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
Charlie Brewer (QB, Baylor)
Brewer walked into a fantastic situation in 2018 and created a really solid Sophomore campaign for himself. After playing sparingly in his Freshman season, Brewer won the starting job to start 2018 and played well enough to keep it moving forward. Between Jalen Hurd, Denzel Mims and a few other above average WRs (Most notably, Freshman WR Tyquan Thornton), Brewer had an amazing supporting cast to work with, and while his inconsistency was clear against upper tier teams, there were reasons to be optimistic. By far, Brewers best game of the season was against Oklahoma, giving the Sooners a scare in the first half. Brewer ended that game with 400 passing yards and two TDs, making some NFL throws and sustaining drives against a defense that had a lot of NFL talent on it (Despite the narrative on BIG-12 defenses). There was NFL quality QB play in that game and is worth reviewing critically. While Hurd is off to the NFL, Mims and Thornton should present a very imposing equation to solve for opposing secondaries in 2019, and with Brewer entering his Junior season, he should have full control and increased awareness.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 3rd-to-5th Round – Brewer, as things currently stand, does not profile as a starter at the next level. But aspirations as a multi-year backup are very reasonable. Get that money, Charlie!
Similar Prospect(s): Cody Kessler, Aaron Murray
Isaiah Bowser (RB, Northwestern)
Bowser runs with authority, that’s the first thing you’ll notice. Listed at 6 foot 1 and 215 pounds, Bowser is a power runner who was consistently put in situations where the boxes were stacked. Much like the Northwestern RBs before him, Bowser is unlikely to get help from the passing game in his time in this offense, but volume is on the horizon. As seen with Justin Jackson for a four-year stretch, the Northwestern offense primarily uses one RB, and it appears with Bowser, even in his true freshman season, they saw an opportunity to get back to that. Unlike with Jackson, though, there WAS legitimate competition for snaps. Sophomore Jeremy Larkin displayed ability to warrant touches and was the lead back three games through 2018. Sadly, Larkin had to retire from football after being diagnosed with cervical stenosis. Larkin no only could’ve kept Bowser from a featured role, but may have even snagged the starting job away had he been able to return. As unfortunate as that is, it’s an enormous opportunity for Bowser. Bowser only averaged 4.4 yards per carry on his 197 rushing attempts in 2018, but as mentioned, there’s legitimate context to that, including stacked boxes due to a putrid passing game.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 4th-to-6th Round – Bowser does have NFL appeal, especially from a size standpoint. If he can achieve a featured role over the next few seasons, he’s very likely to be drafted. Bowser doesn’t appear to be a great athlete, and that could certainly limit his ceiling as a player.
Similar Prospect(s): Wayne Gallman, Jordan Wilkins
Stevie Scott (RB, Indiana)
I REALLY like watching Scott play football. Between his hulking frame (listed at 6 foot 2 and 233 pounds), soft hands out of the backfield and ability to finish runs with power, Scott has a skillset that assuredly translates to the NFL. Scott was somewhat of a presence during the DFS season, and there were certain slates where he would be viable, but especially in BIG Ten play, it was tough to get excited about him with the lack of help around him. In his true freshman season, Scott produced 1,223 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns on 244 touches. These are really, really strong numbers for a true freshman in a power five conference school. Scott played for a team that lost seven games and threw 20 TDs to 14 interceptions. This offense was not efficient, and opportunities were limited, especially with what Scott does best (use his power between the tackles), but he found a way to succeed anyway. The first thing to notice when viewing Scott is how he finishes runs, especially on receptions. It’s tough to tell what the optimal weight for Scott will be in the NFL, and slimming down is certainly a possibility (to gain some athleticism), but this is a potentially special skillset we have on our hands.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 2nd or 3rd Round – It’s tough to decipher how athletic Scott actually is, especially with his current size, but there’s potentially a special skill set. Scott has a wide range of skills, most notably as a receiver. If Scott can become a big RB prospect who has the receiving game as a positive trait heading into the NFL draft, he’ll almost force his way into a high draft position, simply based on potential.
Similar Prospect(s): Royce Freeman, Jeremy Hill
Quez Watkins (WR, Southern Mississippi)
Watkins became heavily relied on in the Southern Mississippi offense in 2018. Not only did Watkins see plenty of usage on deep targets, but he was a main cog in their offense close to the line of scrimmage. Watkins has also produced as a punt and kick returner in his first two seasons. The unique and versatile skill set Watkins has displayed through two seasons should be able to get him NFL opportunities, even if they aren’t in a starter capacity. Watkins does a good job using his hands, and provides some nice highlights on deeper targets, both from a ball skills perspective and being elusive after the catch. What Watkins may lack in athleticism, he makes up for in a jack-of-all-trades mentality, and heading into his Junior season, he should be set up to have a big workload. Watkins has a thin frame (Listed at 6 foot 2 and 190 pounds) and would benefit greatly from adding bulk.
PROJECTED DRAFT ROUND: 5th-to-7th round – Simply put, it seems unlikely Watkins will test out well athletically. Because of that, and because he’s playing at a small conference school, the logical conclusion to come to is that Watkins will be drafted in the later rounds. There’s an impressive production profile that involves a lot of versatility, and Watkins will certainly get opportunities in the NFL, but he’ll have to work his way up.
Similar Prospect(s): Rodney Adams
