Quenton Nelson

Draft Notes: Nelson, Jackson, Johnson

January 3rd, 2018 at 5:02pm CST by GregGoldstein

We’ve already seen many underclassman opt to enter the 2018 NFL Draft with the January 16 deadline fast approaching. Below are three more high profile players that have made the decision to the jump to professional football:

As expected, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson has thrown his name into the NFL Draft pool. Nelson revealed his decision on Twitter after the team’s victory over LSU on New Year’s Day. The offensive lineman has been touted as one of the best prospects available in April. It’s a little bit unusual for guards to be taken in the top five, but Nelson has certainly has a good chance because of his dominant play for the Fighting Irish. He’s currently rated as the top offensive lineman and fifth best overall prospect by Matt Miller of Bleacher Report.
Perhaps the best cornerback prospect has declared for the draft as well. Iowa corner Josh Jackson tweeted his intentions to go pro this morning in which he thanked his coaches, teammates and fans.“Growing up, it has always been my dream to play in the National Football League,” Jackson wrote. “I am excited for this next step and humbled by this great opportunity. I will always bleed Black and Gold.” The junior defensive back was named as an unanimous All-American, received the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year honors and finished as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in 2017. He’s currently rated as the top cornerback on Miller’s draft board. He also comes in graded as the second best draft eligible corner, according to Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com.
Breakout college running back Kerryon Johnson has also entered the 2018 NFL Draft. Auburn’s junior back released his decision in a statement posted on his Twitter page last night. Johnson finished his final collegiate season as the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year. He totaled 1,391 rushing yards in his junior season, which was significantly more than what he produced in his first two years with the Tigers. He also rushed for 18 touchdowns during what turned out to be his final season with Auburn. Kiper currently ranks Johnson as the seventh best running back available in possibly the deepest positional group in this draft class.

Draft Rumors: Darnold, Browns, Nelson, Jackson, Allen

December 27th, 2017 at 4:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Josh Rosen made headlines with his comments about a preference to land with a better team that held a lower pick rather than a bad one holding a high draft choice, Sam Darnold took the more diplomatic route. The USC quarterback — who has not yet made a decision about forgoing his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2018 draft — said Wednesday (via ESPN) he’d be “honored to play for any team.” This could be key regarding the top of the draft, where both Darnold and Rosen are expected to come off the board if they declare. A report that emerged Sunday revealed Rosen is higher on the Giants than the Browns, who will hold the No. 1 pick, and may reconsider staying in school if the Browns are to pick him. Of course, a similar report surfaced about Darnold last month. Darnold denied that rumor today, however. This interesting leverage game remains in a holding pattern with both passers having yet to announce they’re going to enter the draft.

Here’s more 2018 draft buzz.

Lamar Jackson is not expected to threaten Rosen or Darnold’s spots atop the draft, and the former Heisman Trophy winner may be put through an interesting process by some interested teams if/when he declares. Various scouts told ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr. they believe some teams will ask the Louisville phenom to work out as both a quarterback and wide receiver, with the goal being to see if Jackson could transition if he didn’t work as a passer. This is not the first time this has come up regarding Jackson, who has rushed for a staggering 3,974 yards and 49 touchdowns in three Cardinals seasons, nor is it the first time a run-heavy quarterback has been mentioned as a wideout at the next level.
Quenton Nelson‘s stock appears to be rising, and SI.com’s Albert Breer spoke with an NFL exec who said the Notre Dame guard is a better prospect than Zack Martin was when he came out of South Bend three years ago. Breer tabs Nelson as a top-three overall prospect. Martin went 16th to the Cowboys in 2014 and became the first rookie offensive lineman to land on the top All-Pro team in 57 years. No pure guard has gone in the top 10 since Jonathan Cooper in 2013, but the Redskins moved 2015’s No. 5 overall pick (Brandon Scherff) to guard immediately.
The sense in the scouting community is Josh Allen will fall toward the middle of the first round while the two Pac-12 passers go off the board at the draft’s outset, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes. Allen remains viewed as a less pro-ready prospect than the other two despite possessing possibly greater physical upside. However, smaller-program passers have done well for themselves in recent drafts. Carson Wentz rocketed up the 2016 board to No. 2, and Blake Bortles (Central Florida) went No. 3 in 2014. The Jets have done extensive homework on Allen, and the Broncos are getting to work on the Wyoming talent as well.

NFL Draft Notes: Mayfield, Lamar, Barkley

December 14th, 2017 at 8:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While there’s still plenty of time for evaluation before the 2018 draft gets underway in April, it would be a “surprise” if Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield isn’t selected in the first round, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. Mayfield, this year’s Heisman winner, completed 71% of his passes this season for 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Per Breer, there are character questions about Mayfield, and his height (6’1″) could also present concerns. But Todd McShay of ESPN.com placed Mayfield in the first round of his first 2018 mock draft, and new Browns general manager John Dorsey — who will certainly be in the quarterback market next year — recently sang Mayfield’s praises.

