This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2020 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2020 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Oklahoma 34, Oklahoma State 16
Hubbard took one of his fist carries for a gain of 22 yards, displaying his speed to the second level with vision and body lean. To finish the drive, Hubbard fought through a few tackles to score from a few yards out. In the second quarter, Hubbard got some decent lanes and was able to rip off a good gain; however, he fumbled while trying to jump cut away from a tackler, and Hubbard was fortunate to recover the loose ball. Overall, Oklahoma did a quality job of containing Hubbard, who he totaled 104 yards and a touchdown over 24 carries.
Hubbard lacks elite power and is a bit of a straight-line runner, but he has good vision and feel. Hubbard is a hard-charging back who has good contact balance with instincts. While Hubbard is a former track competitor, he is not a blazer. He has starting potential for the next level and can make some plays in the passing game, as evidenced by his performance against West Virginia. In speaking with some scouts, they feel that Hubbard could go in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
In the third quarter, Murray overpursued a run to Hubbard, and that let the quarterback keep the ball and break downfield for a first down. A few plays later, Murray flew into the backfield on a stretch run to get a tackle for a loss. In the fourth quarter, Murray came through with a fourth-and-short stop on Hubbard for no gain. Murray fired into the hole and knocked Hubbard backward to get the Oklahoma defense off the field, and that stop essentially clinched the win for the Sooners.
This wasn’t Murray’s best performance of the season, but he was active and contributed to his defense allowing only three points in the second half. Murray looks like a top-20 pick next April and he could go high.
Lamb has generally made the most of his opportunities this season, which has helped his draft standing despite having a limited quarterback to work with. The 2020 NFL Draft looks like a strong class of receivers, and team sources say that Lamb is not one to blaze an ultra-fast 40. But Lamb has lots of tape showing his good hands, route-running, and run-after-the-catch skills. Lamb looks like a top-25 pick for the 2020 NFL Draft at this time.
Clemson 38, South Carolina 3
Simmons started his day with a tackle for a loss on a stretch run and by filling the hole on a run up the middle. Later in the first quarter, Simmons came on a blitz off the edge and used his speed to run around the left tackle to get a sack. Shortly later however, Simmons missed a tackle in the open field, and that allowed South Carolina to convert a third-and-long. Just after halftime, Simmons showed one reason why he is a future first-rounder when he ran with the slot wide receiver down the deep sideline and broke up the pass for an incompletion.
Simmons was going sideline to sideline with his great speed and plus instincts to stay around the ball. He is a steady tackler who possesses the size and physicality to handle NFL running backs. Simmons covered a ton of ground in zone coverage while also showing the ability to play man and help on receivers. That is a phenomenal attribute for the pro game and makes Simmons very valuable for the passing-driven NFL.
Higgins is a big wideout who has mismatch size, strong hands and quality route-running. If he runs well in the 40, he could really rise, but if he has an average 40 time, he should be in the second-day conversation for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Kinlaw got his game started by stuffing a run at the point of attack for no gain on a first-and-goal. In the third quarter, he made a really nice play in run defense, getting off a block and swallowing up Etienne near the line of scrimmage. Kinlaw added another tackle in the ground game a bit later, stuffing Etienne for a gain of one yard.
Kinlaw could be a first-round pick next April because he is a big defender with strength, quickness and athleticism. He fits any NFL defense as he could play three-technique or nose tackle in a 4-3 or he could play five-technique defensive end in a 3-4. Kinlaw could be a solid selection in the middle to back half of the first round during the 2020 NFL Draft.
LSU 50, Texas A&M 7
Burrow had a strong start to the game, showing his intelligence to throw behind a blitzing safety to move the chains, using his legs to pick up a key first down, and then finding Justin Jefferson in busted coverage for an easy touchdown pass. Burrow then had another easy touchdown pass, as Ja’Marr Chase burned the coverage to get wide open downfield for a 78-yard touchdown pass. The ball traveled about 50 yards in the air, as the Aggies safety blew the coverage on the deep post by Chase. It wasn’t flawless for Burrow, as he had Chase running open into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown, but Burrow had poor ball placement, leaving the pass short rather than leading Chase into the end zone.
