NFL Draft Watch: Melvin Gordon ascends to the top of the RB class
NFL Draft Watch is your weekly guide for college players worth keeping an eye on leading up to April's draft.
On the Rise
Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
It’s inconceivable to think that Melvin Gordon’s stock can get any higher.
Simply put, when you’ve broken LeDanian Tomlinson’s decade-plus FBS single-game record for most rushing yards in a game, you’ve immediately proven yourself worthy of a Top 15 - if not Top 10 - pick.
We know that NFL teams are wary of selecting running backs in the first-round, but with Georgia running back Todd Gurley’s unfortunate ACL injury, Gordon has become the top ball carrier in April’s draft.
Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
Say what you want about Jameis Winston, but Florida State’s controversial quarterback knows how to win games like no other.
In a game that everyone predicted would result in an upset, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner led his team back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat Miami 30-26.
Time will tell whether or not the sophomore’s off-field issues and immaturity will scare off potential NFL suitors, but his knack at winning football games coupled with his unique ability to inspire those around make him worthy of a Top 10 selection in April’s draft.
Clive Walford, TE, Miami
Before the season, many experts believed that Notre Dame’s Ben Koyack would be the first tight end selected in April’s draft. But after the game Clive Walford had against Florida State, Miami’s redshirt senior is building a strong case for himself.
Coming off a six-catch, 89-yard and two-touchdown performance against North Carolina, Walford then caught four passes for 127 yards and a touchdown against the Seminoles.
He may need to work on his blocking, but Walford’s ability to make big plays and great athleticism should make him a hot commodity come April.
David Cobb, RB, Minnesota
It’s no secret that with names like Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Ameer Abdullah, Mike Davis and Duke Johnson that April’s draft will feature one of the deepest class of running backs of the past decade. And, much like last year’s class of wide receivers, there will be plenty of value picks available in the mid-rounds.
Case in point: Minnesota’s David Cobb.
A senior from Killeen, Texas, Cobb has been a well-oiled machine for the Golden Gophers, with last week’s matchup against Ohio State serving as his coming out party.
Against the Buckeyes, Cobb rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries, which gives him 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
Not bad for a guy that many project to be drafted in the third or fourth round.
On the Decline
Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
How quickly things can change.
A few weeks ago there was no hotter name in college football than Dak Prescott, as the junior quarterback led the Mississippi State Bulldogs over LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn in consecutive weeks.
Since that stretch, Prescott simply hasn’t looked like the same quarterback against teams like Kentucky, Arkansas and, most recently, Alabama. He’s compiled a 4:6 TD-to INT ration in those three games.
Keep in mind that Prescott has gone on record saying that he would only declare for the draft if the NFL Draft Advisory Committee projected him to go in the first round, so there is a chance that he might spend another year under Dan Mullen.
Frank Clark, DE, Michigan
Michigan’s defensive end was arrested on charges of domestic violence Sunday and was promptly dismissed from the school’s football program the following day.
He’s gone from potentially going in the mid-to-late-rounds to being undrafted.