NFL Insider reveals five players who could be drafted higher than most people expect
Key highlights:
- On Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) - “Maybe I’m in the minority, but I have a first-round grade on him,” said one longtime NFL executive. “I don’t think the gap between him and (Oregon’s Kenyon) Sadiq is that big.”
- On Jadarian Price (Notre Dame) - “Keep an eye on Seattle (with the final pick of the first round),” said an executive from one team that is doing a lot of work on running backs.
- On Brett Thorson (Georgia) - “I’d say third-round,” one GM told me, “but somebody might seriously look at him at the end of round two, if punter is that big of a need for them.”
The singular focus of the NFL world is now on this month’s draft.
Players are deep into the process of visiting teams and clubs are weeks into their epic scouting meetings discussing these prospects. It’s all about the draft, all the time, until the selections finally begin. Now just weeks away, it’s also the period of time when it starts becoming clearer to team executives which of these incoming rookies are being viewed more favorably by teams than what is being represented in the media.
Mock drafts are notoriously wrong.
It’s an almost impossible task that is related to a largely fluid and unpredictable process. It’s bound to fail. And there are going to be players that end up being drafted far higher than expected in the pre-draft media. Longtime NFL evaluators, who have no motivation to sway or mislead me on their scouting reports and who have been valuable resources for years, agreed on several of these draft-eligible players, who are in line to hear their name called in the first-round, or, are poised to hear it shortly thereafter.
Here are some who stand out:
TE Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt)
No one is talking about him going in the first round. It’s not represented in Mock Draft Nation, anywhere. If anything, some of the hype about this entire class has seemed to dissipate since the scouting combine in February. But with the class of wide receivers less than overwhelming, Stowers’s athleticism and raw talent has a chance to thrust him into the back end of the first round. The sportsbooks don’t buy it (+850 for more than one TE to be selected on the first night of the draft), but I do. “Maybe I’m in the minority, but I have a first-round grade on him,” said one longtime NFL executive. “I don’t think the gap between him and (Oregon’s Kenyon) Sadiq is that big.”
RB Jadarian Price (Notre Dame)
Running backs aren’t en vogue anymore and teams don’t want to take them in the first round and he’s not even the best running back from Notre Dame. Sure, I’ve heard it all, too. But his former Fighting Irish teammate, Jeremiyah Love, is going to be picked in the first seven selections, and this draft isn’t nearly as loaded at the skill positions as some others. Despite being second fiddle in college, Price is viewed as a quick starter in the NFL, especially in a system that will tap into his skill receiving the football. “Keep an eye on Seattle (with the final pick of the first round),” said an executive from one team that is doing a lot of work on running backs.
P Brett Thorson (Georgia)
Yeah, a punter. But not just any punter. Teams are falling in love with this Australian and some front offices. In terms of just ranking every player in this draft with the ability to perform immediately at a Pro Bowl level - a blue chip rookie - Thorson is in that group. Of course, some teams will value a punter more than others, and geography and a roster with a limited offense that covets field position will play a role in this. But, from a pure football evaluation standpoint, this is a premier prospect. “I’d say third-round,” one GM told me, “but somebody might seriously look at him at the end of round two, if punter is that big of a need for them.”
QB Cole Payton (North Dakota)
All of the breathless chatter about Alabama QB Ty Simpson has me chuckling a bit. Many pundits are making the case about him in the first round and him being maybe even a better prospect than Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who will be the first selection. Stop it. Sometimes it’s the QB prospect no one is talking about – because the teams don’t want anyone writing or talking about him – who is actually poised to shock the public with how quickly he gets drafted. “He’s my QB 2 (second-ranked QB in the draft),” said one personnel exec, echoing what I have been hearing since before the combine from others. “He’s not in the same tier with Mendoza, but neither is Simpson. For me, North Dakota is closer to Mendoza than Alabama is to him.” Payton tested well enough at the combine and needs plenty of polishing, but so does Simpson. This kid is going to prove some people wrong, especially if he lands with a head coach who understands QB development.
QB Avieon Terrell (Clemson)
Some doubt he will be selected in the first round, but we know evaluators who have him as a top three corner in this draft. Lacks ideal size, for sure, but has elite cover skills and plays bigger than he is and has elite bloodlines, with his brother, AJ, a Pro Bowl corner and former first-round pick by the Falcons. There is a real possibility two corners are off the board within the top 12 picks, which evaluators believe can put Terrell into play in the teens. I have a really hard time thinking he’s available to start day two.