NFL Draft Scouting Notebook: Championship Weekend

Championship weekend was incredibly interesting from a scouting standpoint. Even though a single-game shouldn’t make or break your draft profile, it’s always important to watch prospects have the opportunity to play on a big stage and see if they are able to perform despite an increased amount of pressure.

As a reminder, you can find my top 10 rankings for every position here:

• Quarterback
• Running Back
• Wide Receiver
• Tight Ends
• Interior OL
• Offensive Tackle
• Edge
• Defensive Tackle
• Linebacker
• Cornerback
• Safety

Deuce Vaughn

Running Back, Kansas State

Kansas State do-it-all weapon Deuce Vaughn went off in the Wildcats' upset win against TCU. The diminutive dynamo recording 130 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, while adding another 30 yards receiving.

At 5’6”, 176 pounds, Vaughn is far from having the size of a prototypical NFL back, but despite that, he has the versatility and game-breaking ability to be a legit weapon at the next level. The Texas native is lethal in the open field, he has a low center of gravity that makes him extremely difficult to tackle and he’s an elusive athlete who consistently puts defenders on skates. His explosiveness and long speed are also well above average, making him a threat to score big plays quite often. 

I expect Vaughn to be a late day 2 or early day 3 pick in the spring. He can help NFL offenses in so many ways as a change of pace runner, as a capable, versatile pass catcher and as a returner. Vaughn is certainly NFL material and on Saturday he displayed once again on a big stage.

Kayshon Boutte

Wide Receiver, LSU

Against a tough Georgia defense, Boutte finally looked like himself, emerging as a consistent threat at all three levels of the field and scoring an explosive big-play. That put a lot of my concerns to bed in terms of his post-injury form. He's back to having the unique combination of size and explosiveness that NFL teams covet.

Boutte has the makings of a 1st round profile: even though he has mainly played from the slot this year, while he mostly played at either X or Z in his first two seasons. The true junior possesses the traits to turn around a receiving corps at the next level. Playing his best game of the season against Georgia’s secondary was definitely a big plus. Assuming he skips their bowl game, he ended his Tigers career with a bang.

Scroll to Continue

Recommended Articles

Featured

It’s Time For Lincoln Riley To Make The NFL Jump

College Football

WATCH: UCF Coaching Search Focused on Two Candidates

College Football

WATCH: Family Has NFL Preference For Arch Manning

Kelee Ringo

Cornerback, Georgia

I recently wrote about how Kelee Ringo has looked confident and reliable down the stretch with his athleticism and technique, even though he hasn’t been tested a lot. That didn't last very long. 

The redshirt sophomore completely melted down against LSU. Both Malik Nabers and Kayshon Boutte gave him a hard time: Ringo made a couple of solid plays at the catch point but then looked all over the place in coverage. He appeared confused, his eyes were disconnected from the plays, and both Boutte and Nabers continued to produce. 

At this point it’s easy to wonder if Ringo has looked comfortable down the stretch only because he wasn't pushed very much. I believe that Ringo has fantastic physical tools that give him massive upside, but he’ll need to improve his technique, eyes and consistency in a significant way. A matchup against Ohio State’s stars Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in the playoffs will tell us even more about this.

Jalen Carter

Georgia, defensive tackle

Projected top-5 pick Jalen Carter dominated against LSU’s interior offensive line, collecting a sack and two tackles for loss while causing destruction all game long. Carter displayed his lethal arsenal of traits: impressive hand usage, tremendous power at the point of attack and explosiveness, athleticism to put consistent pressure on Jayden Daniels.

Carter could easily become one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL given how advanced his game is both in pass rush and run defense. Another big-time matchup is on the horizon as Carter will face a tough Ohio State offensive line in the playoffs, but he looks good to take on and produce against whoever offensive lineman is in front of him. Carter is a stellar talent and against LSU he prove it once again.

Cameron Rising

Utah, quarterback

Rising was tough and efficient in Utah’s upset win against USC. I’ve always thought that Rising is a really underrated prospect and despite he has been quite inconsistent down the stretch, he has stepped up in a massive way in the Big 12 Championship Game, throwing three touchdowns without turning the ball over. 

Rising is a good processor who can make throws at all three levels of the field: although he lacks elite tools, I believe he can be a great backup who can easily take on some spot starts if needed. Rising will probably end up being a late round pick and he definitely offers some value in that range.