Biggest Boom or Bust 2018 NFL Draft Prospects
5.) Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama vs Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU vs DJ Moore, WR, Maryland
-Boom: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama - Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
-Bust: DJ Moore, WR, Maryland
-Every draft nik likes to pick a favorite prospect of theirs, and bring other prospects down because of it. I\'m guilty of it too. But, instead of a universe where only one prospect at a position can be good, we exist in a fluid universe where in fact more than one prospect can be exciting. I have been hard on Calvin Ridley mostly due to his production and his performance at the combine, but Ridley is a modern NFL prospect with Size and kinda Speed. It remains to be seem how he will perform in a high power passing offense. Sutton is more athletic than Ridley and had better production at the same size, but he faced significantly worse competition. DJ Moore is a height weight speed athlete who has really improved his stock during the draft process, but I dont foresee him having a Corey Davis like rise.
4.) Lorenzo Carter, EDGE, Georgia vs Josh Sweat, EDGE, Florida State
-Boom: Lorenzo Carter, EDGE, Georgia
-Bust: Josh Sweat, EDGE, Florida State
-I wrote this in a recent article:
Sweat had a historic performance at the combine, and will definintly rise because of it. Sweat can play linebacker easily with his speed and also could set the edge on all downs. Sweat is a modern day prospect coaches salivate over.
-Right beneath of that, my writeup on Carter was "See Above". Both players are extremely athletic and exciting and fit the modern NFL. Carter, however, had significantly more college production than Sweat, who was disappointing at times for FSU.
3.) Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama vs Derwin James, S, Florida State
-Boom: Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama - Derwin James, S, Florida State
-Bust:
-Wow, two prospects can be good! Fitzpatrick is heralded as having some of the greatest football player film in recent years. His college position was basically strong safety who would shift down to cover the slot and stuff the box. Fitzpatrick was incredible at both coverage and stopping the run. His position will likely be the same in the NFL - think Honey Badger. That position has been undervalued in the NFL recently as the 49ers and Cardinals have both ditched their young players at a similar position. James is more of a rangy FS but is much more athletic than Fitzpatrick. James has the height weight and speed you want in a prospect, but his college production was sometimes disappointing. However, James position in the NFL is at much more of a premium than Fitzpatrick\'s.
2.) Marcus Davenport, EDGE, UTSA vs Harold Landry, EDGE, Boston College
Boom: Harold Landry, EDGE, Boston College
Bust: Marcus Davenport, EDGE, UTSA
- Davenport has a really good chance to be a terrific player. However, history suggests he will not succeed. Davenport surprisingly had great coaching at UTSA, with Bo Davis as his coach who was formerly a longtime Alabama DL coach. Davenport tested off the charts athletically, however I think he will be more of a Dion Jordan than a Ezekial Ansah. Landry also had terrific coaching in college, as his DL coach is now an NFL defensive coordinator. Landry was dominant in 2016 but his production took a big toll this past year. I would bet more on Landry reverting to his 2016 form than Davenport maintaining his 2017 form.
1.) Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech vs Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
Boom: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
Bust: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
-I want Edmunds to be good, too. At only 19, he has been compared to Brian Urlacher. He is extremely athletic and has the height weight and speed to succeed in the NFL. Sadly, however, I do not think he will live up to expectations. Virginia Tech has a stacked defense this past year, with Tim Settle, DL and Terell Edmunds, S and future NFL lb Andrew Motuapuaka. Edmunds was able to make amazing plays due to his athleticism but is known to have stats padded by playing behind a big NT like Settle. I fail to see Edmunds making an Urlacher like impact as a professional. Leighton Vander Esch came out of nowhere in 2017 to record film that NFL national scouts have compared to Ray Lewis. LVEs game against Oregon, according to Daniel Jermeiah, was some of the best film he had seem from an off ball LB. LVE performed better athletically than Edmunds and was 20 lbs heavier throughout a 2017 campaign that was superiror to Tremaine Edmunds.