Who Are the Biggest Game-Changers in the 2018 NFL Draft Class?
The slightest of openings is all a game-changer needs to earn the designation—whether he creates big plays on offense, defense or special teams.
Certain skill sets among draft prospects make them more difficult to handle, and they can be found at any position in any round.
Mobile quarterbacks stress defenses to the point of breaking on every play. Running backs who destroy proper angles are more than a handful. Explosive wide receivers dictate coverages. Disruptive defensive linemen blow up blocking schemes. Instinctive linebackers seem to make every tackle. Fluid defensive backs with ball skills can snag a pass, take it the other direction and tilt the scoreboard in their teams' favor.
These individuals must be accounted for at all times.
Every organization wants those players who create big plays. The game is faster and more complicated than ever. But there are still prospects whose natural talents are simply too much to handle. NFL contests are decided by the best talent on the field being in positions to succeed. It's those who create outside of that structure who are special.
Bleacher Report identified 10 players in the 2018 draft class with something a little extra to separate themselves from the pack.
QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville
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No one quite like Lamar Jackson has played in the NFL since Michael Vick. In some ways, Jackson is superior to Vick. The legend agreed.
The Louisville product may not be quite as fast or flick the ball with the same velocity as Vick, but he is a more advanced passer than Vick was at the same stage. Nothing could be more important for the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, who made a point during the combine and the Cardinals' pro day to accentuate his passing ability.
While Jackson's decision to not run a 40-yard dash perplexed scouts and front office personnel, everyone knows he's fast and athletic. He ran for 4,132 yards and 50 touchdowns in three seasons and only 31.1 percent of those yards came via scrambles, according to Pro Football Focus.
"You can cut his film and see him run," Louisville co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway said, per the Louisville Courier-Journal's Jake Lourim. "The thing for him was just to come out and show people that he could get the ball from under the center and his footwork was good, his three-step, five-step, seven-step drops, and deliver the ball."
Jackson has nothing to prove as an athlete. Nor is he far behind the other top quarterback prospects as a passer. The two-time ACC Player of the Year improved each season in Bobby Petrino's system with significant gains in understanding, mechanics and accuracy. The 57.0 percent passer must continue to work on his drops and base, but no one should question his ability to drive the football to open receivers.
An offense built around Jackson's abilities as a runner and passer has the potential to be dynamic and give defensive coordinators nightmares.
RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State
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Positional value has downgraded running backs over the last decade. Yet Penn State product Saquon Barkley is generally considered the top overall prospect in the draft class. He's much more than a traditional workhorse who needs 20 carries to affect a contest. Barkley is a special playmaker in and out of the backfield.
He has been hyped as a "generational talent." Hyperbole often creeps into the evaluation process, but there's no denying Barkley's exceptional skill set.
The 233-pounder ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash, posted 29 reps of 225 pounds on bench press and recorded a 41-inch vertical jump. Each of those numbers ranked first or second among running backs at the combine.
Barkley's speed, strength and explosiveness translated to the field as 3,843 rushing yards, 1,195 receiving yards and 53 total touchdowns. He is the complete package with the speed to run past defenders, the power to run between the tackles and the versatility to be a weapon in the passing game as well as on special teams.
"You don't screw up the special ones when you are a talent evaluator," an NFL general manager told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "This guy is special. Any concerns you file on him just feels like nitpicking to fill out the report."
RB Sony Michel, Georgia
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Don't blink, because Georgia product Sony Michel will rip through a defense in a heartbeat on his way to a long touchdown run.
Michel finished first among running backs in this draft class with 7.9 yards per carry last season. The 220-pounder also registered a run of 20 or more yards in eight of his 14 games and averaged 28.4 yards on his 16 rushing touchdowns.
Surprisingly, Michel didn't test as well as expected at the combine with a 4.54-second 40-yard-dash. Yet defensive backs, even those in the SEC, never caught him from behind. His production wasn't necessarily a byproduct of raw speed. Instead, Michel is a decisive one-cut runner with a noticeable burst through the hole.
Of course, the senior split reps throughout his career with another talented runner in Nick Chubb. Even so, Michel managed 3,228 yards on 12 fewer carries over the last three seasons compared to Chubb's 3,222 yards.
