Three College Football Stars to Enter 2014 NFL Draft
Watkins is coming
off a historical Orange Bowl in a Clemson win over Ohio State. Watkins
was the Orange Bowl MVP accounting for the most yards receiving in
Orange Bowl history. He will be going to the NFL along with his teammate
Tajh Boyd, which was a senior for Clemson. Watkins will bring an
explosive style of play with him to the next level that should translate
with great success.
Thomas
was a versatile player at Oregon for the Ducks. He played running back,
receiver and even returned punts and kickoffs at times. His speed was
game breaking and was utilized extremely well in the spread attack at
Oregon. He earned the nick name “Black Mamba” in high school by rapper
Snoop Dog and it has stayed with him to this day. Thomas will be in the
mold of a Darren Sproles for the New Orleans Saints, in that he will get
chances in the kicking game, at running back and time as a receiver.
The
final junior that made the decision to forgo their senior season on
Sunday to enter the NFL Draft was Central Florida quarterback Bortles.
His stock is about as high as it can get coming off a huge upset win
over the Big 12 champion Baylor Bears in this year’s Fiesta Bowl.
Bortles showed his leadership in leading the heavy underdog Knights to a
win over the Bears and also showed he has some game as well. Bortles
has been compared to Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because of
his arm strength and sneaky play making ability by extending plays on
the ground.
Bortles could
be a last first round to early second round pick in my mind because of
the need of quality quarterbacks for so many teams in the NFL today. He
would make a nice backup for a contender or even a guy competing for a
starting job on a team that didn’t qualify for the 2013 NFL playoffs.
Bortles is likely to be in the league for many years to come because of
his arm strength, accuracy and football intelligence. He made the right
decision leaving early for the NFL because of the win over Baylor. He
will represent Central Florida very well and be a quarterback to look
out for in the near future.
All
three of these college stars have the potential to be outstanding NFL
players if they are drafted into the right situation. In the NFL, one of
the most overlooked things is what team a player is drafted to in terms
of whether it is a good fit or not. There have been a number of cases
where a player is very talented, but is drafted into a bad situation or
team that just doesn’t fit his skill set. This is always a fear for
every player and team when it comes draft day, but if these three find
the right NFL home it could be a bright future for all of them.
The
college game will certainly miss the great moments that Thomas, Watkins
and Bortles brought to the game of college football and fans. The NFL
will be receiving three great guys that are extremely productive and
exciting to watch. With the right mindset and determination going into
the NFL, we certainly will hear more from these guys in the very near
future.
0 comments:
Post a Comment