NFL Draft 2015: Updated Prospect Radar, Post-Week 9
As October rolled into November and the nation’s top teams continued to jockey for position in the aftermath of the release of the year’s first College Football Playoff rankings, the college football season continued to be ripe with opportunities this past week for evaluating NFL prospects.
The week of games started out strong on Thursday, with a matchup between Florida State and Louisville that featured “as much draftable talent,” said one NFL executive according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, as any game in college football will this season.
That game did not disappoint, as Louisville gave the Seminoles a real test. There were both standouts and players who struggled on each side.
Saturday’s slate of games, which included an entertaining battle between two prospects of the same name in TCU vs. West Virginia, also helped some prospects improve their stocks for the 2015 NFL draft, while others struggled in the spotlight.
Stock Up: DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville, Sr.
1 of 12
This Week: Eight receptions for 214 yards
Opponent: Florida State
Louisville came up short in its bid to upset the No. 2-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Thursday night, but senior wide receiver DeVante Parker was the best player on the field.
In just his second game of the season after missing the first seven with a foot injury, Parker set a career high with 214 receiving yards.
It was clear from the first play from scrimmage, on which Parker burned the Florida State secondary deep and gained 71 yards on a catch-and-run, that the wideout was healthy and ready for a big night.
Through the rest of the game, Parker showed his ability on sharp routes to get open and make catches. A tall target at 6’3” and 211 pounds, Parker displayed his ball skills—the best of any pass-catcher in college football.
Those skills were especially showcased on one play, where he was well-covered by the Seminoles’ top cornerback P.J. Williams, yet he extended for a 31-yard catch outside and away from his body along the right sideline.
Parker wasn’t perfect—he had one low but catchable pass go off his hands, struggled to separate against Williams at times and was outmuscled by Ronald Darby on a pass that Darby nearly intercepted—but he gave FSU’s defensive backs a constant test for four quarters.
One might have expected Parker to have a slow start upon his return, as he worked his way back from injury and started playing with a new quarterback, Will Gardner, who is not nearly as talented as his predecessor, current Minnesota Vikings starter Teddy Bridgewater.
Instead, with 17 catches for 346 yards already, Parker is playing the best football of his career.
Parker possesses all the tools to be an excellent receiver. If he continues to produce at such a high level, he will challenge Alabama junior Amari Cooper and West Virginia senior Kevin White to be the 2015 draft’s top wideout.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1
Stock Down: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State, RS So.
2 of 12
This Week: 25-of-48 passing, 401 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions; three rushing attempts for minus-three yards; one forced fumble
Opponent: Louisville
Jameis Winston has a knack for coming through in the clutch when his team needs to overcome adversity and pull out a win—he’s never lost a game as a collegiate quarterback.
Thursday night’s game was no exception, as he threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns to lead a five-touchdown effort by the Florida State offense in the second half to overcome a first-half deficit to Louisville.
Quarterbacks typically have their errors forgiven when they lead comebacks to win big games (see Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts). Still, NFL scouts should not ignore the many mistakes—including three interceptions thrown—that Winston made in this game.
While Winston was picked off twice by Louisville safety Gerod Holliman and once by linebacker James Burgess, Holliman and Burgess also each dropped additional passes that likely would have not only been interceptions, but returned for touchdowns, had they secured the catches.
There were examples throughout the game of Winston throwing into multiple coverage or not seeing defenders breaking on the ball.
Even the most impressive play of Winston’s day—a bullet fired between three defenders that made it to Ermon Lane and went for a 47-yard touchdown—was a pass he should probably avoid attempting in the future.
Winston’s ability to make throws between tight coverage windows and his confidence in his ability to do so make him a potential top-five draft pick.
That said, his decision-making as a passer needs to improve, and it is a cause for concern that he has already thrown nine interceptions this year, in comparison to just 10 all of last season.
Ultimately, Winston’s draft stock will be determined by whether teams needing a quarterback at the top of the draft are willing to take a risk on a player with a record of off-field concerns. He’ll need to be more consistent with his play on the field to increase the likelihood of a team taking that risk early.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1
Stock Up: Gerod Holliman, FS, Louisville, RS So.
