Ranking the 10 Best Players in the 2020 CFB National Championship Game
The two-week layoff between the College Football Playoff semifinals and national championship has provided ample time to highlight every small detail and storyline of the clash between Clemson and LSU.
Analysis is valuable and interesting. But can we take a moment to appreciate the level of individual talent in this showdown?
In all likelihood, the next two No. 1 overall NFL draft picks will be taking snaps in Monday's matchup at the Superdome in New Orleans. LSU even has a freshman who might be a top-five selection three draft cycles from now. Clemson and LSU combined to place eight players on AP All-America teams in 2019, and that doesn't include Trevor Lawrence, Tee Higgins or Justin Jefferson.
Forget the final score or how the players will affect the game. This championship is stacked with elite ability.
10. Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU
1 of 10
Kristian Fulton isn't afraid of getting in a receiver's face.
According to Pro Football Focus, the senior has lined up in press coverage on 301 snaps—the third-most of any draft-eligible cornerback. And prior to the Peach Bowl against Oklahoma, Fulton had forced an incompletion 29.1 percent of the time when targeted.
Over the last two years, he's picked off two passes and been credited with 22 breakups. Most of the time, though—especially in 2019—quarterbacks haven't thrown at Fulton.
"I think Kristian not being targeted is respect," LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase said, per Brody Miller of The Athletic.
9. Grant Delpit, S, LSU
2 of 10
If you prefer Fulton over Grant Delpit, that's reasonable. Put simply, Delpit won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back in 2019 more on reputation than performance.
But he's earned every bit of that reputation.
In three seasons at LSU, Delpit has collected 193 total tackles with 16.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. He's also a valuable piece in coverage with 24 pass breakups and eight interceptions, contributing in a deep safety spot or walking down to cover the slot.
Delpit has missed more tackles than usual in 2019, but his versatility and upside make him worthy of a first-round selection if he declares for the 2020 NFL draft.
8. Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU
3 of 10
Although he enjoyed a productive 2018 season, Justin Jefferson has reached a different level as a junior.
Entering the national championship, he ranks third in the country with 102 receptions and 1,434 yards. Jefferson shares the FBS lead in touchdowns (18) with his teammate Chase.
Jefferson has seven 100-plus-yard outputs, but no performance was more impressive than his most recent one. He set the playoff records for receiving yards and touchdowns after ripping apart Oklahoma's secondary for 227 yards and four scores on 14 catches in the blowout semifinals win.
Should he declare for the 2020 draft, Jefferson should be among the top 10 receivers in the class. Not bad for a player who ranked No. 2,164 nationally as a high school recruit.
7. Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
4 of 10
Among players with three-plus receptions per game, Tee Higgins ranks fifth nationally with 19.1 yards per catch. He, like LSU's Chase, offers a unique blend of high volume and high efficiency.
Overall this year, Higgins has gathered 56 passes for 1,115 yards and 13 touchdowns. And lately, only the undisclosed injury in the Fiesta Bowl has slowed down the junior. Higgins has 29 catches for 527 yards and 10 scores in six November and December games.
This superb season has followed a 2018 in which he emerged as a key player, tallying 59 receptions for 936 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Higgins can declare for the 2020 draft and will be a first-round prospect if he does.
6. Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
5 of 10
Sorry, SEC West quarterbacks. You'll see Derek Stingley Jr. for at least two more seasons before he's probably off to the NFL.
As a true freshman, the cornerback has accumulated 36 total tackles with six interceptions and 15 pass breakups. A first-team AP All-America choice, he picked off Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm twice in the SEC Championship Game.
Stingley, who also returns punts, has rapidly earned the admiration of his LSU teammates.
"He's a very humble player," Delpit said, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "He's very patient, which is something you don't see a lot of freshmen have. He doesn't look like a freshman. He's going to be a big man around here for a long time."
5. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU
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As mentioned before with Higgins, LSU has an electrifying player in Chase because of his target share and his explosiveness.
The sophomore wideout has seven receptions of 50-plus yards, a total matched only by Oklahoma superstar CeeDee Lamb and Florida State's Tamorrion Terry. But no FBS player has recorded more 20-yard catches than Chase (31).
So, it's no surprise Chase is averaging 20.8 yards per catch while pulling in the most touchdowns (18) and second-most yards (1,559) in the country.
Entering the national title game, Chase has eight 100-yard displays—including six of at least 140 and three of 197 or more.
4. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
7 of 10
Based on talent, Travis Etienne is a no-brainer first-round draft pick. Positional value debates understandably factor into that discussion, but that's not in play here.
Etienne is an absolute star.
After sharing the backfield as a freshman, he's held the featured role for Clemson in both 2018 and 2019. During those seasons, Etienne has accumulated 3,668 yards from scrimmage and totaled 48 touchdowns. And in all three years, the speedster has averaged an absurd seven-plus yards per carry.
As a junior, Etienne has been a larger receiving threat with 32 catches for 396 yards and four scores. That improvement was on display in his two-touchdown effort against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
With nearly 600 touches in his college career, Etienne should be going to the NFL after the title matchup.
3. Isaiah Simmons, LB/S, Clemson
8 of 10
Safety, linebacker, defensive end, nickelback; doesn't matter, Isaiah Simmons can play it—and well.
"I don't even know [how] to classify myself," he told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. "You could put me anywhere, really."
Simmons—who generally plays safety and linebacker, for the record—has gathered 95 tackles with 14 takedowns for loss and seven sacks. All of those are team-best marks, and the junior's three interceptions rank second on the squad.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller listed Simmons as the fifth-best draft-eligible player for the 2020 cycle.
2. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU
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If we're talking about 2019 alone, Joe Burrow is No. 1 with no hesitation. His senior campaign is nothing short of legendary.
Burrow has completed an absurd 77.6 percent of his 478 passing attempts, amassing 5,208 yards and 55 touchdowns while tossing only six interceptions. He's added 311 yards and four scores on the ground for the lethal, No. 1 LSU offense.
All of that production has resulted in a Heisman Trophy win, a spot in the national title game and a consensus—if not unanimous—billing as the expected No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft.
The other quarterback already has a national championship. That provided the ranking difference, but it should do nothing to minimize Burrow's excellence.
1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
10 of 10
Lawrence backed up the hype as a freshman and hasn't stopped winning. Seriously, Clemson is 29-0 since the superstar quarterback stepped onto campus in 2018.
As a freshman, he posted a 65.2 percent completion rate with 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns to only four interceptions while helping Clemson dethrone Alabama for the national title. This year, Lawrence has connected on 67.6 percent of his attempts for 3,431 yards and 36 scores with eight picks.
The 6'6", 220-pounder has started to showcase his mobility too. That was clear in the Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State, and Lawrence has 514 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
He must return in 2020 before he can enter the NFL draft, but he'll be the considered the prized prospect next year.
All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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