Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins made his case as the top quarterback prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft. Who else helped and hurt their stock this week?
This past weekend was conference championship weekend around the college football landscape. We had plenty of fun games to react too. The Georgia-Alabama game featured so much NFL-ready talent it will be hard to pick only a few players. Meanwhile, Clemson rolled through Pittsburgh, UCF remained undefeated with their backup quarterback, Ohio State dominated and Oklahoma held off their rival. Plenty to take away for the NFL scouts in these big games.
A quick note, before turning towards the prospects. Kyler Murray, the electric quarterback from Oklahoma would normally appear on this list after a performance like that. However, there is no indication that Murray intends to jump to the NFL. Instead, he will take his talents to Major League Baseball where he was a top-10 draft pick. Murray has people clamoring for him to go play on Sundays but the smart move and most money is in baseball.
6. Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama – Stock up
The Crimson Tide constantly have talent in their backfield. Entering the season the two headliners were supposed to be Damien Harris and Najee Harris. The combination was set to handle most of the work for the top team in the country. The season has not played out as such and it’s been Josh Jacobs that is emerging. A two-touchdown performance against Georgia on Saturday only helped boost his stock in a running back class starving for top-shelf talent. All three of Alabama’s running backs will be playing on Sundays but it may be Jacobs that ends up the highest drafted.
5. Brett Rypien, QB, Boise State – Stock down
Yes, it was snowing in Boise and that makes a quarterbacks job a lot tougher. It’s also tough to post a decent game when you hand the ball off 40 times. Still with those factors involved, Brett Rypien disappointed Saturday. There are some around the NFL Draft Twittersvere who saw Rypien as a sleeper in a sub-par quarterback class. Rypien’s worst traits came out on Saturday. It looks more and more like the Boise State quarterback is at best a backup level player in the NFL.
4. Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis – Stock up
Some of the best players make big plays in their teams’ biggest games. Memphis running back Darrell Henderson did just that in the AAC Championship game. Against undefeated UCF it was Henderson who was the offensive fulcrum for the Tigers. Even with the Knights keen to the Tigers rushing attack, it did not slow down Henderson. The talented junior capped off a spectacular regular season with 16 carries for 210 yard and three touchdowns. It was ultimately not enough to fight off UCF but it may be enough to push Henderson up draft boards.
3. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma – Stock down
This name appears quite frequently, as his splash plays put everyone on notice. However, this weekend it was the plays that he didn’t make that get Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on this list. Brown is Oklahoma’s deep threat and a massive weapon for Murray. He is also an undersized player that is not nuanced at creating separation with route running or tracking the ball. Both of those elements reared their head against Texas. Brown will draw the eyes of the NFL for his speed but he needs to clean up the technical part of playing receiver if he wants to live up to his potential.
2. Collin Johnson, WR, Texas – Stock up
Across from Brown on the opposing sideline was Collin Johnson. The massive Longhorn receiver has looked like a man among boys playing in the no-defense conference at times. Johnson is 6-foot-6 monster who finished with 177 yards on eight catches and a touchdown. There are times where it just looks like Texas’ quarterbacks can simply put it within 15 yards and Johnson will grab it. This is the year for big receivers and this monster of a player might become the best of the bunch.
1. Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State – Stock up
If you read this article you know there is no other player that has appeared more than Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins. Another impressive performance has him atop this list again. Haskins lead Ohio State to the Big Ten championship behind 499 yards passing and five passing touchdowns. It looks like he is going to be able to squash the narrative that haunted him earlier in the season of shrinking in big games. This is now back-to-back impressive performances for the one year starter. Haskins is going to have plenty of fans if he declares for the draft and is making his case to be QB1 in this year’s class.