Steelers NFL Draft Prospects: College Game Day and Open Thread

Welcome to Week 10 of the college football season!

Headlined by the meeting of the Alabama Crimson Tide, currently ranked No. 1 in the country, and the No. 4 LSU Tigers. If ‘Bama wins they all but secure the SEC West.

In another SEC match up, the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs travel to Lexington to face the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats. This meeting could decide the outcome of the SEC East.

Michigan has won seven in a row after losing to Notre Dame on opening weekend. A win against a scrappy Nittany Lions team could help their chances at getting one of the four playoffs spots.

West Virginia and Texas battle it out in a Big 12 showdown with conference championship ramifications. A win by the Mountaineers and a win out makes the November 23rd meeting with Oklahoma significant. A win by Texas and a win by WVU against OU could put Texas as the conference champ.

No. 6 Georgia (-10) at No. 11 Kentucky 3:30 CBS

No. 12 West Virginia at No. 15 Texas (-2.5) 3:30 Fox

No. 14 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan (-10) 3:45 ESPN

No. 1 Alabama (-14) at No. 4 LSU 8:00 CBS

This week’s draft highlight game:

No. 12 West Virginia at No. 15 Texas (-2.5) 3:30 Fox

Texas Longhorns

Calvin Anderson #66 OT 6’5” 300

Collin Johnson #9 WR 6’6” 220

Lil’ Jordan Humphrey #84 WR 6’4” 225

Kris Boyd #2 CB 6’ 195

Longhorn Breakdown

CB Kris Boyd

I love Boyd’s feistiness and aggressiveness as a whole. Boyd is one of the best press man guys in the class and it shows. His hands are great and he bumps guys off their route often. He consistently sticks with team’s top receiver easily. He shows great ball skills, with tracking being a key, but his hands are like Ike’s. He has fluid hips and his mirroring skills are fantastic as a result of it. He processes well in zone and makes plays, or deflections on them. In run defense, he is fantastic, as he is a sure tackler and shed blocks easily.

He does need to add bulk to his upper half, as bigger bodied receivers can give him issues. Even though he is good in zone, he has a limited time playing in zone, and sometimes can lose his zone awareness, which could leave him open to a big play every now and then.

Round Grade: Early 2nd

NFL Comparison: Darius Slay

WR Collin Johnson

A huge 6’6” frame that has speed on it. He turns on the burners in the open field and it is already over. Combined with the fact that it is incredibly tough to jam him due to his fantastic footwork and strong frame, it is tough to stop Johnson. His breaks are so crisp with those fluid hips and he leaves guys on the ground at times. His contested catch ability combined with fantastic body control might be the best in the class, bar Hakeem Butler. He high points it consistently and goes all out in all areas that he possibly can to make fantastic catches. He even is a great blocker.

However, I would like to see him get more vertical more often and work out of different alignments, including the slot more. While he is fantastic with leverage, he needs to not overplay that and open up windows for overhanging safeties.

Round Grade: Mid 2nd

NFL Comparison: Robby Anderson

West Virginia Mountaineers

Will Grier #7 QB 6’1” 214

Yodny Cajuste #55 OT 6’4” 316

David Sills V #13 WR 6’3” 203

Gary Jennings #12 WR 6’ 210

Mountaineer Breakdown

QB Will Grier

Grier is going to be someone that is debated as being a first round pick, and should Justin Herbert not declare, I can see that happening. Something about Grier is that he just insanely smart. He dissects defenses at will pre-snap and post-snap, which is why I like him a decent bit. Combine that with good arm strength and you have an intriguing prospect. He just does not get bogged down in bad decision making. The guy has some really nice ball placement and makes back shoulder throws all the time. And combine that with an ability to truly extend the play from the pocket, in which he is comfortable in even under pressure, is a huge plus. His mobility reminds me of Sam Darnold’s ability to scramble and throw on the run.

However, his deep accuracy is a huge question for me. It is spotty at best, even if he gets it down there and he will consistently miss his open guys for should be touchdowns. And while he can be good at recognizing coverages, he does not manipulate with his eyes well enough to deceive as one would like. His release could be more efficient and I wish it was, as with the accuracy issue, it does tank him a bit.

Round Grade: Early 3rd Round

NFL Comparison: Chad Pennington

WR David Sills V

Sills is a big bodied receiver and plays like one through-and-through. He bullies people at the line and is not affected by press at all due to good hands and solid footwork. His release is thus impeccable and his stems always end with vertical angles, which allows him to always win the leverage battles. He knows how to win leverage in contested catch situations and makes them consistently. His smart play allows him to find soft spots in zones constantly. His hips are fluid and his breaks look quick for a man of his size, which make a route runner than one would think for his size. He always shows how aware he is of the sideline and becomes a great red zone threat, but also a threat after the catch.

However, he has the dropsies unfortunately. His hands fail him in traffic and sometimes just in the open field. Add in that his route tree is sparse and you’re looking at a guy that while a great deep threat, is limited as a receiver. He needs to add bulk to his frame as he can beat by lengthy corners and has to be schemed open as a result. He lacks the overall awareness of where the ball will be thrown and misses back shoulder throws far too often.

Round Grade: Mid 3rd

NFL Comparison: Kelvin Benjamin (with work ethic)

Sleepers

WR Keesean Johnson #3 - Fresno State

Yes, he has the same name as Keyshawn Johnson, and he is really good too. He has some stupidly fluid hips that not only allow super quick breaks, but in addition to all that, exquisite route running. He has absolute titanium hands that simply do not drop a ball in sight. He high points everything and goes up to make contested catches all the time. His awareness of the field allows him to be a fantastic sideline receiver. He knows how to use his leverage and wins with it easily. He plays with a high motor consistently and flies around giving it his all.

His athleticism is not great, and I would like to see him utilize his frame a bit more of jump catches, to make them less 50-50 and more 70-30. He is only decent at best after the catch and can be tackled rather easily.

Round Grade: Mid 3rd

NFL Comparison: Mahamed Sanu

TE Josh Oliver #89 - San Jose State

The one tight end that needs to be getting so much more attention than he is. He is a deadly receiver that can win to all parts of the field. With him being 6’5”, it is no doubt not shocking at all to see him be a great red zone threat and contested catch target. The way he uses his frame and leverage to just box everyone out is quite impressive though. He is athletic enough to go up and get the ball from just about every DB. His rounds are not fantastic but they are crisp and allow him to work out of the slot still. He is also so slippery and tough to bring down in the open field.

He is a capable blocker and shows great flashes, but lanky, raw frame that still needs filled out means he can be bullied at times. Often gets taken out of plays in chips, and needs to work on that much more. He needs to expand his route tree to become a premier NFL TE.

Round Grade: Early 3rd

NFL Comparison: David Njoku

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Tell us who you have your eye on and what games you will be tuning in to on Saturday.