This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2019 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2019 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Michigan 31, Wisconsin 12
Winovich threw Edwards to the ground on an early running play with in an impressive display of strength. Winovich later had Edwards beat with leverage and speed, so Edwards tackled Winovich to prevent a sack, but the officials missed the obvious hold.
Winovich darted to the inside of Edwards and shed his block to take down a back for no gain on a third-and-short carry in the final quarter. Winovich then almost had a sack, as he burned the left tackle with speed, and he chased down the quarterback for a hit just as the pass was released. Edwards was then beaten by an edge rusher, but he got away with another hold that allowed the pass to be released.
This was a decent tape for Winovich. It was consistent with his performances this year, as he has provided a physical presence with speed, a non-stop motor, and a will to make plays. Winovich could be a good second-day pick as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
Edwards, meanwhile, needs to improve his technique against smaller speed rushers, as he can have a tendency to bend at the waist, which will lead to sacks in the NFL. Edwards has nice awareness to pass ends off to the right guard and adjust to blitzers coming off the edge. Clearly, his run blocking is ahead of his pass protection. He can generate some movement in the ground game and manipulate defenders. Some draft analysts are projecting Edwards to be a high first-rounder, but this game and his performance against BYU earlier this year would suggest that he should go lower.
Alabama 39, Missouri 10
On his first pass of the game, Lock threw a poorly located pass to the inside of his target running along the sideline, and it was easily intercepted by Saivion Smith with a long return just in front of the end zone.
Lock came back to make a well-placed pass to his tight end Albert Okwuegbunam for 23 yards as the big target went over two defenders for the reception. Lock then made a beautiful throw for a 20-yard touchdown. He was patient to take his time against a three-man rush and threw open the receiver leading him to the sideline and back corner of the end zone away from two defenders.
Lock reverted to the poor ball security in the second quarter, as he did not secure the ball while being sacked by Isaiah Buggs. Alabama recovered the fumble at the Missouri 13, and then the Crimson Tide offense scored a touchdown on the next play. Lock later made a perfect throw deep down the field, but the pass was dropped and turned into another interception. That summed up Lock’s night well, as he finished completing 13-of-26 passes for 142 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Lock has a big arm with size and athleticism, but his intangibles are suspect. Sources have said that Lock is a very quiet and understated personality. Lock did not exude any fire or a fighting spirit in this game. Whichever team drafts Lock cannot expect him to be a great leader and field general. This tape will hurt Lock’s draft grade.
Late in the third quarter with Missouri backed up against their own end zone, Williams bull rushed through the left guard to knock Lock flat on his butt for a safety. It was a superb rush showing Williams’ power, leverage and explosiveness to collapse the pocket.
Team sources say that Williams is on track to be a high first-rounder if he stays consistent. With only five more regular-season games for the Crimson Tide, it appears that Williams is maintaining that play in his breakout season.
Davis projects as a nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3 who can also play five-technique end in a 3-4 defense. His lateral anchor is rare and truly phenomenal. Teams just can’t move him at all in the ground game. Davis’ lower and upper body strength gives him a rare ability to handle bump blocks and double teams without giving up any movement in the ground game. Davis may not produce the big sack total that he did last year, but team sources say they still feel that Davis is worthy of going in the top 20 in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Oregon 30, Washington 27
Herbert threw a 12-yard touchdown pass on a short crossing route to let his receiver take advantage of space and run into the end zone late in the opening quarter. Herbert then caught a break, as he threw a pass into traffic and had it tipped in the air. Washington safety Taylor Rapp had the ball in his hands for an interception, but fellow safety JoJo McIntosh also went for the loose ball and knocked it out of the hands of Rapp. Herbert made a bad read on the very next play, throwing the ball to a well-covered receiver and once again he got lucky as Washington cornerback Byron Murphy had an interception knocked out of his hands by Oregon’s receiver.
After those lucky plays, Herbert came back to lead a scoring drive with a pass of 23 yards to get into Washington territory. It was an impressive play, as Herbert worked through his progressions before finding his open receiver on his third look. Herbert finished the drive, as he rolled to his left before throwing an absolute frozen rope to the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at 17 entering halftime.