3 of 12This Week: Three tackles, two interceptions
Opponent: Florida State
A backup in 2013, Louisville redshirt sophomore safety Gerod Holliman has already emerged as a potential top NFL prospect in his first season as a starter.
With eight interceptions in Louisville’s first eight games, Holliman had already made it clear that he has a skill for making plays on the ball, but he took advantage of a showcase game against Florida State to raise his profile even further by picking off two more passes.
Neither interception was a spectacular play—the first pass was thrown into triple coverage, while the second pass was thrown straight at him—and he fumbled while trying to extend his return on the second interception.
He also had a chance for a third interception, a play off a deflection on which he might have been able to score a touchdown, but the pass went off his hands.
All of that took the shine off his performance Thursday night, but it’s Holliman’s body of work for the entire season that has his draft stock soaring. He has picked off a pass in all but two of his games, has multiple passes defensed in four games and forced a fumble against Virginia in September.
Holliman has good size for a safety, listed at 6’2” and 213 pounds, and is a fluid athlete. He has not made a huge impact as a run defender this year, but in Louisville’s new defense, he plays mostly as a deep safety where he shows impressive range.
It would be somewhat surprising if Holliman declares for the draft after this season, as redshirt sophomores traditionally have not, but the number of underclassmen entering the draft has been rising sharply in recent years.
He’s “Tryna be a first round draft pick,” according to his Twitter bio, and he just might have a chance if he keeps on making plays the rest of the season.
Current Draft Projection: Round 2-3
.png?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Stock Down: Karlos Williams, RB, Florida State, Sr.
4 of 12
This Week: 16 rushing attempts for 72 yards, one fumble; one catch for five yards; two false starts
Opponent: Louisville
This past week was a bad one for Karlos Williams, who was already having a disappointing senior season on and off the field.
The Tallahassee Police Department revealed last week that it was investigating an allegation of domestic battery against Williams. Despite an affidavit sent to TPD by the woman involved that asked police not to press charges, the allegation is still being investigated, according to Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press.
It was also reported last week that Williams was named as an associate to an armed robbery in a June police report, according to Sean Rossman of the Tallahassee Democrat.
While Williams has not been and might not be charged for either incident, any NFL team considering drafting him will undoubtedly do its own investigation into his character.
Also problematic for Williams is that he has failed to live up to expectations on the field, and he did nothing Thursday night against Louisville to prove to teams that he is worth drafting in spite of off-field question marks.
He fumbled on a goal-to-go run, which could have cost the Seminoles a touchdown had teammate Nick O’Leary not fallen on top of the ball in the end zone.
Williams was also flagged twice for false starts—penalties that are rarely called once in a game, let alone twice, against running backs—and he struggled to find consistency running the ball.
During one FSU offensive series, Williams was stopped short of the line three times in a row on 2nd-and-1, 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1.
Averaging just 4.6 yards per carry as a senior, Williams has proven to be too much of a straight-line runner and has failed to make the most of his intriguing size/speed combination.
He has been outperformed by teammates Dalvin Cook and Mario Pender, and his draft stock will only continue to fall if they surpass him on the depth chart.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 5-6
Stock Up: Kevin White, CB, TCU, Sr.
5 of 12
This Week: Seven tackles (two for loss), one pass deflection, shut down one of college football’s best wide receivers
Opponent: West Virginia
West Virginia senior wide receiver Kevin White has appeared regularly on our Prospect Radar for bolstering his draft stock this year, as he has emerged as one of the best wideouts in college football.
But the potential first-round pick met his match on Saturday in a TCU cornerback who shares his name.
On an afternoon that the namesake seniors actually matched up against one another for most plays in the game, it was Kevin White the cornerback who looked like the star prospect of the duo.
The receiver caught two downfield passes—one against his homonym in the first quarter on an eight-yard curl—but was shut down the rest of the game. His only other catch of the day, on a tunnel screen, was shut down by TCU’s White for a three-yard tackle for loss.
