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-Kenny Bell, Nebraska- Despite having a big head of hair, Bell is a smooth, fluid athlete that gets in and out of his breaks quickly. He does a great job catching the ball in stride with his soft hands and runs crisp routes. The receiver tracks the ball well in the air, gets separation and shields the pigskin from his defensive coverage. Bell lines up all over the formation, and gets a clean release of the line using his hands and quick feet. He knows where he is on the field at all times, toe-tapping near the sidelines showing good balance. The wide out adjusted to the ball in the end zone getting his knee down to catch a touchdown. Once Bell has the ball in his hands, he fights for extra yardage, not going down easily and uses a stiff-arm to get away from would-be tacklers. As a run blocker, he could use some work, but he does get in front of his defender and sprung his running back for a touchdown in the red zone.
RB-Mike Davis, South Carolina- This runner has already declared himself for the draft. He is a hard-nosed back who breaks arm tackles, shows a lot of lower body power especially running between the tackles. Davis runs behind his pads, keeping low to the ground, and isn’t afraid of contact. During the break between the first and second quarter, the ESPN sideline reporter mentioned that Davis did not match the coach’s expectation of intensity. The runner saw less time in the second quarter, but worked himself back in the offense in the second half. He sees the field well, throws a little shoulder shake/stutter-step combo to create space, keeps his feet chopping fighting for extra yardage, but seems to be limited by how his offensive line blocked. In the passing game, Davis sells fake handoffs well and steps up to meet pass rushers squaring his shoulders and firing out to protect his quarterback. The back has soft hands and does great with the ball in the flat. He snuck out the back door on a long third and goal, catching the pass between two defenders for a touchdown. Call me crazy, but I see a little Stevan Ridley to his game.
DE/LB-Randy Gregory, Nebraska- He anchors the edge quite well despite being 6′ 6″ 240 lbs. The defender has good hand speed, gets deep initial pressure on the quarterback, and certainly looks more like an outside linebacker than a defensive end. Gregory lined up in a four point stance as well as a two point stance, usually shading the offensive tackle’s outside shoulder. He has a high motor chasing plays down from sideline to sideline. The rusher uses a swim move and dips his shoulder underneath to move around blockers. I don’t believe he has the size to be a 3-4 DE and might be a better OLB. Gregory is a pass rushing specialist, who could be successful in a multiple front defense like Buffalo.
RB-Duke Johnson, Miami- The 5′ 9″ 206 lbs. runner looks a bit a skinny in his pads. He has a good wiggle and is quite slippery running between the tackles especially with his jump cut. Johnson runs too upright which leaves his torso open to more hits and could make him more injury-prone. The back can get to the flat in a hurry and is dominant in open space. That is where he uses his good downfield vision, burst, amazing balance, spin moves, and hurdling ability to gain huge chunks of yardage. Johnson has soft hands, catching passes in stride, and can take it to the house on a wheel route. The runner works back to his quarterback if they are under pressure. He took direct snaps in the shotgun formation and does a good job of always falling forward. Unless Johnson goes to a spread offense, I see him more as a change of pace/third down back.
DT/DE-Leonard Williams, USC- This is the most dominant defensive lineman I have seen so far. He gets initial pressure on the quarterback from the two gap to the five gap and can line up in a four point stance or stand up like an outside linebacker. Williams keeps his arms cocked, ready to unload on any blockers trying to engage him. The defensive lineman has great vision and anticipation, crashing down the line of scrimmage to make the tackle. He keeps his eyes on the ball and can toss offensive linemen aside with his strong base to make the tackle on a run or pass. While he gets slowed down with double teams, Williams forces the offensive line to commit more than one blocker to attempt to take him out of the play. The defender uses a swim move, spin, or a bull rush to get past the pass protection. He got squirmy at snap, blitzing inside, and sacking the quarterback, despite being touched by three different blockers. What I liked most about him is that Williams appeared to get stronger as the game went along.
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