NFL Draft 2015: Updated Prospect Radar, Post Week 6
As the top teams in college football are fighting for position in the race to make the inaugural College Football Playoff, the sport’s best individual players are jockeying to become top prospects for the NFL draft.
Although there were a few underwhelming performances from players trying to establish themselves this week, especially from quarterbacks, there were no shortage of impressive standouts, including those of USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams against Arizona and Oregon offensive tackle Jake Fisher against UCLA.
Now at the midpoint of college football’s regular season, prospects have played enough games in 2014 to significantly alter their draft stocks.
Many have done so in a positive way and will seek to keep the momentum going, but there are also some who have done damage to their reputations and need to start putting it all together in the second half of the year if they are going to be in the mix at the top of the draft.
Stock Up: Leonard Williams, DE/DT, Junior, USC
1 of 13
This Week: Eight tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble
Opponent: Arizona
Adding an outstanding performance Saturday to an already impressive season, USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams strengthened his case for being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, if he declares.
It’s nothing new for Williams to be a tackling machine and a consistent presence in the opposing backfield, but he made a number of plays in USC’s upset road win over Arizona that should be displayed prominently on his highlight reel.
Williams has rare movement skills for a 300-pound defensive lineman; he put that on display early in the second quarter, when he slithered between Arizona’s right guard and right tackle then arced to quarterback Anu Solomon to bury him for a two-yard sack.
Perhaps his most memorable play from Saturday’s late night game came later in the second quarter, when he slid off a block to lay a pulverizing (but clean) hit on Arizona running back Terris Jones-Grigsby, forcing a fumble, which Trojan teammate J.R. Tavai recovered.
He came up huge again late in the fourth quarter, with USC clinging to a two-point lead after an Arizona touchdown, when he fought through a block to shut down Wildcats running back Jared Baker in the backfield on a two-point conversion attempt.
Utilizing his quick burst and great hand skills, Williams was able to beat offensive lineman throughout the game to make play. His eight tackles, which were all solo stops and within five yards of the line of scrimmage, were the third most for USC’s defense.
Cumulatively, Williams has 38 tackles through six games, a very high number for a defensive lineman.
Williams has played mostly at defensive end for USC this season—a testament to his athleticism and pass-rushing ability—but he has a virtually complete skill set that will enable him to play multiple positions on any NFL defensive line.
He projects best as a 3-technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 front or as a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4 front, but Williams’ versatility is a big part of what makes him the best defensive prospect in this year’s draft class.
Current Draft Projection: Top 5
Stock Up: Javorius “Buck” Allen, RB, Junior, USC
2 of 13
This Week: 26 carries for 205 yards, three touchdowns; four receptions for 28 yards
Opponent: Arizona
Along with Leonard Williams, the other USC player to play a massive role in the Trojans victory on Saturday night was running back Javorius “Buck” Allen, who led all USC players in total offense and yards from scrimmage in the game.
On each of his two first-half touchdown runs (34 and 48 yards), Allen made a defender look silly with a sharp cut then showed his speed in running clear of the defense to the end zone.
His other long run of the game didn’t score any points, but it was an even more impressive highlight (per ESPN). On a play where the designated running lane up the middle was closed, Allen hopped backward, bounced right to find space, made two defenders miss, pushed through another and then dragged yet another tackler more than 15 yards to cap off a 32-yard gain.
While the first-half touchdowns demonstrated Allen’s ability to elude tackles in space, the fourth-quarter run was a shining display of his strength and toughness.
The 6'1", 220-pound Allen has great size for a running back, and he is a good pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Overall, Allen is a well-rounded back who has been consistently productive this year, as he has posted at least 138 yards from scrimmage in all six of Southern California’s games. He looks as though as he could be a solid addition to any NFL running back rotation.
Current Draft Projection: Round 3-4
Stock Down: Brett Hundley, QB, Junior, UCLA
3 of 13
This Week: 26-of-37 passing for 216 yards, three touchdowns, one interception; 22 carries for 89 yards, one touchdown, one fumble
Opponent: Oregon
In one of the most anticipated NFL prospect matchups of the season, two of the nation’s top draft-eligible quarterbacks—Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and UCLA’s Brett Hundley—went to battle Saturday. Neither quarterback had a particularly impressive performance, but Hundley was the game’s bigger disappointment in the Ducks’ 42-30 win.
