Biggest NFL Draft Risers and Fallers After Week 5 of College Football
A lot of the NFL evaluations are based on measurables, workouts and sheer talent. But the pro scouts also pay attention to performance, and sometimes, big games or flops can affect a college player's stock.
Though one bad game isn't going to make or break an NFL resume, the scouts are always paying attention to what happens on Saturdays.
For some of Week 5's top performers, there was redemption from a previous dud or two. For others, it was just a revalidation that a strong season is surging in the right direction.
A couple of NFL darlings had subpar games on Saturday, and while those showings may not negatively impact their draft positioning, they can't have too many more in a row.
From performers on big-name programs to Group of Five stars, several players rose and fell on Saturday.
Riser: Julian Okwara, Notre Dame Edge
1 of 8
During last week's loss to Georgia in Athens, the Notre Dame defense showed up. Julian Okwara didn't, registering just a single solo tackle.
The fast, athletic outside pass-rusher was an afterthought.
On Saturday in another big game against a ranked Virginia opponent, Okwara put that poor game in his rear-view mirror, regaining a bit of the clout he lost in last week's major flop. If you're going to rebound, do it in style.
Okwara did.
Against the Cavaliers, Okwara was all over the field, leading the charge with three of the Fighting Irish's eight sacks of Bryce Perkins. On one of those sacks, Okwara forced a fumble the Irish parlayed into a touchdown in a 35-20 win.
With his burst off the edge and size, Okwara is exactly the type of playmaker NFL teams covet, and he should find a way to keep climbing into the end of the first round or perhaps the early part of Round 2. Wherever he goes, Okwara has some major upside.
Showing he has a chip on his shoulder and knows how to respond to a frustrating performance can't be a bad thing, either.
Faller: Jared Pinkney, Vanderbilt Tight End
2 of 8
In several NFL mock drafts (including this one by CBS Sports' Josh Edwards), Vanderbilt do-it-all tight end Jared Pinkney is sneaking into the first round.
At 6'4", 260 pounds, he has shown the ability to catch the ball, athletically get upfield and hold his own in the blocking game. He's been a big part of paving the way for Commodores star runner Ke'Shawn Vaughn.
But for Pinkney to improve his stock, he needs to make big plays, which he's finding more difficult in the post-Kyle Shurmur era. He has just 10 catches for 120 yards and no touchdowns this season.
Against a Northern Illinois team you'd expect Pinkney to pick on as a matchup nightmare, he was part of Vanderbilt's offensive woes. The Commodores posted two quick touchdowns but then sputtered the rest of the game in what wound up being a 24-18 sweat-it-out win.
Pinkney had just one catch for one yard.
He's going to work out extremely well and show enough athleticism that a team will take an early chance on him being the next strong flex tight end in the league, but Pinkney needs to perform much more consistently to raise his stock to its highest potential.
This year has been a disappointment for him and the Commodores.
Riser: Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State Running Back
3 of 8
Chuba Hubbard has everything NFL teams look for in a running back.
He's a 6'1", 207-pound physical player who can run between the tackles. In Saturday's massive win over Kansas State, he proved again he has the type of speed pro teams covet as well, churning out an 84-yard touchdown run and adding a 44-yard burst with the game on the line.
Hubbard finished with 296 rushing yards and averaged nearly 12 yards per carry.
He may have passed several running backs on the list of college stars, and with NFL teams recently following the trend of using early picks on offensive centerpieces, Hubbard could be one of the top two backs to go.
Yes, he'll be showcased this year and have a few miles on the tank by the end of the season, but Oklahoma State is a balanced attack, and Hubbard is just a redshirt sophomore. If he chooses to come out rather than return for his junior season, he'll be a commodity.
Right now, the only back who definitely should be taken ahead of him is Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, but if you go that route, you're getting a runner with a lot of tough, rugged mileage on him, and he may not have as long of a shelf life as Hubbard.
Taylor is a sure thing, but Hubbard's ceiling as an all-around back may be higher. Games like Saturday's put him in the conversation.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Faller: Travis Etienne, Clemson Running Back
4 of 8
One of the backs Hubbard may have leapfrogged is Clemson stalwart Travis Etienne, who hasn't gotten a ton of NFL love until recently but really began to surge up boards earlier this year.
Still, his lack of receiving ability out of the backfield is a concern, and he continues to struggle in that part of his game, even with a quarterback who is among the most respected in the nation in Trevor Lawrence. The sophomore signal-caller is not having his best year, though, and Etienne is no factor in the passing game.
Against North Carolina is a 21-20 win that nearly wasn't, Etienne wasn't even that big of a factor on the ground. He finished with just 67 yards, and this is the fourth week in a row he has had fewer than 80 rushing yards.
He had just a pair of catches, too.
Etienne will get a ton of exposure because he's surrounded by several high commodities. It would not be a surprise for Etienne to reclaim some of the hype as the season goes on and find himself at the end of the first round.
But he's also a fringe prospect who could slip behind some guys. It's not like Etienne is a toolsy running back who can do a lot of different things. He's a good runner who should have a long NFL career, but he isn't a lock to be a first-rounder.
Hubbard possibly passed him Saturday.
