Eleven weeks into the college football season, many top players have seen their draft stock rise, fall or stay steady. In our latest NFL Draft series, we take a look at some of these prospects. Today we move to cornerback.
NFL DRAFT STOCK REPORT: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB
Recruiting: The son of former Miami cornerback Chad Wilson, the four-star picked Florida over almost the entire SEC and numerous national offers in the summer before his senior season. Wilson committed to Florida on the same day as Ermon Lane and Chris Lammons. Lane ended up at Florida State and Lammons signed with South Carolina.
Performance: Wilson has tallied three interceptions and three pass breakups to go along with 21 tackles so far this season. The Gators are allowing just 13.3 points and 155 passing yards per outing.
Farrell’s take: Wilson was a tall, athletic cornerback who was ranked in the Rivals250 but didn’t make the cut at top 10 at his position in a loaded 2014 class. Why? Because we projected him as a guy who was recruited as a corner, wanted to play corner but might have to make the move to safety because he struggled with smaller, faster guys in space. Wilson has certainly shown that’s not a problem as he continues to rise as fast as anyone on this list. Can he push past Jalen Tabor on draft boards? He’s already ahead of him on some.
Recruiting: Jackson picked USC on National Signing Day with UCLA, Florida and LSU being his other finalists. Tennessee was also a major player late in his recruitment and Oklahoma and others were considered, since Jackson is originally from the Midwest.
Performance: Jackson has 45 tackles (one for loss) with four interceptions and seven pass deflections. He’s also recovered a fumble and is coming off a standout game against previously unbeaten Washington.
Farrell’s take: Jackson was a dynamic athlete in high school who could play either side of the ball and impact special teams. His ability as a punt and kick returner at the NFL level will intrigue many, but he needs to overcome the questions about his size and ability to cover bigger receivers. However, Jackson is one of the most dynamic players in college football. We obviously loved him as our No. 1 athlete, a five-star and the No. 6 player overall in 2014 and this performance against Washington last weekend has certainly helped his stock in a big way.
STOCK STEADY
Recruiting: The five-star defensive back committed to Arizona over Alabama and others at the Under Armour All-America Game. That lasted about a week. Tabor flipped his commitment to Florida and the Gators landed the third-best cornerback in the 2014 class.
Performance: Tabor leads the Gators with four interceptions and he has totaled 20 tackles so far this season. Florida’s defense has allowed only six receiving touchdowns.
Farrell’s take: Tabor was one of the first eighth-grade prospects I scouted, but it wasn’t by choice. The kid just played at a higher level than he should have and made a name for himself on the 7-on-7 circuit by making huge play after huge play. Tabor's instincts are off the charts, similar to those of Tyrann Mathieu when it comes to being around the play. Tabor corrected some tackling issues by his senior year and, while he can bite on moves and be overly aggressive, his ball skills and length make up for most mistakes. He can lose focus at times and needs to work on consistency, but his size and skill combo have scouts still very enamored.
Recruiting: Lewis committed to Michigan at the same time as Detroit Cass Tech teammate David Dawson in the spring of his junior year. The only other offer Lewis had at the time was from Toledo.
Performance: In seven games this season, Lewis has recorded two interceptions and seven pass breakups to go along with 18 tackles. The Wolverines are only allowing 11 points and 132 passing yards per game.
Farrell’s take: It's hard to find a cornerback who played the ball better than Lewis last year and, despite missing some time early, the same can be said for this year. His instincts and ability to make a play on the ball have been up near the top of the cornerback list for a long time. We liked him quite a bit as a Rivals250 player, but of course his size was a concern. That hasn't been a problem in college because of his hops, his knack for getting his head around just in time and he's been an effective tackler as well. Lewis made some huge plays in high school and on the camp circuit, but he's taken his game to the next level in Ann Arbor.
STOCK DOWN
Recruiting: Humphrey ended up following his father’s footsteps and playing at Alabama over Florida State, his other finalist. UCLA and Mississippi State were also seriously considered. Bobby Humphrey was an All-American running back for the Crimson Tide in the 1980s.
Performance: Humphrey has picked off two passes and forced a fumble to go along with 29 tackles so far this season. He also has four pass break-ups. Alabama is giving up just about 12 points and 191 passing yards per outing.
Farrell’s take: Humphrey had good size, was long and was a confident kid coming out of high school. He was a sure tackler, very smooth in his back pedal and had natural football instincts. I remember Humphrey had a poor week of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game but shook it off and had a very good game. He’s better under the lights like that, but this season he’s let too many receivers get behind him and he’s also giving up too many easy catches in front of him. Humphrey doesn’t get targeted a ton at Alabama, but that's been happening more and more.
Recruiting: Sutton committed to Tennessee in August before his senior season and stuck with the Volunteers, but he took a late visit to Auburn and it looked like the Tigers were right in the mix. On Signing Day, Sutton stuck with the Vols.
Performance: Because of injuries, Sutton has only played in four games this season. He has 11 tackles, one interception and four pass deflections.
Farrell’s take: Sutton went from a high school prospect who wasn't a sure tackler at times and had stiff hips to a college star, but the injury this year has hurt him. He’s still a lockdown cover cornerback in the SEC and that’s a big deal, but missing so much time will hurt his stock. However, his special teams ability will still intrigue a lot of teams.