The NFL is built upon what college football provides. Every year, there’s a focus on incoming rookies and players who are going to make an impact for their new teams, but where did those players come from? What did they look like as underclassmen in college? How productive were they? The goal of this article is to help provide analysis that will improve readers ability to identify NFL players who are still in college. Each week, there will be four players evaluated and given an NFL projected draft position based on their current historical indicators.
There are many tidbits and clues the NFL leaves behind pertaining to what they’re looking for in an NFL Draft prospect. The basic strength, speed and athleticism are factors in building a skill position player, but it’s clear there’s more to it than that. When reviewing the NFL Draft over the last two decades, there’s statistical trends and traits NFL teams look for before selecting players as well. This article, which highlights players not yet draft eligible, will highlight those factors.
THE PROSPECTS
Pooka Williams (RB, Kansas)
Williams exploded onto the scene in his freshman season at Kansas. By the end of 2018, there was no debating who was the best player on offense. Kansas’ offense, in general, was terrible in 2018, but Williams created enough big plays every game to keep viewers engaged. Williams finished his freshman season with 1414 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns on only 194 touches. Williams averaged 7.0 yards per rushing attempt and 8.8 yards per reception. At only 5 foot 10 and 170 pounds, there’s a lot of questions about where Williams will be able to fit in at the NFL level, but what isn’t debatable is that he’s a big play waiting to happen. Unfortunately, based how Kansas performed as a program over the last decade, it seems unlikely he’ll benefit from a greatly improved situation as he moves into his future college seasons, but being the only show in town isn’t always terrible and it clearly didn’t negatively affect things in 2018. Williams has incredible burst, and in a very Tavon Austin-ish way, has certain plays where it appears unfair for him to be playing against college defenders.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 2nd-to-3rd Round (based on talent) – Williams has already run into legal problems, and that would obviously SEVERELY hinder his odds of being a top selection in the draft. Based on talent alone, he could find his way into the top three rounds, especially if he continues to produce in such an efficient per-touch way.
Similar Prospect(s): Dexter McCluster, Tyreek Hill
Spencer Brown (RB, UAB)
Brown has wasted no time in his college career. Through two seasons Brown accumulated 2,618 yards from scrimmage and 27 touchdowns, including 1200 or more yards from scrimmage in both seasons. Brown is a punishing back who uses his power to plow through the line of scrimmage. Brown certainly has speed, but his power is the most notable trait he has. UAB has put him in good situations to succeed in 2017 and 2018, and he should be poised to thrive again in the run game in 2019. Brown has worked from I-Formation and Shotgun sets and has shown versatility as a blocker on passing downs as well. RBs are not a part of the UAB passing game-plan, and Brown will likely have a lot of skepticism headed his way when NFL evaluators try to evaluate his ceiling as a prospect. In two years as a featured weapon, Brown only has 12 receptions, but ultimately it’s not his fault. Brown should continue to be a featured weapon for UAB in the next two season or two and is very likely to continue to accumulate big yardage seasons.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 5th-to-7th Round – Brown is a classic two-down RB prospect, and coming into the NFL with teams skeptical of your receiving ability can devalue an otherwise solid skillset. If Brown continues on this pace production-wise, he does create a floor (from a macro sense) where he’ll still get drafted.
Similar Prospect(s): Alfred Morris, Michael Turner
Damon Hazelton Jr. (WR, Virginia Tech)
Hazelton has a really unique profile. After a really solid freshman season at Ball State, accumulating 505 receiving yards and four touchdowns, Hazelton decided to transfer up (a rare move) to a power five conference, ACC school Virginia Tech. After taking a year off (transfer rules), Hazelton slotted in next to incoming Freshman Tre Turner, to create arguably the most successful passing game Virginia Tech had in the decade. Despite being a big WR prospect (Listed at 6 foot 2 and 220 pounds), Hazelton primarily thrives on short routes and beating defenders with footwork after the catch. He profiles as a “big slot”, and it’s not out of the question for him to bulk up and switch to TE before everything is said and done. Hazelton isn’t likely to be the top weapon in the receiving game moving forward with Turner in town, but playing in the ACC will be a big enough platform that it won’t matter as long as he continues to perform as he has. Hazelton finished his redshirt Sophomore season with 802 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, leading Virginia Tech in all receiving categories.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 5th-to-6th Round – Hazelton is going to have athleticism concerns, and if he tests out in a below-average-to-poor fashion, he’ll be staring down the later rounds as his destiny. With that said, being a prominent player on a power five conference team should give him a solid leg up on small conference WRs.
Similar Prospect(s): Kelvin Harmon, Juron Criner
Shi Smith (WR, South Carolina)
Deebo Samuel exits, Smith takes over. South Carolina has created a really positive trend over the last decade of producing solid all-around WR prospects. While all had differing results, Bruce Ellington, Pharoh Cooper, Deebo Samuel and Alshon Jeffery were all solid prospects that have come out of the program, and Smith appears to be next in line. Smith has speed, solid ability to separate and toughness to finish runs after the catch. There’s also a few highlight catches on his resume already. Smith has truly been used all over the formation in his first two seasons, and while his production appears moderate (409 receiving yards in 2017, 673 in 2018), there’s a lot of meat on the bone in terms of versatility. Smith isn’t a big WR (listed at 5 foot 10 and 190 pounds), but his solid athleticism averages out any disadvantage he’d have. Having to compete for targets with Samuel and 2017 round one selection TE Hayden Hurst was difficult, but the lanes to a featured role have cleared for 2019. Smith is a hands-catcher and was very technically sound for an underclassman.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 3rd Round – Smith has a lot of work to do, but based on the profile he’s put out there so far, he should absolutely thrive in a featured role in 2019. Smith is a Swiss army knife and makes plays on the field that project well towards athletic testing.
Similar Prospect(s): Tyler Lockett, Markus Wheaton
