This new section highlights which players have improved or worsened their 2021 NFL Draft stock as the draft approaches.
By Charlie Campbell.
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2021 NFL Draft Stock Up
Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh After recording an interception in his 2020 season opener, Ford was able to extend his streak with a quality performance against Syracuse. Ford was active around the ball from the start of the game, including laying a punishing hit on a wide receiver in the flat to snuff out a bubble screen. Ford helped make some tackles in the ground game as well. Ford also made an excellent play in the third quarter, reading a screen to get in position and then makin a diving catch for his second interception of the season.
Against Syracuse, Ford showed his good instincts in pass coverage and the ground game. He covers a lot of ground in zone coverage, is a physical player willing to dish out some hard hits, is a fast defender, and willingly handles the run. This tape will definitely help his draft grade.
Tre Nixon, WR, Central Florida Nixon was on NFL teams’ preseason watch list, and he gave proof why right out of the gate at Georgia Tech. On Central Florida’s first drive, Nixon made two huge plays to get his team tied at seven, including running a deep post route down the middle of the field for a gain of 49 yards. To finish the drive, Nixon caught a short touchdown on a slant and held on to the ball after absorbing a hard hit from the safety.
Later in the first half, Nixon got a step on the cornerback while running vertically down the field. It turned into a tough contested catch in the end zone though because the pass was underthrown. That allowed the cornerback to recover, but Nixon still made the superb catch for the score while landing hard on the ground. That play, unfortunately, knocked him out for the rest of the game. It could have been a prolific game for Nixon, who had 94 yards on four receptions with two touchdowns through two quarters.
Assuming Nixon is not seriously injured, this was a really nice tape for him to give pro evaluators. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder showed the ability to make tough contested catches knowing that hits were coming. To go along his with quality size and strong hands, Nixon had enough quickness to get open running vertically and out of his breaks. When teams assign Nixon a draft grade, this performance will definitely help him.
Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas As we covered in the Hot Press, one player who teams wanted to see up close and improve in the eyeball test was Texas left tackle Sam Cosmi. While Cosmi has yet to be challenged significantly on the field, team sources say that Cosmi looks more physically developed this year than he did in 2019.
A year ago sources told WalterFootball.com that they they liked Cosmi and thought he was a better prospect than Texas’ Connor Williams, a second-round pick by the Cowboys in 2018. They felt Cosmi was raw and needing development, but athletically, he was an interesting prospect. For the next level, they wanted to see Cosmi get stronger and they thought he should go back to school to develop in the weight room. They felt that if he added more power that would definitely improve his chances of being a first-round pick in 2021 compared to entering the 2020 NFL Draft.
Allie Green IV, CB, Tulsa Green had a nice game against Oklahoma State, showing the ability to run with wide receiver Tylan Wallace and blanketing him in man coverage. Wallace won some contested catches, but Green did as well, notching an interception on a 50-50 pass. Green’ length and size make him a potential press-man corner for the next level, but he could have issues with speed receivers, so it will be interesting to see how he performs against speed receivers in the weeks to come. Overall, the outing against Oklahoma State will help him though, as he showed that he can defend an NFL-caliber receiver in man coverage.
2021 NFL Draft Stock Down
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State Hubbard has a few critical issues to work on if he wants to boost his grade for the 2021 NFL Draft. These areas are showing more ability in pass protection and performing as a receiving back.
Versus Tulsa last Saturday, Hubbard effort got off to a rough start. He made a pathetic cut-block attempt early in the game that allowed his quarterback to get sacked. It looked like Hubbard really didn’t really want to block the edge rusher and was just expending the bare minimum effort possible. Shortly later, Hubbard had another play in pass protection on which his effort was lacking. Things got even worse for Hubbard later in the first quarter when he fumbled a handoff that was recovered by Tulsa.
Hubbard couldn’t get into a groove as a runner either. On top of Hubbard not finding good holes, he was failing to breaking tackles and to show physicality as a runner. Hubbard did manage a short-yardage touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Oklahoma State achieved enough of a push to let Hubbard fall over the goal line.
Hubbard finished with 93 yards on 27 carries – 3.4-yard average – and a touchdown. This was a bad start to the season that will hurt Hubbard’s draft grade later in the fall. Team sources who I was texting with during the game acknowledged that Hubbard’s pass blocking clearly needs a lot of work for the next level. For the passing driven NFL, that is a serious issue. On top of blocking poorly, Hubbard did not run hard. His performance against Tulsa looked more like that of a third-round back rather than a first- or second-round pick.
Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State The 2020 opener against Tulsa was Wallace’s first playing time since suffering a torn ACL last year. While he was shut out in the first half, Wallace got involved in the third quarter with a win on a 50-50 reception. However, Wallace was unable to break up a poorly thrown pass that ended up being picked off by Tulsa cornerback Allie Green IV. Wallace came back to make a leaping 36-yard grab over Green on the next series.
Wallace totaled 94 yards on four receptions against Tulsa. While the production was good, he really struggled to get off press coverage. He did not have the speed to separate from man coverage and also was not sudden or explosive to create separation out of breaks. This demonstrates that Wallace clearly is not a fast receiver for the NFL and not sudden as a route runner. The Tulsa game will hurt Wallace with NFL teams because it illustrates issues with generating separation, which could be a huge issue for him as a pro. Wallace look more like a mid-rounder after this game.
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