National Football League

2017 NFL Draft Stock Watch Week 1: Who's Falling?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Which players are seeing their 2017 NFL draft stock rise after the first week of college football?

You should read this piece as if you were an investor in a hypothetical stock market looking for to stay ahead of the curve with your money. I’m going to recommend to you which “stocks” you should be selling

Deshaun Watson, QB Clemson

Personally, my stock in Watson didn’t move after his so-so performance against a marginal Auburn defense. But I have him as a high 2nd round pick right now. If you went into this season assuming Watson would a top 3 pick and could potentially be a #1 overall pick, it’s time to short that stock hard.

Watson did show me some development in his passing skills, but he was ineffective for stretches and bailed out a lot by Mike Williams and Scott. I’m sure that Watson will have his usual amazing games against creampuffs, but I just don’t see a first round pick here.

Leonard Fournette, RB LSU

He had a very good second half against Wisconsin and flashed a skill he hasn’t shown much of during that half: pass catching ability. But his pass blocking was pretty poor all game long(which might have led to the game clinching INT). He also didn’t show up when LSU needed him the most.

I still think he’s the top running back in this class, but the gap between him and McCaffrey shrunk dramatically. The caveat to this is that it’s early and Fournette will make the scouts drool at the combine, but I’m concerned about him. Wisconsin won’t be the toughest defense that the Tigers face in 2016.

Josh Dobbs, QB Tennessee

I didn’t think Dobbs was draftable headed into the season, but among his supporters in the draft community, the case for Dobbs as a prospect is that his athleticism and arm strength make him a potential Cam Newton clone. He didn’t show any of that against lesser competition when he lined up against App State.

Instead, his passing skills looked CFL worthy and he didn’t do much running mostly because he was ineffective at it. If you’re buying his stock, I don’t know what to tell you. You’re buying the stock of a prospect who doesn’t have any NFL skills.

Zach Banner, OL Southern Cal

Somewhere in time and space, Banner is still getting beaten by a series of Alabama defensive attackers. And while it’s fair to point out that there’s few defensive fronts as loaded with talent as Alabama has, Banner is going to be facing that level of competition week in and week out on Sundays.

He has amazing size, and I think that’s why he has some good draft hype about him. But when the tape is rolling, he struggled most things against Alabama: he couldn’t hold a block, struggled in space and gave up pressure all game long. The only positive I saw was when he could get his hands on a smaller defender and use that power to push him back. Some draftniks still talk of him as a 1st round pick. I think he’s a 5th round talent.

Jamal Adams, DB LSU

While Tre’Davious White had a great game against Wisconsin, his defensive backfield teammate did not. Adams looked like he was running in ice skates, not cleats. He was slow to react, slow to recover, got caught lost in space and didn’t support the run well.

For his sake, I hope that this was a matter of early season rust but I’m worried about his game right now.

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