10 SEC Underclassmen Who Could Play in the NFL Right Now
The SEC will again be the go-to place for NFL teams looking to load up on new talent, as 11 of the top 30 players in Bleacher Report draft expert Matt Miller's big board hail from that conference.
But no matter how many SEC players get drafted in the spring, the talent pool just keeps on getting refreshed. All one needs to do is look to the freshman and sophomore classes, which are overflowing with studs who—if eligible—would also be snapped up in the draft.
That's because they're ready to play on Sundays.
Nearly every SEC team has at least one player who looks capable of being in the the NFL right now, based on their play in college and their physical attributes. The fact they've got to stay in school for another year or two just means they'll get better, and we get to watch them on Saturdays for a little longer.
Check out our list of 10 SEC underclassmen who could be playing in the NFL right now.
Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
1 of 10
Year: True freshman
With so many freshmen making an impact for Tennessee this season, it was hard for one to stand out from another. Derek Barnett might have been the exception, considering how often he was finishing plays in the opposing team's backfield.
Barnett, a 6'3", 267-pound defensive end, finished with 10 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss among his 72 tackles, a massive number for a defensive lineman. Those numbers reflect how active he was and show an instinct for the ball that will only get better through two or more years in college.
But in many ways, he's already there. A good example of this is how he held his own against Iowa left tackle Brandon Scherff (a likely first-round pick this spring) in Tennessee's TaxSlayer Bowl win over the Hawkeyes.
"I've said it, I'll continue to say it, he's mature beyond his years," Tennessee coach Butch Jones told Cody Goodwin of the Daily Iowan.
Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
2 of 10
Year: True freshman
Even without taking into consideration that he basically stepped in for a high NFL draft pick midway through the season and made Georgia fans almost forget about Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb has shown he's got the stuff to be a pro running back. Only injuries, which created his opportunity this season, could slow that progress.
Chubb finished this season with 1,547 rushing yards, which tied Garrison Hearst for the fourth-best year in school history. (The top three seasons are all by Herschel Walker.) And he did that despite getting only 31 carries through the Bulldogs' first five games. But once Gurley was forced to sit out four games because of an NCAA suspension, Chubb got the call...and answered right away.
In his first game, he carried the ball 38 times for 143 yards in a shutout win at Missouri. It was the first of eight consecutive 100-yard games, a streak that continued after Gurley returned (only to go down with a torn ACL in that first game back) and was capped by his 266-yard, two-touchdown performance in Georgia's dominant Belk Bowl win over Louisville.
That effort, combined with what he did throughout the regular season, has prompted many comparisons, including to some great players who seemed destined for the NFL only to have injuries sideline that dream.
"Really hope Nick Chubb can stay healthy the next two years," tweeted Matt Connolly of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "Just like Marcus Lattimore was as a freshman, Chubb is NFL-ready now."
Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina
3 of 10
Year: Sophomore
At 5'11" and 201 pounds, Pharoh Cooper doesn't have the prototypical body of an NFL wide receiver. Same goes for pro running backs or quarterbacks.
But in two years at South Carolina, he's shown that he can effectively play all three positions—sometimes in the same game—so dimensions don't matter nearly as much as results and determination. Cooper finds ways to contribute, and that figures to make him a major asset to some NFL team in a year or two.
This past season, Cooper was second in the SEC in receiving yards (1,136) with nine touchdown catches on 69 receptions. He also ran the ball 27 times for 200 yards and two TDs, and when given a chance to show off his arm, he was 5-of-5 for 78 yards and two scores. Throw in 15 punt returns for 75 yards, and he was a jack-of-all trades for the Gamecocks, even contributing a touhdown in three different ways in a loss to Tennessee.
Coach Steve Spurrier figures to implement Cooper in multiple ways quite often again next season, and NFL teams will be watching.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
4 of 10
Year: True freshman
One of the most-hyped recruits in college football history, Leonard Fournette showed up at LSU in the summer with huge expectations. While he didn't destroy the record books, like some outlandish predictions had him doing, he did show that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with for however long he's in college.
The 6'1", 230-pound beast also showed that he's already got what it takes to be in the NFL, the way he ran over (or past) defenders on a regular basis.
Fournette finished the season with 1,034 rushing yards, seventh-best in the SEC, along with 10 rushing TDs. He also averaged better than 26 yards on 25 kick returns, capped by a 100-yard return for a score in LSU's Music City Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
The return wowed those who thought Fournette was just a big body, as he raced downfield in 12 seconds, per Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee.
"Fournette sports an NFL-ready frame and explosive speed," Rob Rang of The Sports Xchange wrote after that game.
Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
5 of 10
Year: True freshman
A good way to determine whether an underclassman has what it takes to play in the NFL is to compare him to others, particularly those who have a similar style and recently made it to the pros. For Myles Garrett, that would be former South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney, whose SEC freshman sack record he just shattered.