Burrow had a nice play in the third quarter to avoid an edge rusher and find a receiver downfield for a good gain, but later on that same drive, he had an interception dropped by an Aggies defender as Burrow had a pass off the mark. To end the drive, he lofted in a back-shoulder touchdown pass to Chase, and that tied the SEC record for the most touchdown passes in a single season, set a few years ago by Missouri’s Drew Lock. Burrow ended up completing 23-of-32 passes for 352 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Burrow has quality size with a strong enough arm, accuracy as a passer, and some functional mobility with an ability to pick up some critical yards on the ground. Burrow has had good decision-making and developed field vision to work through his progressions while reading defenses well. Burrow has been a superb distributor of the ball with a loaded offense of playmakers. Team sources who have scouted Burrow in person say that he has some physical limitations. They say his arm strength and overall skill set being similar to that of Andy Dalton or Derek Carr. He also is a one-year wonder as a multiple team evaluators have pointed out, but regardless of all of that, his amazing season has him as the favorite to be the No. 1 pick next April.
Mond threw a terrible pass into the middle of the defense in the third quarter and the ball sailed into the bread basket of Grant Delpit for an easy interception. It seems like Mond and his receiver weren’t on the same page, as Mond threw it as if the receiver would cut to the inside when he actually kept running straight down the sideline. Mond then threw another interception, but this one was not his fault, as it was a Hail Mary up for grabs on a fourth-and-31 situation. He then heaved another pick that was also not his fault, as he threw a crossing route to a receiver and rather than reaching up to touch the football, the receiver leaned backwards to avoid the pass as if he was playing dodge ball. The pass sailed to a defender as a result in a play that was hilarious and pathetic. Mond finished completing 10-of-30 passes for 92 yards with three interceptions.
Mond should return for his senior year. He has a good skill set with arm strength, size and running ability, but he has consistency issues. There are times where Mond throws passes with phenomenal accuracy and ball placement. Other times, he needs to get more consistent to avoid overthrows, and not hold onto the ball too long. Mond has a lot of upside, so he could continue to improve his accuracy, field vision, timing, precision and decision-making with more reps. Mond has shown a lot of improvement this season while getting more time with Jimbo Fisher, but he still needs more work for the NFL, and it would be a mistake for him to come out early. If he improves as a senior, he could be a potential first-round pick in 2021.
Delpit got lucky in the second half, as he had the assignment of deep help along the sideline, but he took a bad angle to leave his cornerback out to dry. Kendrick Rogers, however, couldn’t adjust to a well-thrown pass to make a long touchdown reception. Overall, this tape should be neutral for Delpit’s draft stock.
Auburn 48, Alabama 45
Brown had a ridiculous play early on for a man his size, pushing to the inside of the lane and then spinning backward to tear down Najee Harris for a loss of one. Brown then showed his tremendous speed, sprinting to the sideline to deliver a bone-rattling hit on quarterback Mac Jones after the signal-caller took off on a run. A few plays later, Brown pursued on a screen to finish off a stumbling Harris with another hard hit. Brown then had a phenomenal rush for a tackle his size, using a spin move to the inside to burn the right tackle and come close to a sack.
Brown had a key tackle on a third down run from Jones to produce a fourth-and-long in the final frame. Later on that drive, Brown made an incredible one-armed tackle on Harris while being held at the line of scrimmage. It was a freakish play from the Auburn standout. Brown then batted down a pass on third-and-goal to force a field goal that Alabama missed with two minutes remaining and clinch the win for Auburn.
Brown has a freakish combination of size, strength, speed and athleticism. He is a load against the run and a capable interior pass rusher. Multiple team sources told me before the season that Brown would have gone ahead of Christian Wilkins and Ed Oliver if he had entered the 2019 NFL Draft, and this tape will help to reinforce that opinion.
Smith had a kick returned for a touchdown and made a number of other receptions to move the chains with five catches for 80 yards. This tape will help his draft grade. Jeudy (5-26) had a drop on a short reception, but this tape won’t impact his draft stock as a potential high first-round pick.
Harris is a big back who has some quickness and athleticism. Over the past few seasons, he has not run to his size and has looked to bounce too many carries to the outside rather than using his power to run behind his pads in a physical manner. Lately, and especially against LSU, Mississippi State, and now Auburn, Harris was running aggressively downhill with decisiveness. This tape will help his draft grade and definitely makes him look like a better pro prospect compared to how he performed at the beginning of the season.
