Stock Up, Stock Down for Top 2020 NFL Draft Prospects
Matt Miller@nfldraftscoutNFL Draft Lead WriterSeptember 4, 2019Stock Up, Stock Down for Top 2020 NFL Draft Prospects

It's too early in the calendar to overreact to one week of college football play, but it's not too early to study and scout the games while looking for trends or emerging players.
Part of the draft process is the rollercoaster that comes weekly as players excel and struggle. The key is to find the mean in those performances to discover who the player really is.
That starts by evaluating the first week and seeing who impressed and who disappointed. And that's where we start with the first stock watch of the season.
Stock Up: QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

Doubting that Lincoln Riley can take a cast-off quarterback and turn them into a Heisman Trophy winner would be a mistake. Riley has also turned his last two quarterbacks into the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Could Jalen Hurts be next?
Hurts has already soared to a 3-1 co-favorite for the 2019 Heisman Trophy after a dominant six-touchdown performance against Houston in the Sooners' season opener. With his arm and on the ground, Hurts was unstoppable. And yes, we're all aware they were playing a Houston team not known for great defensive play, but Hurts' efficiency and leadership were eye-opening.
It's early, but the stock arrow is pointing way up on Hurts after one week. With so much of the NFL adopting concepts that Riley utilizes—creating space, quick throws, RPO attacks—it's easy to see a team loving what the former Alabama backup can do.
No one is ready to say Hurts will emerge as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2020 draft class like Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray, but we've come a long way from scouts thinking he'd make a move to running back at the next level.
Stock Down: QB Jake Bentley, South Carolina

It's starting to look like Jake Bentley will never happen as a premium pro prospect at quarterback.
The senior passer had considerable hype heading into the 2018 college football season but struggled with consistency, accuracy and timing. His 2019 is off to a bad start with a foot strain that may require surgery. Either way, Bentley is going to miss time, and that's not good for a player who has already regressed from his post-sophomore peak.
Quarterbacks can shoot up boards after starting slowly or struggling through a bad game, but Bentley is consistently moving down the board.
Stock Up: LB Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma

Kenneth Murray was a tackling machine in 2018, notching 155 tackles in his junior season. There were questions from scouts, though, about Murray's instincts and vision—even after he totaled 28 tackles against Army and 15 against Alabama.
Murray answered the questions this past weekend as he showed the speed, vision and change-of-direction skills to spy and track down Houston's electric quarterback D'Eriq King. It's a job no one could handle throughout the 2018 season, but Murray showed the range to stop him in his tracks.
Following the injury to Alabama's Dylan Moses, there is an opening at LB1 in the 2020 draft class. Murray's increased athleticism and agility definitely put him into the conversation.
Stock Down: LB Troy Dye, Oregon

One of my go-to sayings is that scouting requires context. You see a player with a big statistical game, but what do those stats mean? Did a player's 12-catch game come from all bubble screens, or was he attacking down the field? If a quarterback completes 80 percent of his passes, how many were contested throws?
The same goes for defenders. Oregon's Troy Dye is firmly on the NFL's radar with excellent size and good athleticism, but his 15-tackle game in a loss to Auburn should be scrutinized. While Dye was active, he was also making many of those plays in reverse instead of attacking the line of scrimmage. It's notable that none of his tackles were for a loss, which paints a more accurate picture of the game he had.
Auburn outmuscled Oregon in the second half of a comeback win, and Dye was part of that Ducks front seven that struggled with run fits and the kind of power to shut down the Tigers' run game.
Congrats to Dye on a productive game, but his numbers alone aren't reason to be excited about him as a prospect when his actual game was less than encouraging.
Stock Up: QB Jacob Eason, Washington

Welcome back to college football, Jacob Eason.
After suffering a knee injury in the 2017 season opener, Eason lost his starting job to Jake Fromm and opted to transfer to Washington—where he would sit out the 2018 season while getting healthy. Because of this, Eason didn't start a college football game for almost two years.
In his return, Eason torched Eastern Washington for 349 yards and four touchdowns in a surgical 27-of-36 performance that reminded scouts of the arm talent and playmaking skills that made him a prized recruit before his Georgia days and a future first-round talent after his freshman season.
It will take more than a beatdown against Eastern Washington to shoot Eason up draft boards, but he has the right momentum after Week 1 to get scouts talking.
Stock Down: QB Shea Patterson, Michigan

Michigan won its season opener over Middle Tennessee State, but once again, quarterback Shea Patterson struggled with accuracy in a 17-of-29 day, while the Michigan offense sputtered through the game.
Patterson is a household college football name, but the lack of accuracy while being surrounded by three future early picks at wide receiver in Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Nick Collins is concerning. Many quarterbacks are doing more with a lot less supporting-cast talent around them.
For Patterson, it's time to start producing consistently or asking when Michigan will turn to Dylan McCaffrey at quarterback. And as that conversation happens, his draft stock will continue to tumble.
Stock Up: DL Derrick Brown, Auburn

The Oregon offensive line is one of the best in the country—or they were supposed to be. Auburn's Derrick Brown may have ruined that reputation in the season opener.
Lining up at nose tackle in the Auburn scheme, Brown absolutely wrecked the interior of the Oregon front five with power, quickness and smart technique that the Ducks weren't ready for. Brown's motor ran hot as fire throughout the game, which allowed him to make a number of persistent pressures.
A returning senior who would have been a likely top-50 pick in last year's draft, Brown has a chance to be the first interior defensive lineman drafted in 2020. His Week 1 play boosts his stock and puts him on the rise.
Stock Up: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, Liberty

Small-school love for one of my favorite wide receivers in the 2020 draft class. Liberty's Antonio Gandy-Golden (6'4", 220 pounds) is among the best senior pass-catchers in the nation with excellent body control, vision and a big catch radius.
Facing a talented Syracuse secondary in Week 1, Gandy-Golden went off for six catches and 119 yards while seeing attention in various double-teams and bracket coverages throughout the day.
In a draft class full of smaller receivers, the size and jump-ball ability of Gandy-Golden is intriguing. Showing he can compete against top FBS talents on defense is a great first impression to make in his final season.
Stock Down: QB Kelly Bryant, Missouri

Kelly Bryant was last seen losing his job to true freshman Trevor Lawrence and opting to leave the Clemson Tigers midway through the 2018 season. He resurfaced at Missouri through the transfer portal and was expected to help rejuvenate Barry Odom's squad after losing Drew Lock to the NFL.
It didn't happen. Bryant struggled with one interception and a key fumble in an embarrassing opening-week loss to Wyoming.
Missouri isn't Alabama or LSU, but an SEC team losing to an average Mountain West team can't happen Week 1. Bryant's inability to get the offense going despite having legit NFL talent at running back (Larry Rountree III) and tight end (Albert Okwuegbunam) is something that will haunt his NFL draft prospects.
Before leaving Clemson, multiple NFL evaluators told me the school asked Bryant to consider a move to wide receiver. Given his play in the opener, that might be his reality for the pros.
Stock Up: QB Joe Burrow, LSU

When we last saw Joe Burrow, he was getting his face re-adjusted by the UCF defense before going off and torching them in a bowl victory for LSU. He picked up right where he left off with a clean, efficient 23-of-27 day while tossing five touchdowns against Georgia Southern.
Burrow, a senior who started his career at Ohio State, has put together excellent back-to-back showings after being somewhat inconsistent earlier in his junior season. He'll see a big test in Week 2 while traveling to Austin, Texas, to face the Longhorns, but already scouts are chatting about Burrow's toughness and anticipation skills as a passer.