Garrett, who was second in the conference with 11.5 sacks, used every bit of his 6'5", 255-pound frame to his advantage during his freshman season. Though Texas A&M's defense didn't fare well as a group, that didn't apply to Garrett, who also had 14 tackles for loss among his 53 tackles and blocked a kick as well.
And that was with only half of an offseason to get up to speed with the college game. Give him another year of training and practice, and he's set to have a huge sophomore year and make NFL scouts wish it were possible to draft players earlier than after three seasons.
Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida
6 of 10
Year: Sophomore
The shutdown cornerback is one of the most prized commodities in the NFL, a player who already has the instincts and skills to be able to stick with the game's biggest and best wide receivers. Finding them in college is even more rare, which is why what Vernon Hargreaves III has shown in his two collegiate years all but guarantees he'll be the top defensive back taken when he gets drafted.
Odds are that will be in 2016 after his junior year, but for now he's listed by NFLDraftScout as the No. 2 corner in the 2017 draft class, behind Virginia Tech's Kendall Fuller.
You can't judge Hargreaves by his numbers, though, since his lack of interceptions (three) and tackles (31) in 2014 is more indicative of the fact that many teams did their best not to throw in the 5'11", 195-pounder's direction. When they did, though, he defended 13 passes.
Josh Reynolds, WR, Texas A&M
7 of 10
Year: Sophomore
The top two rookie wide receivers in the NFL this season came from the SEC, with LSU alum Odell Beckham and Texas A&M's Mike Evans both hauling in 12 touchdown passes. A few years from now, Josh Reynolds figures to be in the same situation based on the way he performed this season.
Though he only had 52 receptions in 2014, the 6'4", 190-pound Reynolds converted those into 13 touchdowns. The last one, on a 44-yard TD catch in the opening minutes of the Aggies' Liberty Bowl victory over West Virginia, broke Evans' single-season school record.
Reynolds' first year with the Aggies—he played at Tyler (Texas) Junior College in 2013—was a blend of speed, strength and size, very similar to the way Evans outmuscled defenders while hauling in passes from Johnny Manziel. Reynolds showed even more versatility, adapting to the throwing styles of both Kenny Hill and Kyle Allen.
Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
8 of 10
Year: True freshman
Alabama offensive linemen getting drafted into the NFL is pretty much an annual occurrence, especially since Nick Saban took over the program. But there's one distinct difference between most of those previous pro-level blockers and the next great one whose Crimson Tide career is just starting.
Cam Robinson is the first one to start at left tackle as a true freshman.
Robinson, who at 6'6" and 323 pounds already has NFL size, showed off pro moves and technique all season while protecting Blake Sims' blind side. It's not surprising that the player rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 offensive tackle and fourth-best prospect in the 2014 class has done well, though this normally doesn't happen so fast. Especially at a school like Alabama.
"Everybody in our camp did a great job of preparing me and getting me ready for the season," Robinson told D.C. Reeves of the Tuscaloosa News. "All the players, they told me what the road would be like, it would be a long road and tough road but we stuck together as a team and it was good."
JK Scott, P, Alabama
9 of 10
Year: True freshman
Don't think a punter can be NFL-ready after one season? Then you didn't watch Alabama's games this season, particularly the ones where its offense struggled to sustain drives and needed special teams to help turn the tide.
Scott led FBS with a 48-yard punting average, with 23 of his 55 kicks sailing more than 50 yards and 31 getting downed inside the 20-yard line. The 6'4", 185-pounder was arguably Alabama's MVP during the Sugar Bowl semifinal loss to Ohio State, putting five of his seven punts inside the 20 and averaging 55 yards per kick, including a massive 73-yard boom.
Punters don't tend to go very high in the NFL draft, as only Miami's Pat O'Donnell (in the sixth round) was selected this past May, but Scott figures to break that mold in a couple of years.
Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss
10 of 10
Year: Sophomore
Ole Miss' strong season was more the result of its swarming defense than anything about its offense, but when the Rebels lost their best offensive player, it had a major impact on how the rest of the year went. When Laquon Treadwell went down with a fractured leg and dislocated ankle just short of scoring what would have been a game-winning touchdown against Auburn, Ole Miss' season started to go downhill.
Before the injury, Treadwell was arguably the second-best receiver in the SEC behind Alabama's Amari Cooper. He had 48 receptions for 632 yards and five touchdowns in nine games, after catching 72 passes for 608 yards and five scores as a freshman.
At the time of the injury, Bleacher Report NFL draft expert Matt Miller wrote that a scout he spoke to "compared him to Dez Bryant," the Dallas Cowboys' standout wide receiver. Even with the injury and the rehab that should keep him out until spring practice, Treadwell should still be considered a major NFL prospect.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
