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2020 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 2

2020 NFL Draft
Joe Burrow lit the Texas defense on fire. Is he a legit NFL prospect? Check out the rest of the 2020 NFL Draft notes for the week (Eric Gay/Associated Press)

Week 2 is officially in the books for the College Football Season. That means we have another 2020 NFL Draft update. This week I paid close attention to the following games: Cincinnati at Ohio State, Texas A&M at Clemson, and LSU at Texas. It was a great week of College Football. Ohio State look like ass kickers again. Clemson showed us they’re the best team in college football. LSU has an offense now? Where did that come from? It’s time to dive into the prospects. Who stood out for better or worse when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft?

2020 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 2

Cincinnati at Ohio State

Ohio State:

The Buckeyes smacked in state rival Cincinnati. It was a 42-0 beating. Justin Fields is going to win the Heisman. He’s a superstar but he isn’t draft eligible. Ohio State has another stud on offense. That man is JK Dobbins. The Ohio State running back ate the Bearcats for breakfast with 17 carries for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. Don’t scoff at the competition either. Cincinnati came into this one with a respectable defense and still got their ass whipped.

It’s hard for me to put a comp on Dobbins. He’s not as dynamic as Ezekiel Elliott but far more electric than Beanie Wells. Dobbins runs hard and embraces contact. He also has a 2nd gear to hit the home run which is huge for a back that’s close to 220. Dobbins is just one of 800 star running backs that are coming. He should be in the discussion for the first running back off the board. Not much more to add.

The receivers are still a mixed bag. I’m not quite sure what they are. Binjimen Victor and KJ Hill look the exact same. Super fast but I’m not sure they are polished route runners. In fairness, I still don’t know what Curtis Samuel and Parris Campbell are either in the NFL. Feels eerily similar.

Defensively, Chase Young is disgusting. This guy is going in the top 5 and will be a game wrecker in a 4-3 for the next 10 years. I don’t know how you stop him off the edge. His first step off the line of scrimmage is remarkable. His 10-yard split time is going to be off the charts. It’s amazing how many times tackles just don’t even touch him. When you lose Nick Bosa, you’re not supposed to have a guy like Chase Young next in line. They will both go in the top 5 of the Draft.

Cincinnati:

Keep an eye on this tight end, Josiah Deguara. He’s a big body that finds a way to get open down the field. Travis Kelce did that too at Cincinnati. 3 catches for 46 yards with 15.3 per catch is something. Hey, maybe the guy turns into nothing. Just keep tabs on him.

Texas AM AT Clemson

Texas AM:

Kellen Mond ain’t it. I didn’t even consider him a top quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft. He did nothing to change my mind. Until 30 seconds left in the game, Texas AM had 3 points. I actually think Mond has some tools on him. He has a decent arm and plus mobility. He’s just not a good thrower of the football. 24/42 for 236 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception isn’t cutting it. Again, the performance was worse than the numbers indicated. A large number of those stats came when the game was already out of hand. Mond looks like Joe Webb. He has some nice tools and can throw the ball but he’s just not good. Zero feel.

I was hoping to see what Kendrick Rogers had in store for us. He crushed Clemson a year ago. This time around, Mond was so bad that it was hard to judge him. 6 catches for 60 yards is fine. Keep it moving. I don’t know what to make of it.

On defense, Myles Jones really stood out. Justyn Ross is going to get his. I don’t think that’s a question. Still, Jones did a nice job making life difficult for him. Jones is a massive corner at 6-foot-4 and was not intimidated by Ross. Ross was not winning those 50/50 balls like he normally does. Jones played the ball really well in the air and stymied Ross when they were matched up. I’m not sure I’ve seen a cornerback do this against Justyn Ross. Stock through the roof!

Clemson:

Travis Etienne had a rough day. This should have been a revenge game for Etienne who originally committed to the Aggies. Instead, he was awful. Lyn-J Dixon was the better back for Clemson who got fewer carries but more yards. Dixon averaged with 7.2 yards per carry while Etienne finished the day with 16 carries for 53 yards. A 3.3 yard per attempt average.

Here’s the thing you worry about with Etienne. I think there’s a chance that he’s James Davis. Lightning fast, not much a pure running back. Now he’s bigger than a guy like Tarik Cohen, he just has games where if he doesn’t hit the home run, Etienne looks pedestrian. I’m still not sure the hype is all it’s cracked up to be.