For the rest of the game, the cornerback kept tight coverage on the receiver, mostly along the right sideline, and did not allow him to come free for any receptions.
He deflected one pass himself, while his lockdown coverage also enabled an interception by TCU safety Chris Hackett on a pass intended for White the receiver.
With seven passes defensed on the year, White has been playing solid football all season, but the cornerback made a huge statement by winning the battle against West Virginia’s star receiver Saturday.
White’s lack of size will hurt his draft stock, as he is listed at only 5’10” and 174 pounds, but he showed Saturday, as he took a talented receiver with a five-inch, 36-pound advantage out of the game, that he can win with his athleticism and technical skills.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 4-5
Stock Down: Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU, Jr.
6 of 12
This Week: 12-of-30 passing, 166 yards, one touchdown, one interception; nine rushing attempts for 49 yards, one touchdown
Opponent: West Virginia
After throwing for 433 yards and seven touchdowns against Texas Tech, Trevone Boykin was included in this slideshow for positive reasons last week, as he started to legitimize himself as an NFL quarterback prospect in the first seven games of this season for TCU.
His performance against West Virginia on Saturday, however, showed that he still has a long way to go in his development.
Out of rhythm for nearly the entire game Saturday, Boykin completed only 40 percent of his passing attempts. Only two of his passes thrown 15 yards or more were completed; his longest passing play of the day, a 47-yard touchdown by Deante’ Gray, came off a screen pass.
An athletic, dual-threat quarterback, Boykin was able to make some impressive plays with his legs while running the option Saturday. Also to his credit, Boykin was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he led two scoring drives for TCU to erase a nine-point deficit and win 31-30 on a field goal as time expired.
However, there really wasn’t anything about Boykin’s day as a passer on Saturday that was NFL-caliber. Most of his completions came on short passes, and he missed some of those, too, including one on which he was intercepted three yards past the line of scrimmage.
Boykin has made significant strides as a passer this year, but he reverted back to his old ways on Saturday. It’s clear that although he has improved as a junior, he would be best served by returning to TCU for his senior year.
He still needs to develop significantly and remains a long-term project at this point.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 6-7
Stock Up: Shane Ray, DE, Missouri, Jr.
7 of 12
This Week: Five total tackles, two sacks, one pass deflection
Opponent: Kentucky
With at least four games still remaining in Missouri’s season, junior defensive end Shane Ray has already broken the school record for sacks after two takedowns of Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles on Saturday afternoon brought his season total to 12.
Emerging this season from the shadows of Kony Ealy and Michael Sam, who previously held the school record for sacks in a tie with Aldon Smith, Ray has continued Missouri’s tradition of star pass-rushers.
An explosive edge player who gets off the line with speed and has good pass-rushing moves, Ray has displayed all season that he can turn the corner and close on an opposing quarterback in a hurry.
His biggest plays on Saturday, including two sacks and a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage, came while working against Kentucky left tackle Darrian Miller.
Over the course of the year, Ray has shown that he can bring pressure from either side of the line and can also penetrate from inside.
At only 6’3” and 245 pounds, Ray will likely be limited to playing on the edge in the NFL. He’s not nearly as impactful of a run defender as he is a pass-rusher, and he will have to continue to become stronger in that capacity to prove he can be more than a situational player at the next level.
Nonetheless, the consistency of success he has had in pursuit of quarterbacks this season, along with his promising degree of athleticism, has pushed him into position to be a potential first-round pick if he declares for the 2015 draft.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 1-2
Stock Up: Erick Dargan, FS, Oregon, Sr.
8 of 12
This Week: 12 total tackles, one interception, one forced fumble
Opponent: Stanford
In a strong all-around performance for the Oregon defense in the Ducks’ 45-16 rout of Stanford on Saturday, its star was senior free safety Erick Dargan.
Dargan was an active presence on the back end for Oregon throughout the game, as he led the team with 12 total tackles, while he also made big plays in the second half to force both of Stanford’s turnovers on the day.
