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Shawn Oakman is arguably the biggest athletic freak eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft. At 6’9″, Oakman is hard to miss on the field. This year his play is as noticeable as his basketball player size. With his long arms he is very good at shedding offensive lineman to get into the backfield. Furthermore, he has a good first step for a man that tips the scales a bit less than 300 pounds. Against TCU he showed another tool in his toolbox, lining up in a two-point stance. Not only did he look really good rushing from it but he also was quite impressive dropping back into coverage. I literally could not believe my eyes at first that a man that big could look that good dropping back.
2015 NFL Draft: Week 7 NFL Prospects
The projected offensive tackle class for the 2015 NFL Draft has disappointed me so far. Guys that I hoped would take the next step in their development such as Cameron Erving have not done so. Spencer Drango is only a junior offensive tackle at Baylor but may decide to declare early given his exceptional all-around talent, but has had his share of issues with counter moves which has led to him giving up sacks. He possesses good feet though, so the potential is definitely there to continuously improve.
Earlier this year I watched Auburn wide receiver D’haquille Williams against Kansas State and his game was a mixed bag. On the one hand, he was a physical freak. On the other hand though, he dropped several balls. A receiver can be great in every area but if he cannot catch the ball on a consistent basis then he’s not much use to his team. Against Mississippi State, Duke was back to his old tricks. He caught the ball well and made several very impressive catches showing an exceptional catch radius. Then there is his big, strong body along with his superb athleticism. This combination makes him lethal after the catch. If he can continue to play at this level then he will most definitely be moving up my wide receiver rankings.
Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall probably will not get a chance to play quarterback in the NFL. Despite that, he has an intriguing skill set that may allow him to stick at safety. He does have some experience at the position having played it at the junior college level. Hopefully, he is able to get a shot to show what he can do at safety in one of the All-Star games.
Many people are all up in arms about Georgia halfback Todd Gurley being suspended indefinitely for allegedly selling memorabilia that he signed. If he is suspended for any substantial period of time, it will most likely end any shot that Georgia may have to play in the College Football Playoff along with his Heisman hopes. Despite this, it will not hurt Gurley’s stock since he’s such a phenom. Not to mention, what he is accused of should be allowed anyway. However, nobody has brought up the point that if Gurley is suspended for any substantial period of time he will be unable to show that he can be dominant for an entire season. This would undoubtedly boost his draft stock. Since halfbacks just have not gone that high in the NFL Draft in recent years, he needs to show that he is a generational talent to be able to have a shot at being picked in the top ten. Personally, I view him as the best player in the 2015 NFL Draft but he needs to convince enough NFL teams that he should be an upper echelon pick, not just me.
The Wisconsin Badgers recently benched Tanner McEvoy at quarterback and replaced him with last year’s starter Joel Stave. So far this appears to have had a substantial effect upon the number of targets that Wisconsin tight end Sam Arneson has seen. He has gone from receiving one or two targets a game to receiving several targets. If he continues to receive this high a number of targets while taking advantage of the opportunities given to him then he may be able to move up in a weak tight end class.
Josh Ferguson is a nice player for the Illinois Fighting Illini with his good overall athleticism. However, in the NFL he projects as a change of pace back because he has yet to show that he can carry a heavy load. Thus, he should be a late round pick if he were to declare early.
Josh Robinson hasn’t gotten much love in the scouting community so far in 2014. That will probably change as soon as the Mississippi State halfback has shown that even a “bowling ball” can have quick feet and good straight-line speed. His impressive center of gravity is something that very few tailbacks have. Yet it is so necessary to succeed in the NFL since players are all so big and fast at that level. There is no way a player is going to run NFL-caliber defensive players over by running high. Talent wins in college football. Low pad wins in the NFL. Also, he appears to be the type of back that can be a workhorse. This substantially increases his value at the next level.
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