Who are the best pro prospects going into the college football season and, potentially, for the 2020 NFL Draft?
Contact @PeteFiutak
The 2020 NFL Draft will be a whole lot more fun than the 2019 version.
First, it’s in Las Vegas. Second, the quarterbacks in next year’s draft aren’t going be a big bag of whatever.
Who are the best pro prospects going into the college football season and who’ll get the most attention going into the 2020 NFL Draft?
The goal is to just get it close to the pin. No one had Baker Mayfield on the NFL radar two years ago, and NO ONE thought Kyler Murray would be a thing in this year’s draft.
So – not learning from the recent past – all apologies for not putting Jalen Hurts on this list.
Also, last year at this time, Stanford RB Bryce Love seemed like a sure-thing first rounder, and so did Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham.
So realizing that all this can, will, and must change wildly over the next 12 months – and there are at least another 32 players who could be on this list – going into the college football season, here are 32 of the top pro prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft.
2019 NFL Draft Prospects
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | OGs & Cs | OTs
DTs | DEs | Edge Rush | LBs | CB | Safs
– 1st Round Pick Breakdown & Thoughts
Every College Team’s 3 Greatest Draft Picks
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
32 Greatest Draft Picks of All-Time
32. WR Tee Higgins, Clemson
It’s going to be a great class of wide receivers, and the 6-4, 205-pound Higgins has the upside to push into the top 15 if he turns into Trevor Lawrence’s go-to target. He led the national champs with 59 catches for 936 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he might just do even more with Amari Rodgers going down this offseason with a torn ACL.
31. RB D’Andre Swift, Georgia (Jr.)
Compared to the 2019 NFL Draft, the class of running backs is much, much stronger. Swift has the potential to rise up and be the first one off the board with a big junior season. He’s 5-9 and 215 pounds with the hands to be a solid receiver – catching 32 passes last year – and the burst to average close to seven yards per carry in his first two seasons.
30. C/OG Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin
Arguably the most talented blocker on a line full of talented blockers last year, he was the best pro prospect on the lot. The 6-3, 318-pounder is a right-sized interior blocker who could work at guard, but should be the first center off the board. He’s going to be the tone-setting leader for the rebuilding badger front.
28. DT Lorenzo Neal, Purdue
The 6-3, 315-pounder is a force on the inside of the Boilermaker defensive front with excellent quickness, power, and toughness to hold up as a big run stopper. His stats aren’t eye-popping – 62 career tackles with four sacks and 11 tackles for loss in three seasons – but the son of the former NFL running back by the same name has the measurables.
27. CB AJ Terrell, Clemson (Jr.)
Shocker … Clemson has an NFL-sized defensive back with NFL-sized talent. The 6-2, 190-pound corner was a massive recruit for the program in 2017, and he busted out as a sophomore with 54 tackles with three interceptions, including a tone-setting pick-six against Alabama in the national championship.
26. OT Mekhi Becton, Louisville (Jr.)
Measurables, measurables, measurables. The junior is a 6-7, 355-pound monster of a blocker with just enough athleticism to work as a left tackle at the next level. He’ll need a strong season under the new coaching staff to be a dominant force for a line and offense that has to be far, far better. If he comes close to looking and playing the part this season, he could grow into a top 15 overall pick.
25. RB Najee Harris, Alabama (Jr.)
Watch out for fellow running back Brian Robinson to be in the mix, too. Josh Jacobs was selected by the Raiders as the first running back off the board with the 24th pick in the 2019 draft, but Harris ran for more yards and has just as big an upside.
The superstar 6-2, 227-pound recruit has been part of a rotation so far, but that’s a good thing – he’s going to have a ton of tread on the tires. He’ll split carries with Robinson, and the passing game will be the star, but he’s the prototype NFL running back prospect.
24. WR Ceedee Lamb, Oklahoma (Jr.)
No, he’s not the electrifying playmaker that Hollywood Brown was for the Sooners, but at 6-2 an 189 pounds, he’s a whole lot bigger and he’s every bit the deep threat. In two seasons, Lamb has averaged close to 18 yards per catch with 111 grabs for 1,965 yards and 18 touchdowns.
23. LB Anfernee Jennings, Alabama
The 6-3, 259-pounder hasn’t quite blown up statistically, but he’s got the size and speed to blossom into a killer NFL pass rusher. Hardly bad at Bama – he made 5.5 sacks with 13 tackles for loss, broke up 11 passes, and lived behind the line – this has to be his year to take his game up a few notches to roll into the late part of the 2020 first round.
