2017 NFL Draft: Week 14 Prospect Stock Report

Stock Down: Defense

Brandon Facyson (CB – Virginia Tech): As mentioned in the preview leading up to the ACC title game, Brandon Facyson has lost a step since his freshman year. He just doesn’t possess the plant and drive or closing speed needed to make a play on the football like he did in 2013.

On this play, Facyson breaks for the football and goes for the interception. He doesn’t get there in time and Deon Cain is off to the races. The play goes for 39 yards and leads to a Clemson touchdown.

There’s a lot to like about Facyson’s game, but he needs to play smarter in these types of situations. If he would have made the tackle and prevented Cain from gaining any yards after the catch, Clemson would have faced third down and about five yards to go.

Xavier Woods (SS – Louisiana Tech): Like Facyson, Woods was a little slow to the football in Louisiana Tech’s conference title game. The Bulldogs ended up losing the rematch to Western Kentucky after another poor showing by the defense.

On multiple plays, both against the run and the pass, Woods, the school’s top 2017 NFL Draft prospect, was caught out of position. On one long running play, he tried to shoot the gap inside the tackles, but the running back bounced the play outside for a big gain. In the passing game, he was unable to consistently track the receivers in his zone.

While Woods is still expected to be a late-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, this was a concerning performance. His final game will be against Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. He won’t be asked to drop into coverage too many times in this game as Navy features a heavy dose of the triple option. He will however have plenty of opportunities to display his mental processing skills and ability to stop the run.