Pac-12 Football: Each Team's Best Prospect for the 2015 NFL Draft
For the next month and a half, all of the focus on the Pac-12 will revolve around rivalry weekend, the conference title game and bowl season. But merely hours after the national champion is decided, that focus will switch to the NFL draft, where the Pac-12 will have a chance to shine brighter than ever.
Every team in the league has players who could go on to star at the next level. It's no coincidence that the current standings reflect which teams will likely have the most players selected and moving on to play in the pros.
There are a couple of ways to look at the best prospects. You could go simply by draft positioning and think of it in terms of who will get picked the highest. You might also consider who will turn out to be the best pro regardless of what round he's picked in, and sometimes the two schools of thought have no correlation.
Using both of those as guidelines, let's take a look at every Pac-12 team's best prospect for the 2015 NFL draft.
Arizona Wildcats
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Best Prospect: WR Austin Hill
Despite a 2014 campaign that pales in comparison to the kind of year Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill had in 2012, he still figures to be the team's top draft prospect come this spring. Others who could challenge for the honor are defensive backs Jared Tevis and Tra'Mayne Bondurant, but Hill's dynamic ability on offense will ultimately win out.
As a sophomore in 2012, Hill had 1,364 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns, but he suffered an injury in the offseason that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2013 campaign. As a senior, he's still managed to grab four touchdown passes and haul in 541 receiving yards, but the drop-off could be due in part to a receiving corps that is chock-full of talent.
Hill is a tall, fast playmaker who moves well in the open field. Look for an NFL team to see what everyone else saw in 2012 and pick up Hill in hopes that he'll fulfill his exciting potential.
Arizona State Sun Devils
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Best Prospect WR Jaelen Strong
It's hard to imagine a stronger class of rookie receivers than the guys currently in the NFL, but Arizona State's Jaelen Strong should aid the legacy of the 2015 group. He's the main option in the Sun Devils' passing attack, yet continues to dominate almost every game.
In a 38-34 win at USC, Strong had 10 catches for 202 yards and three touchdowns, the last of which came on a game-winning Hail Mary in the final seconds.
He's another big, physical receiver with strong hands and a surprising amount of athleticism for his size. Strong has shown that he can handle being the No. 1 guy and the focal point of opposing defenses, and he should be a high draft pick this spring for a team looking to add a potential top-tier wideout.
California Golden Bears
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Best Prospect: C Chris Adcock
We considered leaving this slide blank, but that might be considered mean. Just kidding, Cal fans, but even you guys have to admit that the current roster has very few players with NFL potential.
However, while the Bears are obviously lacking in talent at the moment (though putting together a solid bounce-back season), consider that only USC and Oregon have more players on NFL rosters in 2014.
We'll call the 2015 draft an outlier then, as no Cal players find themselves anywhere near draft boards. The best prospect is center Chris Adcock. Centers obviously have the unique responsibility of starting each play, and the best ones aren't always the guys drafted in the first few rounds.
Adcock also has decent size at 6'3" and nearly 300 pounds, so don't be surprised to see him earn a serious look and get picked up as an undrafted free agent.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Colorado Buffaloes
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Best Prospect: CB Greg Henderson
Talent is the biggest reason Colorado has fallen on hard times, or rather a lack of it. That's slowly begun to change with the Buffs staying competitive in more games than ever, but the result is still very few players with pro potential.
One such player, however, is cornerback Greg Henderson, who you can tell just by the picture is extremely athletic. Henderson has played in 46 games and had four interceptions as a junior in 2013. He hasn't had one this season, though that's not entirely unexpected when opponents figure out who the best corner is and target the player opposite him.
He does have 11 pass breakups, however, and on an otherwise woeful defense that allows nearly 40 points per game, Henderson stands out as a solid player—and easily Colorado's best pro prospect.
Oregon Ducks
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Best Prospect: QB Marcus Mariota
The college career of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is likely coming to an end, but his football-playing days are far from over. The physical attributes are obvious, as Mariota has the intelligence it takes to play quarterback combined with a solid arm, incredible athleticism and plain 'ol playmaking ability.
His production is unrivaled as well. He's thrown 95 touchdown passes and just 12 picks in his entire career. He's started 37 games and thrown interceptions in less than 25 percent of them. He's thrown multiple picks in only three games. He's never thrown more than two interceptions, and yet he's thrown at least five touchdown passes on four separate games.
The only question as far as Mariota's draft status goes is how he'll adjust to the NFL, where defenses are more complex and the system he'll be running will likely have a few more layers than what he's used to at Oregon. But if what we've seen from his ability to improve and add tools to his belt each year is any indication, Mariota will be a smashing success as a pro.
Oregon State Beavers
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Best Prospect: QB Sean Mannion
This is a tricky one, as cornerback Steven Nelson is an intriguing NFL prospect, but given the importance of having a good quarterback, Oregon State QB Sean Mannion still checks out as the Beavers' best draft prospect.
