BCS Bowl Predictions: Brandon Weeden and Studs That Will Improve Draft Stock

Aside from the LSU-Alabama championship game, all of the other bowl games don’t have much meaning to the teams.

But it sure does for individual players.

Here are three NFL prospects that can vault up the draft board with a big bowl game performance.

QB Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State

The Cowboys got jobbed out of the championship game and have to settle for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against Stanford. This is still going to be a high-profile game, and it will allow the entire country to get a look at the 28-year-old.

While his age will certainly scare some teams away, it’s hard to overlook his numbers this season—4,328 yards, 34 TDs, 12 INTs and a 73-percent completion rate.

If he can carve up the 23^rd-ranked Cardinal defense and get into a shootout with Andrew Luck, his stock will soar. We already know that every scout under the sun will be watching Luck, and if Weeden can out play him… I’d guess his draft stock will vault up to the second or third round.  

RB LaMichael James, Oregon Ducks

James is the leading rusher in the nation, averaging 149.6 yards per game, and the junior is all but certain to declare for the NFL draft.

Playing in the Pac-12 doesn’t give him a ton of opportunities for the East Coast to see his talents.

They are missing out. The speed he possesses is absolutely breathtaking. But can he run between the tackles?

Getting a chance to go up against the ultra-physical Wisconsin Badgers defense—ranked sixth in the nation, giving up a mere 17 points a game—is going to show scouts how the smaller-framed James can handle a big and physical team.

He is a likely first-round pick that can reach the Top 15 with a big Rose Bowl performance. This is the opponent to show that he can be an every-down back.

QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma Sooners

Jones was riding-high for the Sooners for the first six games of the season. His team was on track to get to the championship game, and the junior was looking like a Top 10 pick.

Three losses later, and Robert Griffith III and Matt Barkley have now leaped past Jones. After looking like a guy poised to leave school early, nobody is too sure what he’s going to do at this point.

Jones won’t have the benefit of a BCS game to make one last impression. But if he lights up an underrated Iowa defense in the Insight Bowl, he will strongly consider taking the leap. For the regular season, Jones put up 4,302 yards, 28 TDs and 14 INTs.

He has all the talent in the world, and reminding scouts of that talent one last time before making a decision is imperative.

Jones is still a potential first-round pick.