While Hundley was able to complete most of his short passes against Oregon, he displayed a lack of accuracy on throws beyond 10 yards throughout the contest.
Hundley had one impressive throw in the fourth quarter when he rifled a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Payton in the end zone past a tight one-on-one matchup. Beyond that, however, he did not complete another pass that traveled at least 12 yards in the air beyond the line of scrimmage.
The UCLA redshirt junior had two turnovers—a strip sack by Oregon’s Tony Washington and an interception by cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu—and made few passing plays versus pressure. Hundley’s tendency to drop his eyes and look to run as soon as pressure hits the pocket, a habit noted by NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah last week, stood out in this game.
While Hundley is an impressive athlete who made some big plays as a runner on Saturday, he needs to become more aware in the pocket and a more consistent passer to be successful against NFL defenses.
Hundley throws the ball with great velocity, has impressive size at 6’3” and 226 pounds and has arguably the highest upside of any draft-eligible quarterback in the country. That said, he remains a very inconsistent performer and games like the one against Oregon make him more likely to be a late first-round or second-round pick than one of the draft’s top selections.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1-2
.png?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Stock Up: Jake Fisher, OT, Senior, Oregon
4 of 13
This Week: Star of Oregon offensive line that allowed no sacks, led rushing offense to 261 yards
Opponent: UCLA
While the focus of Saturday’s Pac-12 battle between Oregon and UCLA was on the quarterbacks, it was a player to whom most probably didn’t pay much attention—Ducks left tackle Jake Fisher—who was the most impressive player on the field.
Back in the lineup after missing three games with a knee injury, Fisher’s return made a big impact on an offensive line that in recent weeks had struggled without him.
Going up against an aggressive UCLA defensive front that includes a bevy of talented playmakers, Fisher led an Oregon offensive line that mostly kept a clean pocket for quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Fisher also had an excellent showing as a run blocker. The 6’6”, 300-pound tackle was able to open running lanes on his side by driving defenders off the line scrimmage, while, as CBS Sports’ Rob Rang noted, his “ability to get out to the perimeter and downfield was impressive, as well.” As a result, Oregon ran the ball frequently and effectively to the left side in its win over UCLA.
Originally slated to be the right tackle for Oregon, Fisher has fared well when healthy as a replacement for Tyler Johnstone, the Ducks junior left tackle who tore his ACL in an August practice. He has the potential to develop into a starter on either side of an NFL offensive line.
Current Draft Projection: Round 3
Stock Down: Everett Golson, QB, Senior, Notre Dame
5 of 13
This Week: 21-of-38 passing for 300 yards, three touchdowns, one interception; 12 carries for 71 yards, two fumbles
Opponent: North Carolina
As a number of college quarterbacks projected to be top prospects for the 2015 NFL draft have failed to stand out this year, Everett Golson has been a rising prospect at the position. His draft stock and Heisman campaign took a hit, however, with a rough performance against North Carolina.
It unexpectedly took Notre Dame all four quarters to take care of business and put away the Tar Heels, and Golson’s struggles were a big reason why.
In his first three series of the game, Golson stepped up into pressure and fumbled, threw an interception return for a touchdown and threw another pass that would have been a pick-six if not dropped by a North Carolina cornerback—all before he completed a single pass in the game.
Golson started to get into more of a rhythm as the game progressed and ended up throwing for 300 yards, but a large chunk of that number came on yards after the catch. Although he put his arm strength on display, throwing a couple deep balls that traveled 55 yards through the air, he consistently struggled in this game with ball placement on passes beyond 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.
The Notre Dame quarterback also had another costly fumble at the end of a 10-yard run in the third quarter, which led to more North Carolina points.
Saturday’s game was arguably Golson’s worst of the year; as Bleacher Report’s Keith Arnold described it, “Golson looked like a quarterback trying to be someone he's not.”
