NFL Draft: Week 5 Prospect Stock Report

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Aug 30, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley (78) waits between plays during the game agains the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 48-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Stock Down: Offense

Ronnie Stanley (OT – Notre Dame)

As mentioned when discussing the success of the Clemson defense, Ronnie Stanley struggled against the Tigers’ front. Shaq Lawson in particular got the best of Stanley, who is a projected top-10 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

According to CFB Film Room, Stanley had not allowed a sack, hit or hurry through the first four weeks of the season. If not for a desperation holding penalty, he would have given up a sack to Lawson. The defensive end’s combination of speed and power overmatched the left tackle as Stanley struggled to bend and move laterally. He’s still going to be a very high draft pick, but Stanley does have a couple of aspects of his game to clean up.

For an NFL team looking for tackle help early in the draft, the choice will come down to Stanley or Laremy Tunsil of Ole Miss. With Tunsil potentially sitting out the entire season due to an NCAA investigation into impermissible benefits, the decision could come down to Stanley’s play the rest of the way.

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Jacoby Brissett (QB – NC State)

For some reason, Jacoby Brissett started to gain a lot of hype just before the season started. That hype continued through the first month of the 2015 campaign as NC State started the year 4-0. The problem with that hype is that his first four opponents were Troy, Eastern Kentucky, Old Dominion and South Alabama. After the Wolfpacks’ first true test of the season, Brissett fell flat.

Louisville, despite being 1-3 coming into the game, has a fairly solid defense. They proved that by holding Brissett to just 183 yards on 16-of-28 passing. More importantly, they kept Brissett in the pocket. As a result, he was forced to beat Louisville with his arm, which he could not do.

The problem with Brissett in terms of being an NFL QB is he’s just average. He doesn’t have any elite, or even very good traits. The fascination with mobile quarterbacks has set several franchises back. The biggest reason why Johnny Manziel is considered a backup and Marcus Mariota is expected to be a very good starter is because Manziel relies on his legs first and foremost while Mariota has a pass-first mentality. Brissett will look to pass first, but his eyes drop way too early, much like former UCLA QB Brett Hundley. Without an NFL caliber arm and mental processing, a mobile QB is destined to fail.

That was the case for Brissett against Louisville. He’ll have two more opportunities against quality defenses this season. NC State will host Clemson on October 31st and travel to Florida State on November 14th. Brissett will need two good performances to even be considered a draftable prospect.

Tyler Boyd (WR – Pittsburgh)

With Kendall Fuller out for the season, Tyler Boyd was expected to feast on the Virginia Tech secondary. While cornerback Brandon Facyson is a very good number two CB, he made slowing down Boyd look easy.

Boyd struggled to create separation and was only able to gain 48 yards on five receptions. The ACC features several draftable CB prospects and Boyd will need to improve significantly if he wants to be the first WR selected in the NFL Draft. Over the next two weeks he’ll face experienced seniors Maurice Canady of Virginia and D.J. White of Georgia Tech.

Next: Draft Stock Down: Defense

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