Ohio State 56, Michigan 27
For much of the game, Young was being held back by Michigan, as they did a good job of neutralizing him by sending some double teams and moving plays away from him. The Wolverines right tackle also did a nice job of winning some blocks against Young. He had a few pressures and came close to a few sacks, but was unable to dominate. In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines ran at Young and the fullback pushed Young out of his gap for a short rushing touchdown. Young got a few pressures on the next drive and showed a nice move slapping away the hands of the left tackle and cutting to the inside to pressure Shea Patterson into an incompletion.
As a pass rusher, Young has an innate ability to get after the quarterback. He has a quick first step with a nice get off that gets offensive tackles on their heels. Young has quickness around the edge and is able to close on the quarterback quickly. Young shows functional athleticism to sink his hips and dip under tackles to beat their blocks. He also is effective working to the inside as he has some strength to execute a rip move to the inside and also is able to knock tackles off balance with a hard shove and then cut to the inside to collapse the pocket. Young shows nice vision to keep his eyes on the quarterback, and that, along with his athleticism allows him to redirect for chasing down scrambling signal callers. Young is a balanced pass rusher and should continue to improve as he gains experience. Young looks like a potential double-digit NFL sack producer who is a No. 1 edge rusher for a defense to be built around.
Dobbins exploded off the right side to get to the sideline for a 41-yard gain right after halftime. Dobbins then killed the clock for the Buckeyes and had his career high fourth rushing touchdown that also set a career high in rushing yards. Dobbins totaled 211 yards on 31 carries with four touchdowns and also had two receptions for 49 yards.
Dobbins showed quickness to hit the hole, cutting ability to weave around defenders, and strength to finish his runs well. However, this was his second straight game with a fumble, and now ball security is going to be discussed in his scouting report leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.
Okudah had coverage in the hip pocket of a receiver down the deep sideline during the first quarter, and he employed excellent positioning to use the paint as his ally and lead the receiver out of bounds. Okudah then did a superb job of trading off his receiver on an underneath route to pick up the deep receiver down the seam, and he used his size to break up a jump ball, almost making a diving interception off the deflection. The next play, Okudah broke up a third-down slant to get his defense off the field.
Just before halftime, a rare sight was seen when Okudah was beat for separation on a crossing route in the back of the end zone to get open for a touchdown, but a hard hit from the safety bailed out Okudah to force an incompletion.
Overall, this was a solid tape for pro evaluators. Okudah showed the size to handle big wideouts, speed to run downfield, and excellent technique using the sideline while playing the ball in the air.
Patterson has a skill set with a strong arm and mobility, but he looks like a day-three prospect who should be a third-string developmental backup to see if he can improve enough to be considered a backup. His field vision and composure need a lot of work, as Patterson often gets flustered when his first read is covered. Patterson has to improve going through his progressions and finding his receivers aside from the first read. Along with those issues, Patterson needs to improve his accuracy. He has a long ways to go for the pros.
Uche (6-2, 250) has serious size and length limitations for the NFL. He would fit best as a designated pass rusher in a 3-4 defense. If Uche were bigger, he could have early-round potential, but given his lack of size, he could be a mid-round pick.
Texas 49, Texas Tech 24
Cosmi has shown this year that he has quality size, quickness and athleticism. However, Cosmi also illustrated that he must get stronger for the NFL. Cosmi has given up some pressures on bull rushes, as he can be pushed straight back into the pocket. There are other plays where Cosmi shows that he needs to improve on his functional strength to sustain blocks. If Cosmi can get stronger, he could become a complete player. Cosmi has quick feet, is a knee bender, and does a very good job of getting depth in his drop to cut off the edge.
Scouts like Cosmi and think he is a better prospect than Connor Williams was at Texas. They feel that Cosmi is raw and needs development, but athletically, he is an interesting prospect with some upside. Team sources feel that he should go back to school if he wants to be a secure first-round pick in his draft class.
Duvernay could get drafted on the final day of selections in the 2020 NFL Draft. Duvernay (5-11, 210) has some limitations for the NFL, as he has a running back build and has some tightness athletically to go along with being short while lacking length. He doesn’t know how to run routes, but his straight-line speed is for real, and Duvernay is tough. He runs hard and breaks tackles. Team sources say they see him as being a very late-round pick as a backup wideout and kick returner.
Steele looks like a potential third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He could start out his career as a swing tackle backup who has the versatility to fill in at right tackle or left tackle. In time, he could definitely develop into a starter. He has solid feet, athleticism, size and strength to block on the edge.
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