That said, inconsistency has been an issue in Golson’s game all year. While he displays a skill set as a passer and runner that should have NFL scouts intrigued, his proneness toward mistakes makes him more project than NFL-ready prospect at this point.
Golson has a huge opportunity to make a statement for the scouts this upcoming Saturday, as Notre Dame will play Florida State, but he’ll need to play much better if he is to perform well against one of the nation’s most talented defenses.
Current Draft Projection: Round 4
Stock Up: Malcom Brown, DT, Junior, Texas
6 of 13
This Week: Four total tackles, one pass breakup
Opponent: Oklahoma
The Texas Longhorns lost the Red River Showdown to Oklahoma for the fourth time in five years on Saturday, but that didn’t stop a couple of their NFL draft prospects from standing out, including junior defensive tackle Malcom Brown.
Not to be confused with his running back teammate Malcolm Brown, the defensive lineman was highly disruptive up front in a game in which Texas held the Sooners offense to just 232 total yards.
Displaying great quickness for a 6’2”, 320-pound defensive tackle, Brown was able to break through the line of scrimmage on a number of occasions, making tackles in the backfield and bringing pressure on some passing plays, including one on which he swatted down a screen pass.
Brown uses his hands well to work his way off blocks, and he showed his versatility in this game by spending time at nose tackle, 3-technique defensive tackle and at defensive end. As a pro prospect, he projects as a player who could play either defensive tackle spot on a 4-3 defensive line or play any of the three spots on a 3-4 defensive line.
The one concern to take away from this Saturday would be Brown’s stamina, as he seemed to tire over the course of the game and was not nearly as impactful in the second half as he was in the first. But as OrangeBloods.com’s Alex Dunlap noted, Brown played a vast majority of Texas’ snaps, making it somewhat unrealistic to expect that the lineman could play at the same level of disruptiveness for four quarters.
Current Draft Projection: Round 2
Stock Up: Jordan Hicks, OLB, Senior, Texas
7 of 13
This Week: 11 total tackles, one tackle for loss
Opponent: Oklahoma
The other standout for Texas in the Red River Showdown, a game in which the Longhorns defense played very well but offensive and special teams mistakes spelled the underdog’s demise, was outside linebacker Jordan Hicks, who is bouncing back from consecutive injury-shortened seasons to be a highly productive player in 2014.
Hicks’ instincts and athleticism were on full display against Oklahoma as the fifth-year defender led his team in tackles and was all over the field.
The highlight of Hicks’ afternoon came when he tackled Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard for an 11-yard loss on a double reverse. Hicks did not bite on a fake handoff but rather stayed at home and diagnosed the reverse, before exploding to the ball with full speed to bury Shepard deep in the backfield.
Hicks made a number of other tackles close to the line of scrimmage, using his speed to attack downhill, while he also showed his ability to cover and tackle in space, including one play on which he tackled Shepard quickly, holding him two yards short of converting a 3rd-and-11.
Size will be a question for the 6'1", 234-pound Hicks, as will be his medical history after he suffered a season-ending hip injury in 2012 and a season-ending Achilles injury in 2013. That hasn’t stopped him from playing his best football as a Longhorn this year, as he has already accumulated career highs with 72 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss through six games.
Current Draft Projection: Round 5
Stock Up: Antwan Goodley, WR, Senior, Baylor
8 of 13
This Week: Eight receptions, 156 yards, two touchdowns; two rush for six yards
Opponent: TCU
In a four-and-a-half-hour game that included 119 combined points and 1,267 total yards, there were many offensive players who had big days in Baylor’s win over TCU on Saturday. The best NFL draft prospect among those players is Baylor wide receiver Antwan Goodley.
Goodley put his deep-threat speed on display with a pair of touchdowns in Saturday’s game. In the first quarter, Goodley blew by TCU safety Sam Carter to track a deep ball for a 66-yard touchdown.
He made an even better play in the fourth quarter, where he beat TCU cornerback Kevin White—an NFL prospect in his own right—up the right sideline. Later, he made a catch over White, plucking the ball out of the air, as he crossed the goal line for a 28-yard score.