Michel's game is better suited to the NFL because he's a better third-down back, with 64 career catches for 621 yards and six touchdowns. The Bulldogs staff didn't use the Florida native nearly as much in the passing game this past year, but his contributions in protection were vital to the offense's success.
Big, physical backs aren't in vogue anymore. Organizations want those who contribute on all three downs, and Michel can.
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WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
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As Texas A&M faded during the last two seasons under Kevin Sumlin, the spotlight on wide receiver Christian Kirk and his playmaking ability did as well.
Kirk provided a great season as a freshman with 1,009 receiving yards and 726 return yards. He played well the following two seasons before declaring for the draft but failed to eclipse either of those numbers.
But Kirk snagged 19 touchdown receptions in 2016 and '17 with a career-high 12.9 yards per reception as a junior last year.
The 5'10", 200-pounder will serve as a slot receiver at the next level, and his value will come from his ability to create after the catch. According to Pro Football Focus' Vinnie Ronca, Kirk entered the 2017 campaign with more yards after the catch than any other returning SEC wide receiver. He then finished fourth among conference receivers with 919 yards.
"Being able to play in the slot, being able to play outside, special teams and whatnot," Kirk said, per David Helman of the Dallas Cowboys' official site, "I just want to show these coaches I'm an all-around football player."
Seven return touchdowns in three seasons provided plenty of value. Kirk isn't just a specialist, though. The three-time first-team All-SEC performer is slippery and can create chunk plays as a receiver, runner or returner.
WR Dante Pettis, Washington
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Washington product Dante Pettis is such a great punt returner that his contributions as a wide receiver tend to be overlooked.
Pettis set or tied FBS records with nine career punt return touchdowns and punt return touchdowns in three consecutive games. He registered 1,274 punt return yards in four seasons and averaged 14.2 per return.
"A lot of people think returning is, OK, you get an athlete, put him back there and go," Pettis said in 2016, per the Seattle Times' Adam Jude. "And that's what it is a lot of times. But if you really want to take your return game to the next level, there's a lot of different stuff. ... There's kind of an art to it."
Pettis became the Picasso of punt returns, and he'll upgrade any organization's special teams. The All-American can change the game in an instant as a receiver, too. Over the last two seasons, the 6'0", 186-pounder made 116 receptions for 1,583 yards and 22 touchdowns.
While Pettis isn't viewed as a No. 1 option because of his slight frame, his route-running and explosion at the top of the stem will make him a solid No. 2 option or a slot receiver.
A team will likely wait to select Pettis since his biggest selling point is special teams and the incoming class features plenty of wide receiver depth. His contributions, however, should extend beyond one phase of the game if he's given a chance to participate in a passing attack.
TE Mike Gesicki, Penn State
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Because of the success of Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham, modern tight ends are more power forwards on the football field than well-rounded performers.
Blocking is optional as long as they create mismatches in the passing game.
Penn State product Mike Gesicki is a wide receiver trapped in a tight end's body. To be more accurate, he's a 6'5", 247-pound volleyball player trapped inside the perfect red-zone target. Whoever plays quarterback for Gesicki's next team just needs to loft the ball high and let him get it.
"When the ball's in the air, I consider it mine," Gesicki said, per Jacksonville.com's Phillip Heilman. "I don't believe in the whole 50-50 ball. It's more of a—from my perspective—80-20, in that range. Growing up, I played a whole lot of basketball. In high school, I played volleyball. Jumping has always come pretty natural for me, and it's only improved as time's gone on."
Gesicki's 41.5-inch vertical tied for first among all prospects at the combine. The three prospects who tied him each weighed at least 15 fewer pounds.
Only one draft-eligible tight end, Marshall's Ryan Yurachek, caught more touchdown passes last season than Gesicki's nine.
The New Jersey native has the size, speed (4.54-second 40-yard dash) and athleticism to be a threat down the seam or outside the numbers. The Nittany Lions coaching staff loved to call jump balls or back-shoulder throws for its tight end. This is where Gesicki excels and can contribute to an offense as he learns the nuances of the position in the NFL.
DE Bradley Chubb, North Carolina State
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The highest compliment an offense can bestow upon a defensive player is to game-plan around him. The production of top defensive ends like Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett decreased during their final seasons on campus because teams avoided them as much as possible.
The great ones still make plays.