Here’s more on next year’s NFL draft, all courtesy of Breer:

Mayfield may be a locked-in first round, but last year’s Heisman — Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson — isn’t likely to be selected on Day 1, reports Breer. Some evaluators have openly wondered if Jackson will play wide receiver in the NFL, but he simply may need time to develop at the next level. Indeed, Breer says there are still questions about Jackson’s “instincts and anticipation,” as well as those who believe Jackson is “more thrower than passer.” Jackson has topped 3,400 yards passing and 1,400 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons.
While the 2018 running back class may not compare to that of 2017 (which included Alvin Kamara, Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt, and many others), Penn State’s Saquon Barkley is still viewed as an elite prospect, per Breer. While Barkley faded down the stretch, one AFC executive tells Breer “to the people that matter, nothing’s changed” in regards to Barkley’s draft stock. Barkley posted at least 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons as a Nittany Lion, and scored 34 touchdowns over the past two years.
Running backs might not be plentiful in 2018, but next year’s class is loaded with offensive line talent. Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, plus Texas’ Connor Williams, are all potential top-15 picks, per Breer. That’s quite a contrast to 2017, when only two offensive lineman were selected in the first round (with Garett Bolles being the first off the board at No. 20).
Although Courtland Sutton (SMU) perhaps isn’t as well-known as Alabama’s Calvin Ridley or Oklahoma State’s James Washington, he has a chance to become the first wide receiver selected, according to Breer. Sutton, who is expected to stand 6’4″, 230 pounds at the combine, could even be a top-10 pick. From 2016-17, Sutton averaged 68 receptions, 1,132 yards, and 11 touchdowns.
Analysts believe Mayfield, North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb, and Michigan defensive lineman Maurice Hurst all helped their draft stock by staying in school for an extra season, says Breer. What does one evaluator like about Chubb, who has posted 10 sacks in consecutive seasons? “Everything.”

Draft Notes: Mayfield, Rosen, Cards, Nelson

December 9th, 2017 at 7:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The expected recipient of this season’s Heisman Trophy, Baker Mayfield figures to generate plenty of opinions during the pre-draft process. Some of the immediate responses from NFL evaluators have been positive following the Oklahoma senior’s dominant regular season. Albert Breer of SI.com surmises from the several-dozen scouts he’s spoken to throughout the season that Mayfield should wind up as a first-round pick, his baggage notwithstanding.

“He’s extremely talented,” an AFC college scouting director told Breer. “Guys want to play for him, players believe in him, the staff believes in him. I’ve heard the comparisons to (Drew) Brees, (Johnny) Manziel, (Russell) Wilson, and there’s a little bit of all of them in his game. And he’s not Manziel in terms of the off-field stuff — he studies his ass off; he goes through his progressions; he’s not a typical spread QB. He has first-round ability.”

Mayfield’s height, around 6-foot, could be an issue for some teams. And his Big 12 background may as well. But Breer expects a first-round investment to occur.

Here’s more on Mayfield and other key prospects.

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com polled five NFL execs regarding Mayfield’s best destination and didn’t get one definitive answer. While some quarterback-needy teams came up, two decision-makers mentioned the Saints and Chargers as Mayfield fits. Both suggest multiyear apprenticeships behind Brees and Philip Rivers. However, a source told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report Rivers’ resurgence has “basically shut down” the prospect of the Bolts making a quarterback-of-the-future pick in the upcoming first round. Rivers turned 36 on Friday.
Josh Rosen is the likeliest of the likely first-round quarterbacks to start from Day 1, a group of seven executives polled by Yahoo Sports concluded. The UCLA passer’s throwing motion is “as elite as it gets for a prospect,” Charles Robinson of Yahoo writes. That septet of execs rated Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Mayfield as the Nos. 2-4 prospects and likely first-rounders. Darnold’s elongated throwing motion and tendency to bail on plays, in the mind of some evaluators, could cost him the No. 1 spot. Allen received the “project” label in this piece, but the Wyoming product’s size/speed/arm strength combination could be enticing — especially come workout time.
On Allen, Miller notes the Cardinals are connected to the current junior signal-caller. Miller writes the Cardinals abandoned their first-round quarterback crusade after Patrick Mahomes went to the Chiefs at No. 10, with the team declaring it was going to delay its Carson Palmer succession strategy a year. Allen may be the next guy the Cards are eyeing, viewing his athleticism and potential — and presumably the likelihood he won’t be a top-two pick like the Pac-12 passers — as Mahomes-esque. That might not mean much at the moment, with Mahomes having yet to play, but Miller expects Allen to be a top-10 pick. That’s more than could have been said for Mahomes at this point in last year’s process. The Jets remain the team that’s done the most work on Allen, however.
In a post connecting teams with prospects, Miller notes the Bears are “all about” Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley. However, the draft analyst notes the Bears are expected to land a top-10 pick. Ridley, in his mind, does not qualify for such an investment.
Notre Dame’s offensive line figures to produce two first-round talents in tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Quenton Nelson. While McGlinchy’s name has hovered on draft radars longer, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com notes Nelson is viewed as the better prospect among scouts. One scout declared Nelson was the best prospect he’d seen this season “by far.” Miller notes the Broncos have Nelson rated as the top offensive lineman on their early board.
Cowboys coaching and scouting sources told Miller the team doesn’t expect to be holding mid-first-round picks much in the near future, and he writes the team will pursue a higher-end pass rusher “while it can.” That’s bold thinking for a team that is 6-6 and has missed the playoffs in five seasons this decade, but the Cowboys did earn home-field advantage last season. And the need for an impact end remains.