Part I of this week’s two-part NFL Draft Watch dropped Thursday, covering the “outliers” in the 2024 class — talented prospects who don’t fit the NFL’s mold at their respective positions.
Here’s Part II, on a few prospects with big opportunities this weekend, plus a player on the rise and one who’s in need of a bounce-back effort:
Three must-see NFL prospects this weekend
1. Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M (vs. South Carolina, Noon ET, ESPN): The SEC’s leader in tackles for loss (13.5), Cooper is having a career year and leads the Aggies in tackles (45) and sacks (6.0). He is an athletic mover who stays light on his feet and utilizes his extraordinary length (34-inch arms) to work off blocks or finish tackles. Cooper is a key reason Texas A&M’s defense ranks top 10 nationally, and he has put himself in the mid-round draft conversation.
2. Zemaiah Vaughn, CB, Utah (vs. Oregon, 3:30 p.m., FOX): Over the last five years, Utah has had five defensive backs drafted. Vaughn is next in the pipeline. At 6 feet 2, 175 pounds, he is a long and lean corner with enough speed to stay on top of vertical routes. Against USC this past weekend, he gave up three catches but for zero yards. Scouts are eager to see how Vaughn, a projected Day 3 pick, matches up versus the field-stretching speed of Oregon WR Troy Franklin.
Don’t see @Utah_Football CB Zemaiah Vaughn’s (6021v, 175v, 32 7/8 arm) name out there much in draft rankings right now but he possesses one of best combos of length & speed in this year’s draft. Springy athlete should blowup Combine and his makeup speed jumps off the tape. ????… pic.twitter.com/EFO1Gknd6r
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 30, 2023
3. Jack Nelson, LT, Wisconsin (vs. Ohio State, 7:30 p.m., NBC): A potential top-100 pick, Nelson has been up and down this season, including a rough outing against Washington State and more penalties (eight) than games played (seven). But in a lot of ways he is your stereotypical Wisconsin offensive lineman: physical, strong and mean. Nelson has the dimensions to stay outside at tackle (6-7, 311, 33 3/4-inch arms), although some teams view him inside or as a swing tackle.
GO DEEPER
NFL Draft Q&A: Can Drake Maye top Caleb Williams? Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Kalen King?
Stat of the week
With today’s statistical metrics, there are so many different ways to break down quarterbacks. One of the most interesting is the percentage of a passer’s attempts that result in a first down or touchdown — basically, who is most efficiently productive with every throw.
Among draft-eligible quarterbacks, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy leads the FBS in that category at 56.0 percent, with LSU’s Jayden Daniels (52.6 percent) and USC’s Caleb Williams (48.7 percent) rounding out the top three. A few notable passers further down the list: Oregon’s Bo Nix (41.5 percent), Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman (40.8 percent), North Carolina’s Drake Maye (40.4 percent) and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (38.2 percent).
Prospect trending up …
Michigan is expected to have double-digit draft picks in April, but senior TE AJ Barner was more on the outside looking in over the summer with a priority-free-agent grade. However, that will change if he has more performances like what he put on tape versus Michigan State. After seeing 11 targets in Michigan’s first seven games, Barner moved to the big stage with nine targets last Saturday, finishing with eight catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. At 6-6, 250, the Indiana transfer has good enough speed and does a nice job expanding his catch radius to reel in McCarthy’s fastballs.
GO DEEPER
2024 NFL Draft: How Marvin Harrison Jr. would fit with the Bears, Titans, others
Prospect trending down …
There’s no way around it: Penn State junior CB Kalen King had a disastrous performance against Ohio State.
On one hand, there is no shame in losing reps to Marvin Harrison Jr., arguably the best wide receiver prospect in over a decade. On the other, it is fair for evaluators to expect better from a talented cornerback with first-round aspirations. Whether in the slot or outside, Harrison had little trouble creating separation against King, who also committed two costly penalties — one took points off the board for Penn State; another set up Ohio State near the goal line.
Again, Harrison is special and cornerbacks are going to lose reps by nature of the position, but I don’t think scouts expected this matchup to be so lopsided for the second year in a row.
Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Kalen King
The tape was even more lopsided than I expected ???? pic.twitter.com/woI0KWN8TE
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 22, 2023
Rookie revisited
My favorite part of the scouting process is learning about the journey for each prospect because they are all so different. Few have been more unique than that of QB Tyson Bagent, whom I profiled last year. Despite (surprisingly) going undrafted, the Division II product impressed in camp with the Bears and earned the start last Sunday with Justin Fields sidelined.
Six rookie quarterbacks have started a game this season, but Bagent is the only one with a win in his debut.
Here is the summary from his scouting report in the 2023 NFL Draft Guide:
A four-year starter at Shepherd, Bagent played in a spread, five-step passing game in college with RPO packages designed to stretch the defense. After spending a week in the transfer portal after the 2021 season, he turned down multiple FBS offers and returned to Shepherd for his senior year, then set the NCAA all-division record for career touchdown passes (159) and the Division II record for career completions (1,400). With his live arm and confident play style, Bagent led Shepherd to 43 wins in his 53 starts, including back-to-back 13-win seasons in his final two years. He didn’t look out of place during Senior Bowl week, but his ability to quicken his eyes, play more fundamentally sound and adjust his decision-making will be what determines if he can stick at the next level. Overall, Bagent only knows Division II defensive speed and faces a steep learning curve against NFL competition, but he has the mindset and functional physical profile worth developing. He has a chance to be the first Division II quarterback drafted since 1994.
Quotable
“When practice is done, I’ll go up and eat, and he’ll still be out there on the JUGS machine. … You should see this machine that he has. He can feed it and press a button and shoots the ball to himself. … The legacy that he’ll leave behind is his work ethic.”
— Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Marvin Harrison Jr., who is obviously an exceptional talent but also has developed a reputation as one of the hardest workers in the sport.
Quotable II
“It was frustrating. We tried to take him out of the game as much as we could, but great players are going to make great plays.”
— Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy with an honest postgame reaction to Harrison’s performance in the Buckeyes’ win.
(Photo of Kalen King: Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
2023-10-27 13:13:44
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