I could talk about Trevor Lawrence and Justyn Ross every week but we have to wait a year for their draft status. In the meantime, I think Tee Higgins is legit. I’m not sure he’s generational like Ross, but I think Higgins has a chance to be every bit as good if not better than Mike Williams or Sammy Watkins. The thing that impresses me about Ross and Higgins is that for their size, they run like gazelles down the field. I’m not sure how you cover them. I think Higgins has more speed than a guy like Mike Williams. He’s way more than a contested catch guy. Don’t be surprised if Higgins is a first round guy. He’s getting lost in the shuffle somehow.

Isaiah Simmons is unbelievable. Simmons is the best chess piece in college football but somehow at the same time the glue that holds the Clemson defense together. He’s the most unique defender I think I’ve ever watched. 6-foot-4, 230 pound linebacker that covers like a corner, that runs like DeSean Jackson, that tackles like Bobby Wagner, and he can line up everywhere. I don’t even have words to properly describe the guy. Just wait until he runs a 4.30 at the combine.

LSU At Texas

LSU

Where the hell did this performance from Joe Burrow come from? 31/39, 471 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Coming into the year, Burrow was a borderline candidate to get drafted. He keeps playing like this and the LSU signal caller is getting drafted high.

  • Let’s acknowledge a couple of things. There are new play callers for LSU. The offense looks a hell of a lot better. It looks organized and receivers are open. It looks like there’s a plan.
  • Burrow looks better. How much better? That remains to be seen. It’s normal for a player to improve from the previous year.
  • This is what happens against the Big 12. Offense galore. See, even Joe Burrow can torch the Big 12.

All of those things are probably true. The thing I loved is that Burrow play with confidence and fire. He’s got some alpha to him. I love the move to wave goodbye to Texas fans in the crowd. He’s got some nuts on him which is important for the position. At the end of the day, he’s still a back up for me. Burrow improved his stock and is a guy worth investing in.

LSU has some toys, man. Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Terrance Marshall all went OFF. Jefferson is the only one draft eligible for the upcoming year so let’s focus there. This Texas secondary stinks. I said it a year ago when people hyped up Kris Boyd. That guy sucks too. Jefferson looked like he was playing middle schoolers. 9 catches for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns. Texas couldn’t guard him to save their lives.

Jefferson has some nice tools. He flys for a 6-foot-3 receiver and runs nice routes. I see some Jarvis Landry here. How much remains to be seen. This entire LSU offense is still new. I’m not sure how far we can jump to judgement on any of these guys.

On defense, this unit got gassed. I swear this game last 8 hours. I was struggling to stay awake. Both offenses ran up tempo stuff the entire game. There were plays being run with 30 seconds on the play clock. It was absurd. I love Grant Delpit. When he’s missing tackles, then you know they were gassed. I thought Tom Herman did a nice job taking him out of the game. Even Devin Duvernay punished him a few times and barreled him over. I came into this year saying he’s better than Jamal Adams. I’m standing by it but it didn’t look like it against Texas.

I’ll run through the rest of these since it’s getting long. I like Rashard Lawrence. He batted a pass down and commanded to be doubled. Texas ran the ball 37 times and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. A lot had to do with Lawrence being disruptive in the middle.

I like corner Kristian Fulton a lot. He’s much more of a willing tackler than Greedy Williams was. LSU is DBU. Fulton is going to be a good player just like the million LSU corners before him. Collin Johnson was basically a non-factor. Fulton took him out of the game.

K’Lavon Chaisson notched a sack in this one. I think he’s a quality pass rusher. He hasn’t played a ton because of injury but this guy can really get after the quarterback. If you’re looking for a sleeper on this defense, check him out.

Texas:

Devin Duvernay was a big winner and Collin Johnson was a loser. Duvernay is tough, physical, and great with the ball in his hands. He went for 154 yards on 12 catches and 2 touchdowns. Johnson in a high powered game reeled in just 49 yards. Johnson couldn’t even shake free of the true Freshman Corner LSU has. Johnson is regarded as the NFL guy but he’s not that good. I’ll say this. I think a lot of these guys on Texas are products of Tom Herman. I don’t think this roster is all that strong…. yet.

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