The senior wideout lacks the ideal height of an outside receiver, but the 5’11”, 220-pound pass-catcher tracks the ball naturally downfield, has good hands and is a skilled route-runner. Impactful both as a deep and intermediate weapon, Goodley was Baylor’s leading receiver TCU and has 18 receptions for 341 yards and three touchdowns in just three games this season.
Goodley hasn’t gotten as much attention as many other top receivers in the country, but that should change if he continues to make big plays like he did against the Horned Frogs.
Current Draft Projection: Round 2
Stock Up: Leonard Floyd, OLB, Redshirt Sophomore, Georgia
9 of 13
This Week: Three tackles, one strip sack, four quarterback hits
Opponent: Missouri
Leonard Floyd has had an up-and-down season, which has been documented in previous iterations of this slideshow this year, but the redshirt sophomore outside linebacker was at his best in Georgia’s 34-0 rout of Missouri on Saturday.
Floyd was a consistent presence in the Missouri backfield, as he gave the Tigers offensive line fits on a day that quarterback Maty Mauk completed just nine of 21 passes for 97 yards, with four interceptions.
The highlight of Floyd’s game came late in the first half, when he sacked Mauk ad ripped the ball out of the QB's hands in the process. Georgia recovered the fumble. Beyond that, the pressure he brought off the edge throughout the game forced bad throws and drew a couple of holding penalties on the Missouri offensive line.
As Missouri learned the hard way on Saturday, Floyd can be a tough pass-rusher to defend when he is on top of his game. An explosive athlete who flies off the line of scrimmage and bends well, Floyd has a strong swim move and is aggressive in pursuit.
He didn’t make any solo tackles against the run on Saturday, and he needs to improve as a run-stopper to be more than a situational pass-rusher in the NFL. Nonetheless, the 6’4”, 230-pound defender is a clear difference-maker who has huge upside as a 3-4 outside linebacker or 4-3 strong-side linebacker.
He could choose to declare as a redshirt sophomore to take advantage of his rising draft stock.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1
Stock Up: Melvin Gordon, RB, Junior, Wisconsin
10 of 13
This Week: 27 carries for 175 yards, four touchdowns; one reception for zero yards
Opponent: Illinois
With star Georgia running back Todd Gurley suspended indefinitely, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon can stake claim to being the best active running back in college football. He continued to show why he deserves that distinction Saturday in Wisconsin’s 10-point win over Illinois.
Gordon didn’t have to do anything spectacular against a struggling Illinois defense, but his outstanding speed and vision were on his display as he posted his fourth consecutive game with at least 175 rushing yards and one touchdown.
The junior running back was able to break free from defenders for big plays on a number of occasions, including a 46-yard gain and a 30-yard touchdown. Between his ability to shake defenders in space and his solid stiff arm, Gordon made no shortage of defenders miss on Saturday.
Gordon’s not a particularly powerful between-the-tackles runner, but his vision enables him to find running lanes and his speed allows him to exploit them. And in space, there’s no running back in college football more dangerous for opposing defenses than Gordon.
Gordon’s production as a pass-catcher remains very low; he has just nine career receptions for 102 yards. Combining that with his limited ability to run through contact, it’s unlikely Gordon will be drafted ahead of Gurley, even if Gurley doesn’t play another game this year.
Still, Gordon is making an increasingly strong case to be a first-round pick, even if he is the 2015 draft’s second-best prospect at a position of declining value. In his past four games alone, the explosive playmaker has rushed for 868 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1
Hidden Gem of the Week: Tevin Coleman, RB, Junior, Indiana
11 of 13
This Week: 15 carries for 219 yards, three touchdowns; two receptions for seven yards
Opponent: Iowa
He hasn’t garnered nearly as much attention this season as Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon or Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, but Indiana’s Tevin Coleman has more rushing yards this season than any of them.
With a big day against Iowa on Saturday, Coleman became the Football Bowl Subdivision’s leading rusher, with 1,060 yards through his first six games of the year.
The bulk of Coleman’s yards on Saturday came on a trio of long touchdown runs.
Coleman’s first two scores, which went for 83 and 45 yards, didn’t require much more from him than his speed, as he was able to follow effective blocks into the open field and run away from the Hawkeyes defense.