Herbert continued to move the ball in the second half, throwing some well-placed passes downfield. Herbert made a clutch throw in overtime to complete a third-and-11 and that set up the game-winning rushing touchdown. Herbet completed 18-of-32 for 202 yards and two touchdowns versus Washington.
With a big arm and athleticism, Herbert was effective against a tough defense. As a passer, he threw some lasers into tight windows to beat good coverage. Herbert showed impressive anticipation to throw pass before his receivers made their break and lead them open with good ball placement. He also did well rolling out and throwing on the run.
There are definitely some things that Herbert needs to work on for the NFL. First of all, he has to move his eyes more and get more adept at working through progressions. He can lock onto primary targets or sides of the field. Herbert shows the ability to move his eyes and scan through targets, like he did on that 23-yard pass in the second quarter, but he needs to do it more consistently. Herbert also has to speed up his clock in the pocket as NFL rushers are going to give him less time to throw. As he gains experience, those issues can be improved, but his skill set is something that can’t be coached. This tape should help Herbert to be a high first-round pick.
As a run defender, Jelks is a good pursuit player and flows well to the ball. He reads his keys well and is able to get in good position to get in on tackles. For the NFL, he is going to need to add more weight to his frame. Jelks is lean and could have issues with downhills runs coming straight at him. He also gets into trouble in the ground game and pass rush when he stands up too high. In the pass rush, Jelks is quick off the edge and shows nice vision with instincts to adjust to the offense. Jelks has speed to close and can run around blockers. He flashes some ability to bend his long frame and that make him harder to block. Jelks could sneak into the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but he might be a more appropriate value on Day 2.
LSU 36, Georgia 16
LSU plays a lot of man coverage, but in this game, Williams showed some nice skills in zone coverage. He had good instincts and vision to pick up targets coming into his territory and forced some incompletions with tight coverage. Williams has a burst to close on the ball and looked smooth in zone.
Williams was grabbing and holding Ridley on a pass downfield in the third quarter. While the pass was incomplete, Williams was flagged for a pass interference. Williams was later running stride-for-stride with Ridley down the sideline downfield but a well-placed back shoulder throw completed the pass inside the LSU 30. Ridley then beat the safety with a pretty route, faking to the outside before cutting down the middle of the field to get open for a touchdown.
Williams illustrated why he is an impressive cornerback prospect for the NFL. The first thing that stands out is his ability to run the route and prevent separation. Williams has enough speed to carry verticals with recoverability to close gaps from breaks. He has quick feet and agility to stay in the hip pocket of wideouts. On top of his ability to run, Williams has excellent height and length which makes it tough to get the around him. Williams is a thin-framed player who will need to get stronger and add more weight for taking on NFL receivers. Still, Williams looks like a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Ridley caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. While Ridley is a nice player right now, he should return for his senior year and improve before going pro.
Aside from a number of tackles in the run game, there were some other highlight players that will get favorable evaluations from scouts. In the third quarter, White had close coverage on a tight end downfield running a wheel route, but a back-shoulder throw beat his tight coverage for a completion downfield. While White was angry that he allowed a reception, NFL evaluators are going to like this play from him, as he stayed stride-for-stride and kept the tight end from gaining separation. That kind of coverage ability is tough to find in linebacker; much less big and thick backers like White.
As a linebacker, White is the complete package. He has excellent instincts and is very fast to read his keys to get in position to make plays. For a big and thick linebacker, White has shocking speed to get to the perimeter and he eats up space in a hurry. White is a good tackler who wraps up ball carriers and puts them into the turf with force. White has the size and mentality to take on blocks, hold his ground, shed the block, and get in on tackles. White is a superb run defender.
White is a dynamic defender in pass coverage as well. He is very fast as a blitzer with excellent diagnosis skills. White reads plays quickly and covers a lot of ground in zone. He has the speed to run down the middle seam. On dump-off passes to the flat, White explodes into the ball carrier and is very good at making tackles in space. His size and athleticism allows him to have the potential to play some man coverage on tight ends and backs out of the backfield in the NFL. This tape provided nice proof of that, and it should help White’s draft grade.