On Stanford’s first drive of the second half, Dargan took advantage of a miscommunication between Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan and wide receiver Devon Cajuste and pulled in an interception with an over-the-shoulder catch just in front of the left-corner pylon of the end zone.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Dargan stripped Hogan for a forced fumble that was recovered by his teammate, senior outside linebacker Tony Washington, who also had an impressive all-around performance Saturday.
Saturday’s game was nothing new for Dargan, at least not this year. Although Dargan was not a full-time starter for Oregon until this season, he has emerged as a key difference-maker in his senior year.
Leading the Ducks with five interceptions and 65 total tackles, Dargan has shown playmaking range all year. Seemingly a long shot to be drafted coming into the year, Dargan has quickly become a player whom NFL scouts must not ignore.
Current Draft Projection: Round 5
Stock Up: Dante Fowler, DE, Florida, Jr.
9 of 12
This Week: Six total tackles (2.5 for loss), one sack, one quarterback hit
Opponent: Georgia
In the week’s most shocking outcome, Florida was able to control both sides of the ball and win 38-20 in its annual “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” game with Georgia.
While its rushing offense rolled through the Bulldogs defense, a big reason for Florida’s success defensively was the play of junior defensive end Dante Fowler.
Fowler, who reportedly plans to declare for the 2015 draft, according to Neil Shulman of InAllKindsOfWeather.com, put his outstanding combination of burst, strength and speed on display on Saturday, as he blew up a number of plays in the backfield and displayed his sideline-to-sideline range.
A versatile defender who can line up everywhere from defensive tackle to linebacker and is a dynamic pass-rusher yet can also drop back into pass coverage, Fowler has a rare ability to cover ground for a 6’3”, 260-pound edge defender. It shows up in his level of activity from game to game, as it certainly did this past week.
Fowler’s technical game remains somewhat raw, but he is aggressive with his hands and shows the ability to fight his way through the offensive line.
At the next level, he won’t be able to rely on his physical gifts as much as he does against collegiate competition, but his physical tools should stand out even by NFL standards.
Performances like he had in a big game Saturday are what Fowler, who has as much upside as just about anyone in the 2015 draft class, needs to prove he’s worthy of an early first-round draft pick.
Current Draft Projection: Top 25
Hidden Gem of the Week: Hunter Dimick, DE, Utah, RS So.
10 of 12
This Week: Eight total tackles (three for loss), two sacks
Opponent: Arizona State
He’s been overshadowed this season by fellow Utah defensive end Nate Orchard, a senior who ranks among the nation’s leaders in sacks and is one of college football’s fastest-rising draft prospects as a result, but Hunter Dimick was the Utes’ most impressive pass-rusher in their overtime loss to Arizona State on Saturday.
In Saturday’s late-night affair, Dimick displayed good athleticism around the edge and skill with his hands, as he made a number of big plays in the backfield from the outside.
A 6’3”, 266-pound defensive end who utilizes his length well, Dimick is seemingly getting better by the game. He has 7.5 tackles for loss in Utah’s last four games alone, and he has quickly formed one of the nation’s most formidable pass-rushing tandems along with Orchard.
It would be a surprise if Dimick declared for the 2015 draft—and probably a mistake—as he has two years of eligibility remaining after this season and should only continue to emerge and improve as a player.
Nonetheless, scouts who are watching the Utah defensive line to evaluate Orchard might be hard-pressed to ignore Dimick, whose rapid improvement will make him a promising prospect going forward if it continues.
Current Draft Projection: Round 5
Other Notable Performers
11 of 12
Miami junior running back Duke Johnson, who was included in last week’s Prospect Radar after a big game versus Virginia Tech, continued to excel against North Carolina on Saturday. He had 17 carries for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including one 90-yard score in the first half alone.
After scoring a 37-yard receiving touchdown early in the second half, Johnson didn’t see much work the rest of the day, as the Hurricanes had a commanding lead.
Nonetheless, Johnson has been the hottest running back in college football the past few weeks, and he's proving himself to be a top prospect at his position.
Another standout junior running back on Saturday was Florida’s Matt Jones, who rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in the Gators’ win against Georgia.