22. OT Trey Adams, Washington
If Adams could’ve stayed healthy, he would’ve easily been the first tackle off the board in the 2019 draft, and he still could be a top ten pick in 2020 if all goes well. Fellow Husky Kaleb McGary might be a nastier all-around blocker – he went 31st to Atlanta – but his career is likely at guard. The 6-8, 306-pound Adams is a true tackle, but he’s coming back after missing most of last year with a knee injury.
21. DE Nick Coe, Auburn (Jr.)
Derrick Brown is the star Auburn defensive linemen for the 2020 NFL Draft, but the versatile 6-5, 291-pound Coe isn’t far behind. Either a 4-3 tackle or a 3-4 end, he grew into a pass rusher last season with seven sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. He might not be a space-eater, but he’s ultra-quick and can get into the backfield.
NEXT: The Top 20
20. WR Collin Johnson, Texas
There was a chance he would’ve been the first wide receiver taken in the 2019 NFL Draft, but he chose to come back for one more season – now he needs to blow up as Sam Ehlinger’s main man. The 6-6, 220-pounder has freakish skills and deep ball ability, catching 150 passes for 2,065 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging close to 14 yards per catch. Now it’s salary drive time.
19. RB JK Dobbins, Ohio State (Jr.)
He’s going to be an interesting call. Justin Fields will have to be the star of the Ohio State show, but the electrifying Dobbins needs more work, and he needs the ball in his hands more. The 5-10, 217-pounder can catch, he’s a two-time 1,000-yard runner, and he’s got the upside to be amazing in an NFL running back rotation.
18. TE Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri (Jr.)
It’s a relatively light class for tight ends in 2020 – at least, it looks that way now, and compared to the great group in 2019 – but the 6-5, 255-pound Okwuegbunam stands out after catching 72 passes for 881 yards and 17 touchdowns. He can stretch the field, and he’s a decent route runner, but now he has to do even more with Kelly Bryant throwing to him instead of Drew Lock.
17. DE AJ Epenesa, Iowa (Jr.)
At 6-6 and 280 pounds, he’s a huge linemen with pass rushing skills and the talent to be a whole lot better. He’ll be keyed on this year and will have to deal with being the focus of everyone’s blocking scheme, but with his size, and coming off a 37-tackle, 10.5-sack, and 16.5 tackle for loss season, the NFL upside is enormous if he can do it one more year.
16. QB Justin Herbert, Oregon
Welcome to what would’ve been the No. 6 overall draft pick to the New York Giants instead of Daniel Jones. The 6-6, 233-pounder needs to be more accurate, more consistent, and he needs to win more big game, but he’s really big, really mobile, and he’s got all the clubs in the bag to be a terrific NFL pro. He’s one massive year – if he hovers around the 70% mark and leads Oregon to a Pac-12 title – away from pushing Tua Tagovailoa for the No. 1 overall pick.
15. LB/S Isaiah Simmons, Clemson (Jr.)
Is he a massive safety at the next level, an undersized linebacker, or a tweener who gets on the field somewhere and screws everyone up? The 6-4, 225-pounder started his career in the defensive backfield, bulked up, and led the national champs with 89 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and a pick six. He can do it all … but the NFL will have to figure out what he is.
14. RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (Jr.)
The one thing that might be missing is Jonathan Taylor – if everything goes according to plan, he’ll be on track to beat fellow Badger Ron Dayne’s all-time NCAA rushing record and might return for his senior season. He’s 5-11 and 219 pounds, he runs for the Badger track team, and he already has 4,171 yards and 29 touchdowns in his two seasons. However – and it’s a potential killer – he’s got a big, big, BIG fumbling issue, especially in the red zone.
13. QB Jake Fromm, Georgia (Jr.)
The 6-2, 220-pound passing machine had NFL skills and the pro mentality from the start. Accurate enough to hit 65% of his passes so far with 54 touchdown passes and 13 picks, he’s been good enough 1) force NFL prospect Jacob Eason to transfer to Washington, 2) force No. 1 overall recruit and NFL prospect Justin Fields to transfer to Ohio State, and 3) almost beat Alabama for a national title.
12. LB Dylan Moses, Alabama (Jr.)
It just seems like he’s been at Bama for 14 years. A star recruit – even for the Crimson Tide – the 6-3, 235-pounder is what the next level is looking for in inside linebackers with speed, range, and big hitting ability. He’ll be tried out on the outside, too, coming off a big season leading the Tide with 86 tackles with 3.5 sacks and ten tackles for loss.
