This section highlights which players have improved or worsened their 2018 NFL Draft stock as the draft approaches.
By Charlie Campbell.
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2018 NFL Draft Stock Up
Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech During this past football season and the year before that, Edmunds did not get a lot of media attention for being a high first-round talent. Late last summer, however, NFL scouts were raving to WalterFootball.com about Tremaine Edmunds and his brother Terrell from their play in the 2016 season. When watching the Hokies in 2016, Tremaine Edmunds was impossible to ignore as he was all over the field for them. He recorded 106 tackles with 18.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, three passes broken up, one forced fumble and one interception. He stayed consistent in 2017 with 109 tackles with 5.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, two passes batted and three forced fumbles. At 6-foot-5, 236-pounds, Edmunds has excellent size to go with instincts and quickness. He has a versatile skill set for the NFL with the ability play outside linebacker, inside linebacker, and rush off the edge. Edmunds would be an excellent fit in a 3-4 defense in which he could line up at a variety of places. He looks secure as a top-20 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Sony Michel, RB, Georgia As we wrote in the Hot Press during the Senior Bowl, some teams see Michel going in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Michel was one of the prospects who really helped himself late in the 2017 season. Michel showed his big-play ability with speed to break off some long runs that led to some huge performances to help the Bulldogs make it to the National Championship. In speaking to a general manager who needs a new starting running back, they felt that Michel wouldn’t make it to their second-round pick. They believe that Michel could go late in Round 1 after his tremendous finish to the season. If he does slip to the second round, they thought that Michel wouldn’t make it to their pick, although they are hoping he does because he would be a great fit in their offense. Michel has a lot of positive momentum and will probably hear his name called as a top-40 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
D’Ernest Johnson, RB, South Florida Johnson had an impressive week of practice at the East-West Shrine, and team sources told me they liked what they saw out of him from a speed and athleticism standpoint there. Johnson is a slashing back with receiving ability. In 2017, Johnson averaged 4.1 yards per carry for 796 yards with seven touchdowns. The senior also made 11 catches for a total of 153 yards and two scores. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry for 543 yards with eight touchdowns as a junior. Johnson also totaled 28 receptions that season and 26 in 2015. After his strong week in St. Petersburg, Johnson may have turned himself into a third-day pick and, at least, likely ensured that he will be signed as a priority free agent.
Mark Walton, RB, Miami Walton missed a lot of the 2017 season with an ankle injury, but that hasn’t prevented him generating a good buzz as a value pick. The 2018 NFL Draft is very strong at the running back position, and Walton could be one of the steals of the mid-rounds. In his last full season of playing time, Walton averaged 5.3 yards per carry for 1,117 yards with 14 touchdowns. He also had 27 receptions for 240 yards and a score. Walton is a quick and athletic back who could rise higher in the pre-draft workouts. He is a player to watch closely in the months to come.
Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame St. Brown is a receiving prospect who has some buzz about him and could rise throughout the leadup to the 2018 NFL Draft. In this weak class of wide receivers, St. Brown has mismatch size – he is 6-foot-4 – with impressive quickness and route-running for a big receiver. St. Brown didn’t really produce up to his capability for the Fighting Irish, but he was held back in 2017 by awful quarterback play at Notre Dame after, to a lesser extent, being held back by the inconsistency of DeShone Kizer in 2016. It wouldn’t be surprising if St. Brown works out well at the combine and in the pre-draft workouts to become a hot prospect.
Geron Christian, OT, Louisville While Christian should have returned for his senior year, there are sources that feel that Christian has a good physical skill set with big upside. They feel he has lots of tools to work with impressive athletic ability for a 6-foot-5, 300-pound tackle. His excellent quickness, agility, and athleticism have impressed evaluators. Christian isn’t a first-rounder because he gives up some bad pressures and is really raw with a lot of work needed to develop his technique. Still in a weak tackle class, Christian is a prospect on the rise.
2018 NFL Draft Stock Down
DeShon Elliott, S, Texas State Elliott picked a good time to enter the NFL, coming off a season where he was very productive for Texas. He has free safety ability with ball skills and instincts. However, Elliott has some speed limitations, which could make him more of a mid-rounder. Team sources say that word from the Texas programs was that Elliott is going to have a disappointing 40 time with the potential to be scarily slow. If Elliott does have an ugly 40, that could really sink him down a few rounds, because teams will have concerns about him covering the deep part of the field and running with pro receivers. Elliott’s 40 time will be huge, and a poor timed speed could end up dropping him into the mid-rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Marcell Frazier, DE, Missouri The Missoui edge rusher did not earn an invitation to the Senior Bowl, instead playing at the East-West Shrine. In St. Petersburg, Frazier showed some limitations as a player. He did well in the pass-rushing one-on-ones, but he really struggled to hold his ground as a run defender, where blockers had success moving him out of his gap. Frazier illustrated that he is more of a third-day talent who should begin his career as a designated pass-rusher. He will have to grow stronger and develop better technique to become a three-down starter. Frazier’s best fit could come as a 3-4 outside linebacker. The East-West Shrine made Frazier look more like a fourth- or fifth-rounder rather than a second-day pick.
Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama Some team sources say that they have given Harrison a second-round grade for the 2018 NFL Draft. Teams like his size, speed, and ability to tackle as the eighth man in the box. He is a big safety who also can contribute to covering bigger targets like tight ends, but evaluators feel that Harrison has some coverage limitations that make him more of a second-round talent. Harrison had issues with Clemson’s Hunter Renfrow, and teams feel that Harrison will have to be protected in the NFL from being matched up in coverage on slot receivers. In that regard, some team sources have compared Harrison to former Alabama safety Mark Barron, who ended up moving to linebacker in order to stick in the NFL. While Harrison has received some second-round grades, he still has a shot at going late in Round 1 as there could be only 15-20 players with first-round grades in the 2018 NFL Draft. That situation means some players with second-round grades will end up going in the first round instead. Team sources say that Harrison is a candidate to be one of those prospects.
Bradley Bozeman, C, Alabama There was some media buzz about Bozeman being an early-round prospect, but in speaking to an area scout for the Southeast, they had Bozeman graded as an undrafted free agent. That scout said that Bozeman is a training camp free agent and not of the caliber of players that Alabama has had at center in recent years like Ryan Kelly or Barrett Jones. They say that Bozeman is on the ground way too much, the cardinal sin for an offensive lineman, and lost way too often on his blocks. They feel that Bozeman could have been getting overhyped by the media because of the Alabama pedigree, and instead they think he will go undrafted.
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