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2010 NFL Draft Stock Up
Charles Brown, T, USC With Anthony Davis’ ugly play last week, I wanted to see how Brown would handle the big atmosphere in Columbus. He had a phenomenal game showing very strong, active hands and very impressive footwork in pass protection. He mirrors ends well with his feet and he should great agility a few times by flipping his hips to cut off the end. Against the run he played with a low pad level, showed athleticism getting to the second level, and pumped his legs to move defenders. On one occasion he bent at the waist too much and he had a false start penalty, but an overall very impressive performance.
Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame Early in the game, Clausen showed horrible footwork and was lackadaisical. However, he quickly corrected this which led to accurate touchdown passes including a nice touch throw on a fade route to Michael Floyd and put it on his shoulder. When Clausen sets his feet, he is money. He showed very good touch in this game and great arm strength, throwing the 18-yard out on a rope. Clausen made an elite NFL throw on 3rd-and-10 with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter that should have won the Irish the game. It was a 13-yard out route and Clausen threw it with excellent velocity and very accurately where only the wide receiver could get it. Unfortunately, the receiver quit on the route and it cost Notre Dame the game. This was’t Clausen’s fault – he should have been a hero on Saturday; not Tate Forcier.
DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson McDaniel has some character concerns, but he showed great range and athleticism to eliminate space in the Georgia Tech game. He had great ball skills, notching two interceptions in this game, one of which he had to run from the far hash in Cover 1 to pick off quarterback Josh Nesbitt reading his eyes. This was an impressive play and showed centerfield-type traits.
Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech The most dominant player on the field was Morgan last Thursday, and it wasn’t even close. He showed a nice pass-rush repertoire and did a great job of staying low to a ground. He flashed an impressive motor, balance, speed, and athleticism. Morgan could very well be the first 4-3 defensive end off the board next April. I can’t wait to see his next game on film. He looked sluggish dropping back in coverage, so he is not a 3-4 outside linebacking prospect.
Ricky Sapp, DE/OLB, Clemson Sapp never plays with his hand in the ground at Clemson, and is strictly a 3-4 outside linebacker at the next level. He never had a chance to rush the passer in this game, but he showed fluid hips when reacting to the option. He was disciplined, quickly anticipated the option toss, and showed good agility.
C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson Entering the season, Spiller was my No. 1 running back in the country, and that will remain unchanged for the next few months in all likelihood. He showed more willingness in pass protection, but he has that elite speed to simply burn a defense. He is a natural hands-catcher, runs good routes out of the backfield, and keeps his feet moving after contact. He had a really impressive run off the left tackle when he used a nice stutter step to freeze the defensive back and kick it outside.
2010 NFL Draft Stock Down
Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech Looking at the box score, you will notice Dwyer only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, but scouts don’t scout box scores; they watch tape. On tape, I was extremely unimpressed with Dwyer, but it wasn’t his short runs that frustrated me; it was his biggest runs. He simply displayed no second gear, had average speed, and lacked charismatic running skills. I also think he might lack some vision and confidence. I’m not going to completely judge him on one game, but the Clemson contest has me leaning slightly toward “overrated” territory.
Cameron Hayward, DE, Ohio State Halley’s Comet shows up more than Cameron Hayward. I’m really sick of all the hype. Hayward offers nothing in terms of pass rush and Charles Brown absolutely dominated him for four quarters. Hayward is good against the run, but he isn’t elite in this category.
Taylor Mays, S, USC 
Mays suffered an injury and left early in the game, however, he was horrendous when he was in the game and gave up some big plays. On the first offensive play of the game, he showed an obvious lack of instincts when he was late to react on a skinny post. The ball should have been broken up, but Mays was nowhere to be found close to the ball. With about nine minutes left in the first quarter, he took a horrendous angle to the football in coverage in which he gave up a touchdown. This was inexcusable and it shouldn’t have happened. Mays showed big-hitting ability, good strength on an open field tackle, and he closed quickly against the run, but if I see another dismal performance in coverage then I’ll know he isn’t a free safety and I will be leaning towards “heavily overrated.”
