy finalist linebacker, since he was limited with a hamstring issue, Cook was able to record 145 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards to carry the Seminoles to a 33-32 victory. For reference, Florida State freshman quarterback Deondre Francois completed just nine of 27 passes against that lockdown defense.

Cook peaked on a national stage, in front of NFL scouts, against the best competition he's ever been on the field with in his career. Not only that, but he did it when the other two top backs in this draft class refused to compete, after having at least somewhat disappointing 2016 regular seasons. Do not be shocked if he's the top back selected in April, a potential top-10 pick.

Bo Scarbrough

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

To be eligible for the NFL draft, you must be three seasons removed from your high school graduation. Because of that, there are very few true sophomores who are ever able to declare for the NFL draft. Though it's not unheard of, as players like Larry Fitzgerald have declared as true sophomores due to various loopholes.

Alabama's top running back, Bo Scarbrough, wasn't able to play football for the Crimson Tide in 2014 because of an academics issue, so he's only been part of the team for two years, but he's three years removed from high school football. According to Scout, Scarbrough was a 5-star recruit in the 2014 high school class, largely due to his raw potential.

According to NFL Draft Scout, Scarbrough is 6'1” and 228 pounds with a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, which will lead to comparisons to Derrick Henry, who won last season's Heisman Trophy with Alabama as a big, balanced back. Henry, who was selected 45th overall by the Tennessee Titans in 2016, and LeGarrette Blount, who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns this season, are the blueprints for Scarbrough's NFL projection.

Against Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl, Scarbrough rushed for 180 yards against the Huskies, dwarfing Washington's 44 rushing yards. Alabama beat the Huskies by three scores, despite the fact that Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts had just 57 passing yards and the second-highest rushing total by a running back in the game was Damien Harris with 30 rushing yards.

Scarbrough's two rushing touchdowns were enough to win the game for Alabama by itself. Against a Washington defensive line with three potential NFL defensive tackles on the line, including one playing a defensive end role, his takeover was amazing.

At one point, he had a 68-yard touchdown run, which featured eight different defenders hitting the ground trying to catch up to the back. If he wants to test the NFL waters, he now has the game that put him on the map.

Solomon Thomas

David Madison/Getty Images

Without Christian McCaffrey, many thought that the Sun Bowl lacked a premier star. North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky might be a top-five pick in the coming NFL draft, but every projection of him would lead you to think that he's going to have a better professional career than college career, where he's only been a one-year starter.

Instead, the player who stepped up in McCaffrey's absence wasn't another offensive skill player, but teammate Solomon Thomas, a redshirt sophomore who may be one of several first-round defensive linemen in the 2017 draft class.

On paper, Thomas only finished with a sack and two tackles for a loss, but he made plenty of plays that didn't show up in the box score as he was virtually unblockable for the entire game. When North Carolina went for a two-point conversation with 25 seconds left in an attempt to tie, it was Thomas who stepped up and sacked Trubisky to put the nail in the coffin.

Listed at 6'2” and 275 pounds by NFL Draft Scout, Thomas is likely an edge defender at the next level who can at times kick inside to an interior defensive line role, even though that's the position he played for the most of his career at Stanford. In many ways, how he should be used as a professional is as former Cardinal pass-rusher Trent Murphy is currently moved around for the Washington Redskins.

Bowl games are often hyped up as showcases for players with the ball predominantly in their hands, but Thomas stole the spotlight this bowl season, potentially capping off his career with his best performance to date.

Harold Landry

Leon Halip/Getty Images

In the Quick Lane Bowl, Boston College was able to build a four-score lead against Maryland but almost gave it up in the second half. At the end of the day, the Eagles won 36-30, with the deciding factor being Harold Landry, their star edge defender.

Landry finished third among Power Five defenders in tackles for a loss per game in 2016, and his ability to penetrate and bend was on full display against the Terrapins. On top of adding 1.5 sacks, two pass deflections and a quarterback hurry, per ESPN.com, Landry was a human alarm clock in Maryland quarterback Perry Hills' head all game. There's a reason why Hills had only a 1.9 QBR in the game, completing just 15 of 35 passes on the day.

At one point, Maryland had the ball on Boston College's 2-yard line in the fourth quarter. Landry made several stops, including a sack, in the drive that was extended because of several penalties. Maryland came away with zero points.

If not for the direct impact from Landry, that could have cost the Eagles their bowl game this season. Only a junior, Landry isn't too far from a middle-class man's Derek Barnett, the Tennessee defensive end who in all likelihood is going to be a top-20 selection in the 2017 draft. Both are incredible benders who aren't necessarily explosive but have great production and are about as consistent as you can ask for.

If Landry does declare, he's going to quickly rise as a top-60 prospect in the coming draft as the media dig into Boston College games that they've mostly overlooked this season. If he returns to school, Landry will join the likes of Vic Beasley and Khalil Mack as one of the biggest names to finish their senior year as a college pass-rusher in recent memory.

Jamaal Williams

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

BYU running back Jamaal Williams has a very interesting background. As a freshman with the Cougars, he was able to post 1,090 offensive yards and 13 offensive touchdowns. That number grew to 1,358 yards in 2013 as a sophomore, though his scoring dropped to just seven rushing touchdowns.

Either way, he was on pace to have one of the more productive college careers in recent memory, especially for a player who is playing a pseudo-Power Five schedule. In 2014, though, he tore his ACL, which limited him to just 518 yards on the season, and he didn't play football in 2015 because of a violation of team rules.

While some top backs were playing 28 games over the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Williams played fewer than a third of that amount, leading to him being forgotten as a potential NFL back. That all changed in 2016 when he posted a career high with 1,375 rushing yards, in just 10 games, and matched his freshman mark of 12 rushing touchdowns.

He is currently slated to play in the Senior Bowl this January, and he will be rolling into Mobile, Alabama, with a head of steam after a 210-yard game against Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl. When you think of tight games, you think of teams trying to pass their way out of a hole or extending their lead, but the Cougars fed Williams 26 carries, despite only passing the ball 15 times all night.

BYU completed only eight passes, but Williams' yards-per-carry average of 8.1 was enough for it to lean on him the entire game. In the fourth quarter, Williams took a 36-yard run to the house to give the Cougars an eventual 24-7 lead, which Wyoming cut to 24-21 to make the game appear closer than it actually was.

Williams is somewhat rested and extremely talented. He's a little lost in the shuffle at the running back position, especially considering the fact that he spent five years in college, but he could easily become the 2017 draft class' Jordan Howard, a mid-round running back who falls due to a lack of interest, not a lack of talent, and becomes a massive steal for someone very quickly.