This new section highlights which players have improved or worsened their 2016 NFL Draft stock as the draft approaches.
By Charlie Campbell.
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2016 NFL Draft Stock Up
Carl Nassib, DE, Penn State The younger brother of New York Giants quarterback Ryan Nassib had a monstrous game for the Nittany Lions against Buffalo. Carl Nassib got his game started when he caught a tipped pass for an interception, and he put a ton of pressure on the quarterback all day. Nassib had one sack early on, and in the final minute of the game, he had a strip-sack when he drilled quarterback Joe Licata. On the next play, Nassib burned the right tackle again to slap the ball out of Licata’s hands and log strip-sacks on back-to-back plays.
Nassib has four sacks and 15 tackles through two games this year. The 6-foot-7, 272-pounder had a phenomenal game to send a jolt into his draft stock. Nassib could be a base end in a 4-3 defense or a five-technique defensive end in a 3-4 set. This was an incredible performance for him and really helps his draft grade.
Matt Johns, QB, Virginia Johns is a junior, so this stock up could be more applicable for the 2017 NFL Draft. He played his tail off against Notre Dame and made a number of superb throws to carve up the Fighting Irish secondary. Johns showed a live arm, accuracy, pocket presence and toughness as he almost led a big upset. He completed 26-of-38 passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns, but played even better than those numbers. Johns (6-5, 210) has to stay consistent, but this was an impressive performance to put his name on the map.
Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma Shepard was quiet for a lot of this game, but he came up huge in crunch time. Late in the fourth quarter, Shepard made a great hands catch to give Oklahoma a critical third down. To finish the drive on third-and-goal, he made a tremendous catch while falling to his back on a fade pass. It was a great play with only 40 seconds remaining to force overtime. Shepard caught a cross during overtime and darted ahead for a gain of almost 20 yards to the six-yard line. That set up a touchdown.
In the second overtime, Shepard had his cornerback fall down and got wide open along the sideline. He leapt over a tackler at the 5-yard line, kept his feet in bounds while getting hit, and then dove into the end zone for an 18-yard score. Shepard totaled 74 yards on seven receptions with two huge touchdowns. After two games, he has 10 receptions for 142 yards. This game showed how Shepard is a weapon as a slot receiver for the NFL, and it definitely will send his draft stock up.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State Sources told me late last week that Elliott is going to grade out as a first-rounder as long as he stays healthy and maintains his terrific level of play. The caliber of production was further confirmed with Elliott running for 101 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns versus Hawaii. Through two games in 2015, Elliott has averaged 5.9 yards per carry for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He has shown versatility as well with receiving and blocking skills. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder has a serious burst to the hole and is a strong, elusive runner. Elliott looks like he could end up grading out as a top-20 talent like Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley.
Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State Ogbah has been steady in the first two games, recording 2.5 sacks with 3.5 tackles for a loss and nine stops thus far. Against Central Arkansas, Ogbah overwhelmed an inferior opponent, as he should. He had seven tackles and a sack. The steady play from Ogbah will help him to grade out as an early-rounder.
Joey Ivie, DT, Florida It isn’t easy for an interior defensive lineman to pick up sacks, so Ivie’s three-sack game against East Carolina is very impressive. He added two more tackles to help the Gators hold off the Pirates. His final sack came late in the fourth quarter with East Carolina at the Gators’ 13-yard line. Ivie charging into quarterback Blake Kemp caused the signal-caller to panic and fumble the ball away to clinch the win for Florida. The Gators needed a defensive lineman to step up this season after losing Dante Fowler to the NFL, and Ivie gave his draft stock a shot in the arm.
Kentrell Brothers, LB, Missouri Brothers was an animal for Missouri against Arkansas State. He had 16 tackles, 1.5 for a loss and two interceptions. The picks were critical as they both came in the fourth quarter to help Missouri from getting upset in a 27-20 win. A week ago, Brothers had 16 tackles and blocked a punt. The Tigers have produced a lot of excellent defensive draft prospects in recent years like Sheldon Richardson, Kony Ealy, Shane Ray and Markus Golden. Brothers has a good start toward being the Tigers’ 2016 early-round talent.
Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple This is the second-straight week that Matakevich has made this list. A week ago, he was a sack machine against Penn State. In Week 2, Matakevich showed his pass-coverage skills when he picked off two passes against Cincinnati. He also notched 13 tackles and another pass broken up to go with the two picks. Through two games this seaason, Matakevich has 20 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and the pass batted while going against quarterback prospects Christian Hackenberg and Gunner Kiel. Matakevich (6-1, 235) is showing that he could end up being a second-day talent.
Honorable Mentions: Notre Dame defensive tackle Sheldon Day and linebacker Jaylon Smith.
2016 NFL Draft Stock Down
KeiVarae Russell, CB, Notre Dame Russell had a rough game against Virginia. He was burned on a trick play for a 42-yard touchdown after getting caught looking at the run; the receiver ran right by him to get wide open for the score. Russell allowed separation and was beateb for other passes completions downfield. Deep in- or out-cuts were giving Russell problems. It wasn’t a completely terrible game as he did have a strip-sack on a blitz, but overall this tape will hurt Russell’s draft grade. He looked more like a second-day corner with a nice skill set and some coverage flaws rather than a first-rounder.
Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati The Temple defense is adept at making NFL quarterback prospects struggle. In Week 1, the Owls took apart Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, and they followed it up with Kiel in Week 2. He threw for 427 yards and two touchdowns versus Temple, but also tossed four interceptions. Three of the picks were thrown into big crowds of defenders with only one receiver. Another came when Kiel didn’t see a defender in underneath coverage.
Kiel is a strong-armed gunslinger, but stockpiling interceptions will be a huge negative for his draft stock. Kiel has to show better ball security and decision-making in the weeks to come.
Dishonorable Mentions: Arkansas running back Alex Collins.
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