2016 NFL Draft: Fox’s Big Board 2.0
By jonfox
After the combine and on the cusp of free agency, this is an update of my top 20 prospects in the NFL draft. Just one note: if there’s no comment next to the player outside the top 20, there’s nothing substantial to discuss regarding a player’s stock and you should consider his stock in my eyes to be status quo.
20. Darron Lee, LB Ohio State:(Last ranking: Not ranked). He’s been a 20-60 prospect so far(the assumption being that he would get draft somewhere between pick 20 and 60). And then he absolutely crushed his combine performance, running a 40(and 10 yard split) faster than most of the wideouts. He’s going to rise and quickly.
19. Jason Spriggs, OL Indiana(Last ranking: Not ranked). Spriggs absolutely dominated the combine and flashed the speed and quickness which has the scouts and decision makers drooling. Expect him to rise quickly.
18. Kenny Clark, DL UCLA(Last ranking: Not ranked). Clark interviewed very well at the combine and teams see him as an ideal 3 tech defensive tackle. He could rise even farther if he aces his pro day and teams that need a player like him see him as a priority.
17. Jonathan Bullard, DL Florida(last ranking: #20). There’s scouts out there who see him as a better prospect as Dante Fowler was. Fowler has better pass rush skills for certain, but these scouts love Bullard’s development and think he’ll be the better all around defensive lineman.
16. Sheldon Rankins, DL Louisville(last ranking: #17). Rankins is still the best in the amazing group of 1 tech defensive tackles. Some teams have him as a top 15 talent.
15. Mackensie Alexander, DB Clemson(last ranking: #16). Alexander showed one thing at the combine: confidence. Now he has to hope teams don’t notice his inconsistent effort.
14. Hunter Henry, TE Arkansas(last ranking: #15). While Jerrell Adams had himself a great combine, Henry did enough to secure the top tight end spot in this draft.
13. William Jackson III, DB Houston(last ranking: #14). Jackson has done enough, both at the combine and in the interviews to be a top 20 pick. Time will tell if the film pundits, who see him as better than Hargreaves III, were right about him.
12. Taylor Decker, OL Ohio State(Last ranking: Not ranked). Decker is rising after a combine where he flashed good footwork and enough quickness to play left tackle. Personally, I’d take him before Tunsil but Tunsil’s potential dwarfs Decker’s.
11. DeForest Buckner, DL Oregon(last ranking: #11). Most importantly to his draft stock, he looked the part at the combine. Teams were gobsmacked by his physical tools and he did nothing to hurt his stock.
10. Andrew Billings, DL Baylor(last ranking: #10). He ran a 5.05 at the combine, which isn’t bad for a tackle. But he did very well in the bench press and probably secured his status as a first round pick.
9. Derrick Henry, RB Alabama(last ranking: #9). He didn’t run the faster 40 time nor did he flash the freakish traits that Ezekiel Elliot did, but he looked like Eddie Lacy if he was real athlete.
8. Josh Doctson, WR TCU(last ranking: #13). Teams are getting around to watching the film of him. His great combine provoked this reexamination. He was very inconsistent at TCU but teams can work with this as long as they don’t ask him to carry a receiving corps.
7. Laremy Tunsil, OL Ole Miss(last ranking: #8). The only thing of note that happened to Tunsil’s draft stock at the combine was the revelation from Nkemdiche that Tunsil was allegedly in the hotel room where he fell out the window and then got arrested for having pot inside. Not good but shouldn’t change his stock much.
6. Emmanuel Ogbah, DL Oklahoma State(last ranking: #7). Ogbah’s combine was overwhelmingly amazing. The measurables he showed, especially his speed and quickness, are what one would expect from a decent running back or tight end. Teams are still concerned about his hip stiffness, but he could rise very quickly.
5. Vernon Hargreaves III, DB Florida(last ranking: #3). The pundits and scouts love him, the film guys hate him. He’s still a top 10 pick unless something major happens. He’s still the same dominating corner he was in college and should be a quality player in the NFL.
4. Jalen Ramsey, DB FSU(last ranking: #2). A free safety who runs a 4.41 40 time with a 41.5 inch vertical jump is going to turn some heads–even if teams saw him as a top 5 pick to began with.
3. Jared Goff, QB California(last ranking: #4). It’s empirically difficult to judge a quarterback at an event like the combine since they’re under no pressure to make a decision with a pass rush in their face. That said, Goff looked good at the combine. Especially in the passing drills and in the interviews(except during his with the Browns, but to be fair I’d tank my interview with the Browns in the hopes that they didn’t draft me).
2. Ezekiel Elliott, RB Ohio State(last ranking: #5). Not only did Elliott interview well, he checked every box in the physical drills and answered the only real question about his game(receiving) and then he announced he was going to raise money for domestic violence by selling his combine cleats. Wow.
1. Joey Bosa, DL Ohio State(last ranking: #1). He did everything he had to at the combine, but for some reason he’s falling into the 5-10 range in mock drafts. If he does drop that far, a lot of those GMs who did so are probably going to be fired for doing so.
Next: The Watchlist