Riser: DeVonta Smith, Alabama Wide Receiver
5 of 8
When it comes to the NFL and Alabama's receiving corps, there's a reason pro scouts are salivating. It isn't just Tua Tagovailoa who has drawn the attention; his stable of playmakers are dotted all across the top of the draft board.
It would be a surprise if Jerry Jeudy wasn't the first pass-catcher off the board in the draft, and UA's trio of juniors all should head to the pros. After the Biletnikoff Award winner, athletic receiver Henry Ruggs III won't be far behind.
Another player who could sneak his way into the first round, if not soon after, is DeVonta Smith, a smooth route-runner who may be the most polished of the three, even if he's the least athletic.
On Saturday against Ole Miss, Smith proved he's plenty explosive. He already proved in the national championship game two years ago he has a flair for the dramatic, hauling in the game-winning scoring strike in overtime.
Against the Rebels, he torched the SEC foe for 11 catches, 274 yards and a school-record five touchdowns.
If that type of performance doesn't send you shooting up draft boards, nothing will. Smith may wind up being selected third out of his own offensive stable of receivers, but he still could be in the top five pass-catchers taken next year.
That's how talented this group of Crimson Tide targets is.
Riser: Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Quarterback
6 of 8
There has never been any doubts about Jalen Hurts' athletic ability. From the time he won the starting job at Alabama early in his freshman season, there were flashes.
But Hurts struggled in the intermediate passing game, and his mechanics were nowhere near where they needed to be.
It's been a long, arduous odyssey for Hurts back into the good graces of those gurus who want to see him with a little more polish in his passing skills.
They showed up in last year's SEC Championship Game when he was still with the Crimson Tide, making him the most coveted "free agent" this offseason in college football. Ever since he decided on finishing his career in Norman, the prospects of Hurts becoming a pro prospect have been tantalizing.
We're seeing the culmination of all that now.
Hurts is already dynamic when the pocket breaks down and he has to weave away from traffic. His throwing motion is so much better, and under coach Lincoln Riley's tutelage, he's showing the polish everybody wants to see.
Now, it's just a matter of how high he soars up draft boards. Baker Mayfield took the NFL by storm, and though Kyler Murray is having issues early on, his Arizona Cardinals need to fix their offensive line woes so he isn't just running for his life. He has a lot of potential as well.
Those two success stories bode well for Hurts, who lit up Texas Tech on Saturday and continues to do damage in every game he plays. If he can bring a national title to the Sooners, he'll only continue to rise up the boards.
Hurts is a legit prospect right now.
Faller: Jordan Love, Utah State Quarterback
7 of 8
Another athletic signal-caller who is an interesting prospect on draft boards is Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, who excelled in Matt Wells' system before Wells went to Lubbock to take over the Red Raiders program.
This season has been a bit more of a struggle for Love under Gary Andersen, and it may wind up affecting his draft grade.
Against a shaky Colorado State defense, Love was again just OK in a 34-24 win on Saturday night, completing 17-of-33 passes for 204 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He ran 11 times for 44 more yards but had a difficult time getting going.
There should be an asterisk by this so-so performance, though, as rain poured down throughout the game. Still, Love has six touchdowns and five interceptions this year and was well below his completion percentage in the game.
It doesn't help matters that the only Power Five defense he played against this year, he threw three interceptions in a season-opening 38-35 loss to Wake Forest.
Love could sneak into the first round because of his athletic ability, and at 6'4", 225 pounds, he has the size and a lot of positives in his corner as well. But the level of competition he faces might hurt him.
Entering the season, a lot of writers were talking about Love's pro potential, including 247Sports' Chris Hummer, but Love needs to ramp up his numbers as the season matures.
Love needs to show growth in Andersen's system over the rest of the season and become the type of prospect he was a season ago when he was mentioned among the top two or three Group of Five players.
If he continues to struggle, he may wind up playing another season with the Aggies before testing the NFL waters.
Riser: Evan Weaver, California Linebacker
8 of 8
Say what you want about his possible athletic limitations, but you're not going to find a player in college football who is more consistently around the ball-carrier than California linebacker Evan Weaver.
He's a relentless force who is perhaps the smartest defender in the sport, has a nose for the football and plays with a reckless abandon.
Weaver showed a lot of dedication to getting his body right, shedding excess weight, as detailed in the ESPN coverage of his Bears' Friday night loss to Arizona State. This is a dude who lives to hit people, and the broadcast kept referring to the brash defender as a modern-day Brian Bosworth.
He was frustrated and outspoken after a close loss to the Sun Devils, dropping Cal from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Bears were the last Pac-12 team to lose a game, and Weaver wants to make sure it doesn't become a trend.
"They outplayed us in every facet of the game," he said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "Can't play very well and can't win games when you're not even making the simple plays, and we didn't today. That was it."
He told the San Francisco Chronicle's Rusty Simmons, "We lose a game, we fall off a cliff." He's the type of player who detests losing, and that normally translates extremely well.
Weaver made a ton of plays, though. He led the team with 15 tackles, and he already led the nation with 78 tackles already entering the game. Weaver is a force, and the senior linebacker is a leader who is the kind of player around which you can build a defense.
His athletic limitations may make him a third- or fourth-round pick, but Weaver is much more than just a two-down linebacker. He can play in the center of a 4-3 or inside in a 3-4 defense in the pros. If he can sneak into the second round, that would be a major rise.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
