Ten Draft Prospects to Watch this Offseason

The Senior Bowl has wrapped up, and the Super Bowl was two weeks ago. Now we’re on to free agency and the draft with lots of quiet, down time in between. So I present to you ten names to keep an eye on heading into Pro Days. I’m fairly certain each of the names below has declared, though I’ve had mixed results with the lists I’ve found. In case you haven’t heard, the NFL put out that they won’t be doing the Combine this season. Instead they will be working with the colleges to try and make all the Pro Day testing and drills as similar as possible. The guys I list below are either currently not receiving much attention in the typical draft articles that we regular folk get to see this time of year, or they’re on the back end of those discussions squeezed in between the afterword and the end credits. A few of the names are receiving some love (Collins and Basham), but not as much as I feel they will be. And there’s one (Moehrig) who has started getting a good amount of attention, but I think he needs the pre-draft process to prove he should be getting it. Read on my soon to be football starved cohorts.

Chuba Hubbard  Position: RB  College: Oklahoma State

Reasoning: After rushing for over 2,000 yards in 2019, Hubbard fell off the face of the Earth in 2020. The fact that this draft class is pretty stacked at his position is also working against him. But it’s worth keeping in mind that Hubbard was a track star at his high school back in Canada. If he blows the top off his forty he’ll put himself back in the limelight.

Elijah Moore  Position: WR  College: Ole Miss

Dyami Brown  Position: WR  College: North Carolina

Damonte Coxie  Position: WR  College: Memphis

Reasoning: This Receiver class is loaded, maybe not as much as last year, but it’s pretty close, which means you’re going to need to standout at least a little in your athletic tests to put yourself above others. There’s been quite a bit of talk about undersized quick wideouts like Rondale Moore and Tutu Atwell. I think Elijah Moore is better than both of them and if he tests well, especially in the forty, he should come off the board before both of them.

Dyami Brown is a big play threat too. He averaged 20.1 YPR, and he offers decent height (6’1”). As of right now I think he comes off the board in the second round, with the potential to sneak into the bottom of the first. He can lock that in by showing off his athleticism leading up to the draft.

The last name on the list is Damonte Coxie. Not only did he average 16.6 YPR, he’s also right around 6’3”, if the forty matches up with his YPR, he’ll have the size/speed combo that teams covet at the position.

Kenny Yeboah  Position: TE  College: Ole Miss

Reasoning: As usual, Tight End isn’t exactly loaded. Kyle Pitts is at the top and he’s a generational talent, but behind him it’s fairly open. Pat Freiermuth would have had the #2 spot locked up, but he suffered a season ending shoulder injury, which puts his value in question and could prevent him from being able to show off before the draft. So the door is open, and I think Yeboah has the best chance of giving Freiermuth a run. Transferring to Ole Miss to play under Lane Kiffin was the best choice he could’ve made. It allowed him to show off his receiving skills (he posted 524 yards and 6 touchdowns in 7 games, plus he averaged 19.4 yards a catch). Now he just needs to show he’s above average at running and jumping.

Carlos Basham  Position: DE  College: Wake Forest

Reasoning: In case you didn’t follow anything Senior Bowl related, Basham had a great week of practices. He also followed up his 10 sack 2019 season, by logging 5 sacks in 7 games while mostly dealing with double teams. He’s not expected to blow anyone away in his athletic tests, but as long as he doesn’t completely suck in that area he has a chance to move himself up. Especially since there’s no clear-cut (or agreed upon) #1 Edge Rusher in this year’s class. If by chance his testing numbers fall closer to what Zach Allen did two years ago and A.J. Epinesa did last season he will fall. He may be walking on a tight rope right now.

Daviyon Nixon  Position: DT  College: Iowa

Jaylen Twyman  Position: DT  College: Pittsburgh

Reasoning: This D-Tackle group isn’t getting a lot of love. In many of the mock drafts I’ve read through there isn’t a DT coming off the board until the late teens. That’s where Nixon and Twyman come in. Each has one insanely productive college season under their belts (Nixon had 45 tackles, 13.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks in 8 games this season) (Twyman opted out of 2020, but he posted 41 tackles, 12 for loss and 10.5 sacks in his 2019 season). I also believe they have the ability to crush their athletic tests. I think both could launch themselves into the top 15, and one could even push for the top ten, depending on the QB draft situation of course.

Zaven Collins  Position: LB  College: Tulsa

Reasoning: Collins is already widely considered a first round pick after his big 2020 season - in 8 games he had 54 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, and returned 2 of those picks for touchdowns. All of that earned him the Bednarik award and pushed him into the first round conversation. That leads us to this point. Micah Parsons has been, and continues to be the guy everyone has labeled the #1 Linebacker in this draft. BUT, Parsons has character concerns, the biggest being that he’s a part of a lawsuit involving hazing at Penn State. If teams choose to avoid the problems Parsons could bring to the locker room, then Collins would be the best bet to benefit on draft day. Especially if he shows off at his pro day.

Trevon Moehrig  Position: S  College: TCU

Reasoning: Outside of Running Back, Safety is the most devalued position in the NFL. That means it’s tougher for them to get serious first round consideration. Moehrig is considered the top Safety this year, I’d agree with that. He’s also getting some first round love in mock drafts lately. I’m not quite there yet. His 3 interception, 10 pass deflection average over the last two seasons is very promising, but I think he needs to have a solid workout and do well in his tests at his Pro Day to become a locked in first round pick.

A little note to end this: Due to the way the NFL is handling the pre-draft process this season and how my draft board process works I will not be able to post my draft board articles or a Mock draft until April. Between now and then I will get my articles out reviewing my 2018 draft boards and the current grades that the players in that class have received. I will also try and get something out regarding free agency, but outside of that you won’t hear from me much until mid-April.