Mannion had a monster 2013 season with the luxury of being able to throw to now-NFL wideout Brandin Cooks. He totaled nearly 4,700 yards through the air to go along with 37 touchdowns. Without Cooks at wideout, Mannion has only throws 14 touchdown passes in 2014, though he has managed to top the 3,000-yard mark yet again.
Some of the drop in production can be attributed to a more balanced offense, but Mannion is the kind of guy who should excel in the predraft process. He's a smart, humble player with a big arm and proven ability in a pro-style offense. Those attributes should make him a real player on every team's quarterback draft boards.
Stanford Cardinal
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Best Prospect: OT Andrus Peat
In terms of on-field production, Stanford tackle Andrus Peat isn't quite up to par compared with the rest of the list. But what he lacks in proven ability he makes up for with raw potential.
That's not to say he's been awful, almost quite the contrary. Peat has been a rock on the offensive line, but he hasn't quite paved the way well enough for the Cardinal rushing attack that we became accustomed to seeing from 2011-2013.
And yet, at 6'7", 320 pounds, you won't find a more athletic, versatile offensive lineman in the game. The Cardinal have a strong recent history of churning out linemen, and NFL coaches will be eager to tap into Peat's potential. If he even comes close to reaching it, he'll become a perennial Pro Bowl selection.
UCLA Bruins
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Best Prospect: QB Brett Hundley
It hasn't been the picture-perfect season UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley had hoped for when he decided to return for another year. Hundley began the season scrambling for his life behind a woeful offensive line and settled into a rhythm of running too early or making harassed and often inaccurate throws.
But in the last few games, Hundley has shown everyone why he'll be given the keys to an NFL franchise someday. He's completed over 70 percent of his throws in three straight games, topped the 300-yard mark in the most recent two and led his Bruins to big wins at Washington and at home against USC.
He's a fairly nimble runner and is tough to bring down, but he's got a cannon for an arm as well. While he's finally starting to reach some of his potential, his ceiling is still a ways away, which makes him one of the more intriguing prospects in college football.
USC Trojans
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Best Prospect: DE Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams is USC's best prospect, and maybe the best prospect in all of college football. Bleacher Report's own Matt Miller has him pegged at No. 5 on his big board, which is a straight-up ranking of his best available players.
At 6'5", 300 pounds, you can put a check next to the size box. But Williams is so much more than a physical specimen, and you can see why every Saturday. He commands double-teams with regularity, and when he doesn't, he's often in the backfield disrupting the play.
With eight tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks on the year, his numbers are relatively modest, but that's in large part because he's the one player offenses have to game-plan for. Because of his ability to wreak havoc along the defensive front, Williams is the Trojans' best draft prospect by a fair margin.
Utah Utes
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Best Prospect: DE Nate Orchard
Before the season began, it would have a been a struggle to come up with Utah's best draft prospect. After nearly three months, the answer couldn't be more obvious: Defensive end Nate Orchard.
Tied for the national lead in sacks with 17.5, Orchard is a relentless lineman who already looks like a man among boys. At the rate he bursts into backfields, the NFL may be the only place that provides a real challenge.
Because the NFL has become so pass-heavy in recent years, having players who can disrupt the rhythm of a finely-tuned aerial attack is crucial; Orchard fits the bill perfectly.
Washington Huskies
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Best Prospect: LB Shaq Thompson
If you started on the offensive side of the ball when looking at Washington's NFL prospects, you might have quickly turned the page before even seeing what the defense had to offer. That, of course, would be a huge mistake, because while points have been tough to come by, the defense has held up its end of the bargain and then some.
The best prospect is up for discussion, and it's one that centers around linebacker/defensive end Hau'oli Kikaha, defensive tackle Danny Shelton and linebacker Shaq Thompson. Cornerback Marcus Peters was also in the thick of things before getting kicked off the team, though he may still end up as a high selection.
We're going with Thompson as the best prospect because he's the best all-around football player in the country. He's extremely fast, physical and has shown the toughness of being able to play running back as well. He has four defensive touchdowns on the season, and some NFL team is going be very happy with its first-round draft pick in the spring.
Washington State Cougars
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Best Prospect: WR Vince Mayle
Washington State's best draft prospect is wide receiver Vince Mayle in part because he's the only player with a chance to contribute immediately in the NFL. At 6'3" and around 220 pounds, he'll also be one of the more physical pass-catchers available.
Mayle arrived in 2013 as a junior college transfer and had 539 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. This season, he's nearly tripled the yardage mark with 1,404 receiving yards to go along with nine touchdowns. In addition to great hands, his size gives him that rare ability of being able to box out defenders and create room where there is none.
It's that aspect of his skill set that will have NFL teams salivating over Mayle's potential to become a No. 1 target. The Cougars may be having a tough season in the win-loss column, but the senior wideout has been sensational.
All stats via cfbstats.com. Some players included still have a year left of eligibility but are expected to go pro.
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