Baker had blanket coverage on a receiver early in the opening quarter near the goal line, and Baker made a leaping pass breakup. LSU once again threw at Baker in the end zone during the third quarter, and the same result happened with Baker breaking up the pass.
Baker has a lot of skills that translate to the NFL and could turn him into a starter early in his career. Perhaps his best trait is his great instincts. He has good route recognition, reads receivers’ hands and eyes well, and times break-ups well. While Baker is not the fastest of corners, he has speed and athleticism to run the route and prevent separation. Baker breaks on routes well and has good ball skills. He shows a nice ability to slap passes away and play the ball without drawing flags. Along with instincts and ball skills, Baker is a physical defender who will battle receivers. He doesn’t back down and he plays with an aggressive attitude. Baker also has an impressive ability to come up with some big plays in the clutch, as he was vital to Georgia advancing to the college football playoff last year.
Baker looks like a future first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he is in the running to be the first cornerback selected.
Kansas State 31, Oklahoma State 12
From watching in Hill in other games with some flashes against Kansas State, there is no doubt that Hill is a natural runner and is very talented. Perhaps the best trait that sets Hill apart is first-step quickness and the burst to get to the second level of the defense. On top of his speed, Hill has good feet with cutting ability to zig zag through the defense. Hill has good knee bend and runs behind his pads to help him finish runs well by falling forward. With patience and vision, Hill lets holes develop before darting downfield. On top of his running ability, Hill is a nice outlet receiver who runs quality routes and makes catches with his hands. As a pro, he could be a rotational and complementary back, similar to the Bengals’ Gio Bernard. Hill looks worthy to be a second or third-round pick.
This was a nice performance for Risner to help his draft grade. For the NFL, Risner could be a starting right tackle early in his career. Earlier this season, Risner had some struggles with the speed rushers for Mississippi State, so it would be ideal for him to start out as a backup and improve his ability to handle fast edge rushers before being tasked with protecting a starting NFL quarterback. With starting potential, Risner could be a quality selection in the back half of the second round or a nice pick in the third round.
Duke 28, Georgia Tech 14
Jones set up an early touchdown, as he easily threw the ball into open windows in the Georgia Tech defense. The rushing score capped the best drive for Duke in the first half. Jones then had some ugly plays. Duke’s offensive line struggled to protect Jones, and the Blue Devil signal-caller was getting rattled by the rush. Jones was dropping his eyes rather than keeping them downfield, holding the ball too long, taking sacks when he could have gotten rid of the ball, and displaying some problems in ball security with multiple fumbles.
Jones made terrible decision in the second quarter, as he was slow to react and get rid of the ball with an interior rusher chasing him down. As Jones was being slung to the ground, he threw a ball up for grabs downfield to a double-covered receiver, and it was easily intercepted to set up the Yellow Jackets deep in Duke territory.
The Blue Devils regrouped after that, and Jones excelled in the third quarter. Jones came back to throw a beautiful deep ball deep down the field that was dropped by his receiver on what should have been at least a 40-yard gain. Jones also had a receiver running wide open on a deep post route after a safety fell down, and Jones lofted in a well-placed pass for a 48-yard touchdown. Shortly later, Jones added a short touchdown pass to a tight end in the flat. Georgia Tech fumbled the kickoff to Duke, and just a few plays later, Jones threw a perfectly placed back corner pass to lead his receiver open for a short touchdown. Jones completed 17-of-27 passes for 206 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
Jones has good height with a quality arm. He shows nice accuracy with his ball placement and the ability to throw open receivers. When Jones is given time, he sees the field well and has the ability to work off his primary read to get through progressions. While those are nice positives, Jones needs to improve on his pocket presence. He got rattled by the rush, held the ball too long and took unnecessary sacks. Jones needs to speed up his process and has to improve at getting the ball out faster and not taking negative plays. At the pro level, Jones is not a running threat and does not look like a quarterback who is going to escape a ton of sacks from NFL pass rushers.
Team sources say right now they believe that Jones will return to Duke for his senior year. That would be a wise decision. If he continues to improve, Jones could be a potential first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
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