Bradley Chubb's statistics didn't improve significantly after he registered 22 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks as a junior. But opponents couldn't avoid him at all times because the North Carolina State defensive front included B.J. Hill, Justin Jones and Kentavius Street.
And Chubb led the way with 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks during the 2017 campaign. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year may not be as flexible or explosive as Garrett, but at 6'4" and 269 pounds, he knows how to convert speed to power and attack blockers while featuring a nonstop motor.
"He never stops. His effort is unbelievable," Wolfpack defensive line coach Kevin Patrick told The MMQB's Jonathan Jones. "They were preaching to the choir, but it's always impressive when they talk about a 275-pound guy who is relentless."
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award winner is this year's top-rated defensive prospect. Soon, NFL offenses will need to figure out how to slow him down.
DE Harold Landry, Boston College
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Boston College product Harold Landry entered the 2017 campaign as a consensus top-10 talent after leading the country with 16.5 sacks as a junior. His draft status took a major hit during his senior campaign because of injury, not performance.
Landry suffered an ankle injury which stifled his two greatest assets—first-step quickness and an uncanny ability to bend the edge—for a stretch before ending his season. Landry's flexibility was on display during the combine, as he posted top times among edge-rushers in the 20-yard shuttle (4.19 seconds), 60-yard shuttle (11.35) and three-cone drill (6.88).
"It shows how explosive you are, and there's a change-of-direction portion in that drill," Landry told SiriusXM NFL Radio's Alex Marvez and Kirk Morrison (via Sporting News) about the three-cone drill. "It also shows how bending doesn't slow me down. I can still keep running at full speed while bending."
The 6'3", 252-pounder managed 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in eight games.
Landry explodes off the edge and shows the natural leverage and ankle flexion that will give offensive tackles fits. He's a far more natural pass-rusher than Bradley Chubb, who's considered a potential top-five pick and the top defensive prospect in the draft even though he doesn't display the same flexibility.
Can Landry hold up against NFL blockers, though? That's the question since he's not as stout at the point of attack, though no one in the class comes closes to Landry's ability to turn the corner.
CB Josh Jackson, Iowa
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An old football joke proclaimed defenders played on that side of the ball because they couldn't catch.
Today, ball skills are of a greater emphasis than ever before. Whereas once the run set up the pass, the opposite is now true.
To counteract the proliferation of solid passing attacks, defensive coordinators have turned to long and athletic corners who aren't just going to make plays on the football but will snag interceptions and set up the offense with good returns.
Iowa product Josh Jackson was an All-American and won the Jack Tatum Award as the nation's best defensive back because he attacks the football when it's in the air and doesn't let receivers make easy receptions.
The 6'1", 192-pounder led the nation with 26 defended passes and eight interceptions.
His three-pick effort against Ohio State was arguably the best single-game performance by any prospect in this year's draft. Jackson changed the game—and the course of the Buckeyes' season—with his instinctive and acrobatic play.
Jackson isn't a true cover corner since he struggles with his backpedal and plays much better in bail or zone coverages. In a system that allows him to capitalize on route-recognition and driving to the football, though, his ball skills could prove to be the perfect antidote to pass-happy quarterbacks.
CB Greg Stroman, Virginia Tech
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Virginia Tech product Greg Stroman isn't considered a high-round draft prospect and didn't break any NCAA records like others on this list, yet the cornerback deserves recognition for his coverage and punt-return skills.
According to Pro Football Focus, Stroman allowed the lowest catch rate (25.5 percent) last season among corners in this draft class. The 2017 first-team All-ACCer blossomed as a senior and recorded four interceptions and 15 defended passes. Stroman displays tremendous lower-body flexibility and fluidity through his pedal turn to go with 4.48-second 40-yard dash speed. He can handle any type of receiver, but his slight frame (5'11", 182 lbs) holds him back.
"I worry more about how he will hold up as an NFL tackler because of how thin he is," a former NFL defensive backs coach told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "I'm not worried about the coverage part at all. He's been challenged by big guys, fast guys and big fast guys in that conference, and he's done really well against all of them."
Stroman will present added value on special teams. He ranked 10th overall in 2017 by averaging 11.3 yards per punt return, and his two touchdowns tied for second overall.
Stroman's coverage ability and big-play potential on special teams might not make him a top prospect, but he's certainly someone to watch later in the process.
Stats courtesy of Sports Reference and CFBStats.com.
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