His third touchdown, a 69-yard score, was his highlight of the game. Coleman had to wedge himself through a tight lane at the line of scrimmage, bouncing off multiple defenders in the process, before he took off into the open field, eventually requiring him to split another tight lane between tight defenders before leaving everyone in the dust once again.
The big plays were nothing new for Coleman, who has rushed for at least 122 yards and reached the end zone in every game the Hoosiers have played this year. The 6’1”, 210-pound junior has already eclipsed his nine-game rushing total from last season in just six games this year.
It might be a misnomer to call Coleman a hidden gem, as he has certainly exploded onto the radars of NFL scouts this season, but Indiana’s limited prominence as a football program still leaves him somewhat overlooked.
Current Draft Projection: Round 4
Small School Stud of the Week: Mike Nebrich, QB, Senior, Fordham
12 of 13
This Week: 36-of-47 passing for 566 yards, six touchdowns, one interception; minus-10 net rushing yards
Opponent: Pennsylvania
A 450-yard first half put Mike Nebrich well on his way to breaking Fordham’s school record for passing yards in the Rams’ 60-22 victory over Pennsylvania.
The fifth-place finisher in voting for last year’s Walter Payton Award, which is awarded annually to the Football Championship Subdivison’s best player, Nebrich has played just as well in leading Fordham to a 6-1 start as a senior. He has completed more than 65 percent of his passes, leads the nation with 2,304 passing yards and has 21 passing touchdown to just five interceptions.
A transfer from the University of Connecticut, Nebrich doesn’t have a big arm or great size, but he’s an efficient passer who distributes the ball well among a group of offensive weapons that is, by FCS standards, very talented.
He’ll have to compete for a backup job to make an NFL roster, but performances like he had Saturday only increase his chances of being a late-round draft selections for a team in need of a second- or third-string quarterback.
Current Draft Projection: Round 7 or undrafted free-agent signing
Other Notable Performers
13 of 13
Included in our Stock Down section last week, Alabama junior safety Landon Collins bounced back in a big way against Arkansas. He was a big playmaker for the Crimson Tide, in a close game in which they needed him to step up. Collins recorded eight tackles and three passes defenses and notched a crucial interception to preserve a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
No defensive player in college football has made more big plays this season than Washington junior linebacker/safety Shaq Thompson. He returned a goal-line fumble by California 100 yards for his third fumble return touchdown, fourth defensive touchdown and fifth overall touchdown of the season.
Thompson, who appears well on his way to being a top-15 draft selection, also recorded 11 tackles and a pass breakup in the win over Cal.
Another standout for the Washington defense has been senior outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, who had 4.5 tackles for loss against the Golden Bears, including three sacks and a forced fumble. A likely first- or second-round pick, Kikaha leads the FBS through six games with 10 sacks and 13 total tackles for loss.
The defensive standout of Oregon’s win over UCLA was senior outside linebacker Tony Washington. An athletic edge-rusher with a similar game to that of former teammate and 2013 No. 3 overall pick, Dion Jordan, he made a number of impact plays on Saturday, including the aforementioned strip sack and a deflection on a near-touchdown pass from Brett Hundley on 3rd-and-goal.
Marshall senior quarterback Rakeem Cato tied Russell Wilson’s FBS record against Middle Tennessee State, when he threw at least one touchdown pass for the 38th consecutive game.
Cato has more than just the record in common with Wilson; while he is an athletic dual-threat who has been highly productive at Marshall, his draft stock will be hurt by his lack of size. That said, he deserves some attention in a year that he’s led the Thundering Herd to a 6-0 start, making Marshall the one undefeated team that nobody is talking about.
Florida’s Andre Debose hasn’t had much chance to play wide receiver since 2011, but he’s a dynamic athlete who certainly took advantage of his opportunities against LSU on Saturday. He had two punt returns, one of which went 62 yards for a touchdown, and the other he returned for 53 yards. His broke his lone touch on offense for a 35-yard run. He’s a long shot to be drafted, but his return skills should get him brought into an NFL training camp.
Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