Joe McKnight, RB, USC McKnight made some good (not great, but good) plays down the stretch, but an NFL scout would take it in stride and realize he can’t get away with playing like crap for 55 minutes in the NFL. McKnight has some serious technical flaws. After a handoff or reception, he will hesitate and display bad footwork. Instead of hitting the hole with authority, he passively attacks the line of scrimmage waiting for a U-Haul size hole to open up. McKnight also lacks running instincts and didn’t improvise when he should have.
For example, with 5:21 left in the game on third down, McKnight caught the ball in the middle of the field and there was no defender in front of him. He ran right into the defensive back as opposed to stuttering, juking, or breaking it outside with his speed. He definitely left some yards on the field on this particular play.
McKnight almost cost USC the game with his ugly pass protection late letting corner Devon Torrence run right around him. This was a horrible performance for McKnight for a very good chunk of the game and I don’t think he has what it takes to be a No. 2 back in the NFL with games like this.
Michael Morgan, OLB, USC There is a lot of draft hype for Morgan because he plays for USC and runs a good 40 time. However, I watch games, I don’t read box scores or fall in love with triangle numbers. Morgan is very weak against the run and got washed by the fullback on one play as he struggled to disengage with his hands. He has good range against the pass, but he didn’t show up enough. I’m unimpressed – if you are great, then play like you are great.
2010 NFL Draft Stock Stable
Morgan Burnett, S, Georgia Tech Burnett has good speed and athletic ability, but he really made a horrible play when he came up and tried to support the run. He wasn’t comfortable in space when in the box and hesitated to make a tackle, letting tailback Andre Ellington run right past him. I think he might lack some confidence in this area, as he overthinks things. However, this was a solid game from Burnett.
Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan Graham shows a lot of “want-to” on the field, but he is a little stiff and lacks explosive athleticism. He doesn’t get an impressive jump off the snap and he doesn’t have many pass rush moves. Seems like a second-round or later prospect.
Everson Griffin, DE, USC I was really excited to see Griffin since I don’t scout sophomores, but he was inconsistent. Early on he showed a very quick first step and that quick-twitch athleticism. However, he didn’t make enough plays throughout the game and he showed average closing speed. I also think he looked a little bit overweight and he would be much faster if he were five to 10 pounds lighter. Inconsistent play in the game with spurts of greatness means stock unchanged.
Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame Tate is an athletic receiver and he showed very good hands and the ability to adjust to a bad throw when Clausen threw a dig route a few feet too high, but Tate secured the ball. I wasn’t impressed overall with Tate today as he dropped the ball too much including a touchdown pass. He has solid speed, but he struggled to burn a mediocre corner in Boubacar Cissoko. He doesn’t have elite speed.
Demaryius Thomas, WR, Georgia Tech Thomas does not see many targets in this offense or run very many routes, which makes his evaluation difficult. However, he displayed good ball skills on his first catch and used his big frame to go up and apex the football. He also had one very physical block, but is inconsistent in this area.
Donovan Warren, CB, Michigan Warren has athletic ability and has proven in the past he can shadow receivers downfield. He comes out of his breaks cleanly and he can make tackles in space. However, on a Clausen fade route to Michael Floyd, Warren showed very poor instincts. He tried to read Clausen, and without a pump fake he let Floyd go right past him for the touchdown. It was poor coverage and it showed he lacked anticipation of what would happen on this particular play.
Damian Williams, WR, USC Williams wasn’t able to showcase his speed and downfield route running because Pete Carroll didn’t have any balls to call plays for the vertical passing game until the last drive of the contest. Williams made a tremendous catch to move the chains in which he high-pointed the football and showed great body control. However, he is still an inconsistent blocker and needs to improve here. Stock remains unchanged because he is my No. 1 receiver in the country and didn’t put up a jaw-dropping performance. He was very good, but I already knew that.
Sam Young, OT, Notre Dame Young played with good physicality and strength today, but he has slow feet and was beaten off the edge a few times. Looks like an adequate to weak right tackle in the NFL. He met my expectations and projection on Saturday.
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