A big power back listed at 6’2” and 235 pounds, Jones’ bruising running through the Bulldogs defense drew him comparisons to Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch.
Michael Dyer has been derailed by off-field issues and injuries since his excellent freshman and sophomore seasons for Auburn in 2010-11, but he’s looked like he’s finally back to form in Louisville’s past two games.
After rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina State, he followed it up with an impressive 134-yard, three-touchdown game against Florida State.
Dyer’s checkered past makes him a draft wild card, but more performances like he had Thursday night will make him an intriguing late-round possibility in the 2015 draft.
Washington junior Shaq Thompson is one of the 2015 draft’s top defensive prospects—the hybrid linebacker/safety leads the entire Football Bowl Subdivision with four defensive touchdowns.
But Thompson became an offensive player for the Huskies on Sunday, as he played at running back instead of playing defense.
Showing his incredible versatility, Thompson rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while also catching two passes for 41 yards, accounting for nearly half of Washington’s offense in a win over Colorado.
His NFL future should be on defense, where he’s a potential top-15 pick, but his ability to switch to the offensive side of the ball and post more than 200 yards from scrimmage is a testament to how athletically gifted he is.
Kevin White was not the only star in TCU’s secondary against West Virginia. Junior safety Chris Hackett was a big playmaker for the Horned Frogs on Saturday, as he intercepted a deep ball intended for the other Kevin White.
He had what would have been another interception go off his hands on West Virginia’s next possession and then forced a fumble one series later.
The redemption story of the week happened in Temple's upset win over East Carolina. Praise Martin-Oguike, who was dismissed from Temple in 2012 for rape charges from which he was ultimately exonerated, returned to the Owls this year after a two-year absence.
He had the game of his life on Saturday, in which he recorded 3.5 tackles for loss, forced three fumbles and blocked a field-goal attempt.
Martin-Oguike was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week for his exceptional performance. The redshirt junior defensive end could be a prospect to watch going forward if he continues to play the way he did Saturday.
NFL Draft Injury Notes
12 of 12
A number of players with the potential to be selected in the 2015 NFL draft went down with season-ending injuries this past week.
Dres Anderson, who has been Utah’s leading receiver since 2012, was announced on Wednesday to be out for the season with an undisclosed knee injury.
The son of former NFL wideout Willie “Flipper” Anderson, Dres Anderson has the talent to follow his dad’s footsteps to the league, but his draft stock could be significantly affected by his injury if he is not fully recovered in time for predraft workouts.
Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday leads the nation with 3,873 passing yards, but his collegiate career came to a devastating end Saturday when he suffered a broken leg versus USC.
Halliday has been a highly successful collegiate quarterback, but he was already a long shot to be drafted. A player whose statistics are more indicative of Mike Leach’s system than anything, Halliday is good enough to earn a training camp tryout with an NFL team, but he will have to be healthy.
Joe Schmidt’s journey from walk-on to the starting middle linebacker at Notre Dame had been well-documented, but his season also came to an end when he broke his ankle against Navy.
Schmidt is an undersized linebacker, but he had been playing very well this season, especially as a run-stopper. He should be expected to return to Notre Dame, as he has another year of eligibility remaining.
Draft-eligible junior left tackle Ereck Flowers of Miami underwent knee surgery this past week, which was first reported by Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald, and his status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.
Flowers is a physically imposing offensive lineman with high upside that could make him a Day 2 draft pick, but he might be best suited in returning to Miami for his senior year, especially if he misses the rest of the season with injury.
Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah suffered an MCL sprain against Purdue that knocked him out of the game.
Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini said he is “optimistic” that the senior, who is in competition to be among the first three to five backs selected in the 2015 draft, will be able to play in Nebraska’s next game, according to Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald.
In the midst of a fantastic season for Oklahoma, junior wide receiver Sterling Shepard suffered a groin strain against Iowa State on Saturday.
Sooners coach Bob Stoops said Shepard, who projects to the NFL as a slot receiver, could have returned to the game, “but they decided to rest him,” according to the team’s Twitter account.
Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