11. DE Chase Young, Ohio State (Jr.)
No one’s going to put him in the same category as a Bosa, but the 6-5, 265-pound pass rusher stepped up his game when Nick Bosa went down, coming up with 33 tackles with 9.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss in a massive season. Now he’s the No. 1 guy with the size and explosion off the ball to be an unstoppable force.
NEXT: The Top Ten
10. RB Travis Etienne, Clemson (Jr.)
Not just electrifying – averaging over eight yards per carry – the 5-10, 215-pounder is a tough, slashing workhorse who can make big things happen in the red zone, too. Trevor Lawrence and the passing game might get the headlines, but it was Lawrence who grounded the O with 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns, and with two touchdown catches.
9. CB CJ Henderson, Florida (Jr.)
An all-around cornerback machine, he’s a good-enough sized 6-1, 191-pound tackler who made more plays in the backfield last season with two picks and seven broken up passes. Still improving and still becoming a more polished corner, he’s already great as it. If he times in at around 4.4 or better – as expected – he’ll go in the top ten.
8. WR Jerry Jeudy, Alabama (Jr.)
Tua Tagovailoa might be a special quarterback with NFL franchise skills, but he’s also helped a whole lot by an elite receiving corps that should be the best in college football. It starts with Jeudy, a 6-1, 192-pound flash of lightning who has more than lived up to the prep hype, averaging over 19 yards per catch last season with a team-high 68 catches for 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns.
7. DT Raekwon Davis, Alabama
He was right here at the No. 7 on this list last season, and he’s right back in the same spot. Quinnen Williams might have turned into the best player on the Bama line, but the 6-7, 309-pound Davis is even more freakish.
Stats don’t mean everything on the Tide line, but he went from making 69 tackles with 8.5 sacks in 2018 to 55 tackles with 1.5 sacks last year – again, the emergence of Williams had a little to do with that. If he bounces back and dominates, he’ll be a must-have top ten pick.
6. WR Laviska Shenault, Colorado (Jr.)
It was a really, really light 2019 NFL Draft for wide receivers with just two going in the first round with no one getting the call until the 25th pick – Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown going to Baltimore. That’s not happening in 2020 as long as Shenault stays in one piece.
The 6-2, 225-pound electrifying playmaker destroyed college football with 86 catches for 1,011 yards and six scores and five rushing touchdowns in nine games, but he had a few nagging injury issues that limited him in the second half of the season.
5. OT Walker Little, Stanford (Jr.)
Everyone’s sure-thing offensive tackle prospect right out of high school, he was good right out of the box and turned into an all-star blocker over his first there seasons. At 6-7 and 313 pounds, he’s got the dream size, length and frame for n NFL tackle. He’s going to come into the league as a sound, veteran pass protector.
4. S Grant Delpit, LSU (Jr.)
CB Greedy Williams was the star of the secondary last season, but Delpit was often the better player, finishing third on the team with 74 tackles with five sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss and five picks. At 6-3 and 203 pounds, he’s got the right size for a safety, he’s a leader, can pop, and he’s all over the field as a playmaker. He’s better than Mississippi State’s Johnathan Abram (Oakland at the 24) and Maryland’s Darnell Savage (Green Bay at the 21) from the 2019 draft.
3. OT Andrew Thomas, Georgia (Jr.)
It was a mediocre and light year of offensive tackles in the 2019 draft – Thomas would’ve been the first one off the board. The 6-5, 320-pounder is a true left tackle with the perfect size, frame and length. A good recruit, he has blossomed to a whole other level – he’ll be in charge of keeping Jake Fromm in one piece.
2. DT Derrick Brown, Auburn
A good-sized 6-5, 318-pound is the type of big interior force everyone is looking for. He might not be Quinnen Williams or Ed Oliver, but he would’ve likely been a top 15 overall pick in the 2019 draft. His draft stock should go up as the star on a strong Tiger line – making 48 tackles with 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss last year – as one of college football’s top interior pass rushers.
1. QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama (Jr.)
Get ready for the Tank For Tua campaign to be a thing in the upcoming NFL season – followed up by Tank For Trevor, when Mr. Lawrence of Clemson is available in 2021.
Tagovailoa isn’t all that big, but the 6-1, 218-pounder has unteachable accuracy, amazing playmaking ability, and with a calm, cool demeanor that doesn’t get rattled. He’s got the arm, he has the mobility, and he has the downfield bombing skills to take any NFL offense up a few notches.
Can he stay in one piece? He had a few bumps and bruises, but he still managed to come up with a historic campaign – even if it ended with a thud.
Don’t overthink this, scouting world. He would’ve been the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he’s the top guy for next April, too.
