This new section highlights which players have improved or worsened their 2020 NFL Draft stock as the draft approaches.
By Charlie Campbell.
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2020 NFL Draft Stock Up
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin Taylor dominated South Florida last Friday night in impressive fashion. He started the night with a 37-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, and that set the tone. In the second quarter, he made his first touchdown reception of his career, catching a pass in the flat and racing down the sideline for a 36-yard score. He added his second aerial touchdown a little bit later. With only nine seconds remaining before halftime, Taylor lined up as a receiver and caught a short pass at the four-yard line and the powered through two tackles to dive into the end zone. It was great situational awareness because the clock would have gone down to zero if Taylor hadn’t gotten into the end zone, but his superb play put the Badgers up 28-0 at the half. Taylor totaled 135 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. He caught two passes for 48 yards and two scores.
This tape will definitely help Taylor as he completely owned South Florida. He was too strong, quick, and deadly in the open field for the Bulls’ defense to contain. He didn’t even need to use his deadly stiff arm. Taylor showed a complete skill set, and it was great for him to show some receiving skills. He had a fantastic start to the season.
Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford Adebo has early-round potential in his draft class, and he illustrated why with an excellent season opener. In the first half, he was thrown at once on a short dig route. Adebo had blanket coverage and smacked the ball away. A similar play happened during the third quarter when Adebo broke hard on the ball to slap another pass away. Late in the third quarter. Northwestern got burned by testing Adebo again, as he jumped an out route to undercut a receiver for a leaping interception.
Adebo is a special player with size, cover ability, instincts, and ball skills. In 2018, he totaled 20 passes broken up and four interceptions, so he picked up where he left off against Northwestern. Adebo looks like a future early-round pick in 2020 or 2021.
Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma Murray looks like a future NFL starter, and he put his talents on display against Houston. On the second play from scrimmage, Murray read a wide receiver screen and slammed the wideout into the turf for a short gain. Murray spied the quarterback on the next play and joined a teammate in chasing him down for a loss. Shortly later, Murray was unblocked and fired into the backfield to get another tackle for a loss. Murray was on a tear, flying to the outside to make a clutch open-field tackle on a third down to get his defense off the field. Murray had a mistake of over pursuit, and that can happen to aggressive players, but he can probably fix that with coaching. Murray totaled 13 tackles with .5 sacks and a pass batted in the season opener.
For the NFL, Murray looks like a great fit as a Will – weakside – linebacker who can be a seek-and-destroy defender. He has excellent speed and quality instincts, plus is a good tackler. If Murray enters the 2020 NFL Draft, he could be an early-round pick.
Quartney Davis, WR, Texas A&M Team sources say that Davis is a phenomenal route-runner who has a quality combination of size and quickness. With his advanced route-running skills, Davis is consistent to generate separation and get open for his quarterback. He totaled 45 receptions for 585 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Quartney got off to a good start in the season opener with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game early as the Aggies blew out Texas State. Don’t be surprised if Davis produces a big year as a junior.
Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Mond is another Aggie who has impressed evaluators in the early going of the 2020 NFL Draft process. They like his size, arm and athleticism. Mond needs to show improved accuracy as a junior, but he improved a lot under Jimbo Fisher as a sophomore, throwing 24 touchdowns versus six interceptions. Mond could be a riser during the 2019 season, and sources say that Mond is interested in leaving school early.
Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina Kinlaw broke out as a junior and has picked up where he left off. He opened 2019 with a strong showing taking on North Carolina. In the first half, Kinlaw got in on some run tackles and caused disruption in the pass rush. At the start of the third quarter, he got a coverage sack after fighting off the right tackle and taking down the scrambling quarterback as he climbed the pocket. Kinlaw came up with another big play late in the third quarter, recovering a fumble after a sack of the North Carolina quarterback. With time ticking away in the game, Kinlaw drew a face mask penalty that was a huge play in getting the ball back for his offense to make an attempt at getting a late win.
The first thing that stands out about Kinlaw is his size. He is a tall, thick, and good-looking athlete. After passing the eyeball test, one can see some special ability in how Kinlaw really fires off the ball. He is quick to close and has the strength to fight off blockers. Kinlaw (6-6, 310) gets in trouble when he stands up too high, and working on his technique will help him to get more out of his excellent skill set. Kinlaw has an early-round skill set, and if he plays up to it, he could be a Thursday night pick during the 2020 NFL Draft.
Patrick Taylor Jr., RB, Memphis Taylor did the heavy lifting to help Memphis pull off an upset of Ole Miss. Early in the first quarter, Taylor showed nice vision on a cut back run with some power to go through a tackle and required a few Rebels to get him down. Taylor converted a number of tough carries, including a goal-line run going through a few Rebels to get into the end zone.
Throughout the game, Taylor ran well against the Rebels on his was to 128 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown. He showed some strength to break tackles and contact balance to maintain his feet after getting hit. Taylor made a highlight-reel touchdown run from midfield, but it was overturned after Taylor’s forearm was seen hitting the turf while landing on the back of a defender. Still, it was a great run showing his power, vision, quickness and instincts. This tape will definitely help Taylor’s draft grade.
Jon Greenard, DE, Florida Florida got a transfer gift in defensive end Jon Greenard. The former Louisville Cardinal had an impressive start to his senior year in his debut for the Gators. In the first quarter, Greenard started a sack for his defense, using his speed to get upfield, a rip move to shed the freshman left tackle, and then closing on the quarterback to ruin the play for Miami. Late in the first half, Greenard drew a critical holding penalty to help push the Hurricanes out of the red zone. Late in the fourth quarter, Greenard showed good hustle running to the flat to get a hard hit and force a fumble from a Hurricanes running back. Aside from those plays, Greenard consistently put pressure on the quarterback and showed an ability to use speed and strength to beat blocks. This was a good tape to start his senior year.
2019 NFL Draft Stock Down
Troy Dye, LB, Oregon Dye had a quality game against Auburn as a run defender, collecting 15 tackles, but he had a few ugly plays in pass coverage that were critical for the Tigers to score just enough points to beat Oregon. Dye has the skill set to be a three-down starter in the NFL, but in order to be a first-round pick as a non-pass-rushing linebacker, he has to show the ability to cover. This was a rough start to the season for Dye in that perspective, and he needs to show more coverage skills in the weeks to come.
Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama Before the season even kicked off, Moses saw his draft stock take a massive blow from tearing an ACL during fall practice. Moses now will miss the 2019 season and has to decide whether to enter the draft injured or return to college next year. The Crimson Tide are very hard on their players, who enter the NFL injured and banged up, so Moses returning to school is risky. If Moses enters the 2020 NFL Draft, he still might go in the early rounds in part due to the impressiveness as his 2018 tape.
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