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
Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia After an ugly game against South Carolina, Fromm had a bounce-back performance against Florida, leading the Bulldogs to a win over their rival thanks to Fromm being superb on third downs in Jacksonville. He made many clutch throws to convert third-and-longs, showing great patience to let routes develop and allow his receivers to uncover. Fromm took advantage of his offensive line dominating at the point of attack to throw from clean pockets and dice up the Florida secondary. Fromm finished completing 20-of-30 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Pro evaluators always pay particular attention to third-down efficiency, and this dominat game on third down could really help Fromm with quarterback-needy teams in the NFL.
Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah Johnson helped himself with a superb outing against Washington. Throughout the game, he maintained tight coverage on receivers, running the route to prevent separation. Johnson tricked Eason into a huge pick-six that was a critical play in the Utes making a comeback. For the NFL, Johnson is a gritty defender who has some height, length, quickness and athleticism. However, team sources are concerned about how thin Johnson is and if that could lead to him having issues with size and strength of pro wideouts. As a result, Johnson is more of a second-day prospect.
Chubba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State The redshirt sophomore Hubbard has taken college football by storm in 2019, and he entered the final month of the regular season as the nation’s leading rusher. Hubbard (6-1, 207) 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 and instincts. While Hubbard is a former track competitor, he is not a blazer. For the NFL, Hubbard has starting potential and can make some plays in the passing game. Scouts believe Hubbard could go in the second round.
Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona Tate has helped himself this fall and is earning draft-able grades from area scouts. Team sources say Tate has a good skill set with a strong arm, mobility and athleticism. They note he has issues with accuracy and seeing the field, is shorter than they like, and could struggle with mastering a NFL playbook. He has some minor character and make-up concerns as well, but teams feel that he has some unique qualities that could get him drafted on Day 3 next April.
2020 NFL Draft Stock Down
Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma As we reported in the Hot Press last week, some team sources still see Hurts as a late-round pick. ESPN and other media outlets have been hyping Hurts all season, but in speaking to some sources, they feel Hurts struggles to read defenses, looks to run after one read too ofte , is not that accurate, does not have impressive arm strength, and is not a great runner for the NFL. They say Hurts is a good kid, who is tough and a winner, so they could see a team taking him in the late-rounds if one really likes him and wants to work with him. Some feel that Hurts should move to fullback for the next level.
C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida Henderson has had a disappointing junior season, and that trend continued against Georgia. Henderson gave up a few receptions downfield against the Bulldogs due to being soft in coverage and allowing space for the receivers. Henderson gave up multiple third-and-long conversions by providing too big of a cushion and not closing with aggression. In the second quarter. Henderson got too handsy after he ran with receiver downfield, which drew a pass interference penalty.
This season, Henderson has been an extremely finesse defender. He has not challenged receivers like he did in previous seasons and has allowed too many receptions from soft coverage. On top of that, Henderson is a terrible tackler. He seems to avoid contact and tackling unless he is forced to because no other defender is in position to make the tackle for him. Some team sources think that Henderson is protecting himself and trying not to get hurt. That could make sense given that Henderson injured his knee in Week 2 breaking up a deep ball, which caused him to miss multiple games. Perhaps that injury scared Henderson, but the tape he is producing is hurting his draft stock.
Bryce Hall, CB, Virginia Some media members have hyped up Hall, but NFL teams were disappointed with his play this season. Hall gave up big plays this season, and his lack of speed was exposed. On top of the speed, some sources feel that he is an odd-moving athlete who could have problems covering pro receivers. On top of that, Hall suffered an injured ankle and is out for the season.
Cheyenne O’Grady, TE, Arkansas O’Grady has been hyped as one of the top tight end prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft, but in speaking with some team sources, they have the opposite opinion, with some of them having him graded as a late-round pick or undrafted free agent. They see limitations for O’Grady at the next level and don’t have him as an early-rounder as a result.
Rico Bussey, WR, North Texas Entering this season, Bussey had a real shot at being a second-day pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but Bussey suffered a torn ACL early in the season, which is a crushing blow to his draft stock. There were already some off-the-field character concerns with Bussey, and now he will add a significant injury with medical red flag to his scouting report. Bussey would be better off taking a medical redshirt and returning to school next year to put together a healthy season.
Jacob Eason, QB, Washington Taking on a Utah defense with a number of future NFL defenders, Eason produced another tape suggesting he should return to school for 2020. He finished 29-of-52 for 316 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, plus lost and a fumble. On a number of plays, Eason showed some major issues that need to be fixed for the NFL: he missed throws from poor footwork and not resetting his feet; he threw into triple coverage on his first interception; and he was tricked into a critical pick-six later. Another thing he has to work on for the NFL is climbing the pocket. Instead, Eason drifts back rather than stepping up to avoid edge rushers. It sounds like Eason intends on skipping his senior year to enter the 2020 NFL Draft, but Eason missed the 2017 and 2018 seasons due to injury and his trasnfer to Washington. Clearly as a player, he should go back to school and develop before entering the pros.
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