It’s that time of year when I turn my focus to the college bowl games to gain insight. I will do my best to find some draft eligible players that could improve your dynasty teams. This article intends to 
start conversations and encourage continued thought throughout the entire draft process. These are my observations based on the bowl games, unless otherwise indicated. There will be much more in-depth, thought-provoking discussions later in the offseason. I am listing these players alphabetically.
WR-Sammie Coates, Auburn- The receiver played sparingly in this game due to some injury concerns. Perhaps it was the injuries, but he appeared disinterested in blocking downfield on running plays. The wide out also seemed to tip-off if the team would pass or run by the way he came out of his stance at the line of scrimmage. Coates tracks the ball well in the air, gets separation quickly, and attacks the ball at its highest point instead of waiting for its down decent. He catches the pigskin with his fingertips and runs silky, crisp routes. There is some physicality to his game, even when hurting as he fought for extra yardage, used stiff-arms to keep defenders away from him, and shielded the ball from their prying hands. Coates showed a lot of grit playing hurt and impressed with limited opportunities.
DE-Shawn Oakman, Baylor- This tall, lanky defender looks more like an outside linebacker than a defensive end. His first move was usually to try to crash inside between the guard and tackle. This didn’t always work out as the defender got sealed leaving room for a long run in the first quarter. Oakman gets his arms extended to try to keep the offensive line off his body, but gets cut block a lot. The defender does not give up on plays, chasing ball carriers across the field. He shows good balance by bouncing back up after getting knocked down. There were times he could dip around the block or use a swim move on the way to the quarterback. Oakman seems to get rerouted quite a bit, forcing him to take the long way to get around blockers.
QB-Dak Prescott, Mississippi State- This young quarterback spent most of his time out of the shotgun, making quick reads, and set his feet before throwing the ball. He had some issues with ball location, throwing it hard and a bit outside. This caused a pass to be intercepted as the signal caller was not on the same page as his receivers early. I noticed that he threw short passes with the same zip as long throws which, at times, helped the ball rattled around in his receivers’ arms. There is no questioning his arm strength as he overthrew a wide out by 20 yards down the field, but he needs to learn more touch. When he threw frozen ropes, the pigskin had issues being caught, but when there was some air underneath the ball, it was easier to catch. The quarterback is better when throwing to a general area letting the receiver work to the ball, than a precise location. Cam Newton has this same hiccup.
Prescott uses good footwork in the pocket, stepping up to avoid pressure. His fake handoffs and pump fakes cause defenses to slow down. There were a few times that the quarterback did not sense pressure, so he needs to get better at getting rid of the ball when pressure cannot be avoided. He had some success rolling to one side of the field and throwing on the run. He seems to struggle going thru all of his progressions, opting to run instead. It’s apparent that Prescott is a good runner with good leg drive in short yardage situations. The quarterback did get a lucky deflection on his Hail Mary pass to end the first half for one of his four touchdowns on the day. Prescott accounted for 500 yards with his passing and rushing yards. I think he will be best suited to play in a west coast offense. If the quarterback plays in a read-option offense, he will need to work on pitching the ball. Most reports have him staying in school, but if he declares Prescott could add some excitement to the position.
RB-Josh Robinson, Mississippi State- This smaller framed back seems more comfortable running outside the tackles. He has a little wiggle, finds seams to exploit, and doesn’t have much leg drive. Robinson reminded me a bit of the Ravens Justin Forsett with his quickness and good lateral agility. I believe he would be a decent third down/change of pace back at the next level. If Mississippi State had not fallen so far behind in the second half, Robinson might have had a bigger game as he averaged around seven yards per carry in the first half. He didn’t do much pass blocking, but did show some fight run blocking when his quarterback began to scramble. The back did have a bad fumble where he carried the pigskin away from his body, allowing it to be easily punched out.
Do you like what you are reading? Do you want extra insight at the Senior Bowl? Please donate using my PayPal button to make sure I attend this year’s Senior Bowl Game and the week of practice before the game. You can follow me on Twitter @AndrewMiley or the site @Dynasty_Blitz.
