Like every one that pays close attention to the draft, there have been a lot of players that I've gotten right, such as Kam Chancellor, Randall Cobb, Antoine Bethea, Brandon Marshall, Josh Norman, Kirk Cousins, Mike Wallace, David Johnson and others... then, there's some I've gotten completely wrong like Limas Sweed, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Taylor Mays, Glen Coffee, Ashley Lelie, James Hardy, Jarvis Moss, Chris Perry, among others. It comes with the territory. You're never gonna bat 1.000 when it comes to this shit, but you can't be any worse than Mel Kiper (*cough* Jimmy Clausen *cough*).
Here are some of my favorite players in the upcoming draft. I believe all of these guys could be steals. I'm gonna try to refrain from putting in bonafide 1st-round guys, so I'll try to just do guys that are likely to be selected from the 3rd round to the end (as it stands now... some of these guys could rise up as the draft nears, and some could fall down). For the draft enthusiasts like me, these are some players I think you need to familiarize yourself with.
Let's get it started... My favorite players of the 2019 Draft:
* RB Darrell Henderson, Memphis - Obviously, I'm from Memphis so I'm a little bit partial to Henderson, but I'm not joking when I say this: he reminds me a lot of former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. He is just lethal in the open-field and it has been a pleasure watching him play over the years. I don't know if he could be an every-down back in the NFL, as I think he would be better off in a committee approach. But, I truly believe that Henderson will be a star in the NFL. Yes, Memphis is not in a Power 5 conference but you cannot deny his godly 2018 statistics: 214 carries, 1,909 yards (8.9 YPC), 22 TD's + 19 receptions, 295 yards, 3 TD's. I don't know about y'all but those are some phenomenal stats. I really, really like his ability and think he will flourish in the NFL.
* LB Dakota Allen, Texas Tech - There are some things you just can't measure when it comes to a player. One of the things you cannot measure is heart - and that's exactly what Allen has. And he has a lot of it. If you don't know his story, I definitely recommend checking it out. He has been through a lot in his life and has continued to fight and fight, and as of right now, it appears he could be a Day 2 selection. He only played 10 games this year, so his stats weren't phenomenal, but that doesn't mean much. If put into the right situation, I believe Allen will be a tremendous LB in the NFL.
* CB Lavert Hill, Michigan - I look at Hill and I see a potential shutdown corner in the NFL. I really like his style of play, although he will likely need to put on some weight in the NFL. He is very aggressive in the passing game, and does not get called a lot for penalties. Given the right situation with a top-of-the-line secondary coach, I think we could see Hill as a perennial Pro Bowler/All-Pro.
* LB Khalil Hodge, Buffalo - The last linebacker named Khalil from Buffalo turned out to be pretty damn good too, right? The dude is just a tackling machine and reminds me a lot of a current rookie, Darius Leonard. In 3 years at Buffalo, Hodge has amassed 414 total tackles in 37 games - that is absolutely absurd. On top of that, he has added 21 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. The guy is just all over the field and that is the type of linebacker you wanna see on Sunday's. At this point, he will likely be a late Day 2 selection and whichever team ends up with his services will be getting a steal.
* WR Hakeem Butler, Iowa State - Some have him as a 2nd-round guy (like me) and some have him as a 3rd-round guy so I'm including him anyway. When watching an Iowa State game, my eyes are immediately glued to Butler. He just looks like he should be a forward in the NBA, as he stands at a whopping 6'6". He only caught 51 passes this year, but turned that into 1,126 yards (22.1 YPC). He reminds me a lot of current Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans. Just throw that shit into the air and Butler is gonna come down with it the majority of the time. There are some things he could get better at, but for the time being, he looks like an NFL WR. I truly believe he will be a star in the NFL.
* OLB Te'Von Coney, Notre Dame - One of my favorite defensive players this year, Coney is the heart and soul of the Notre Dame defense. He just makes plays. He does not have great size like your prototypical linebackers but his instincts are an A+. The last two seasons, he has registered 223 total tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. In other words, he's stellar across the board. Once it gets closer to the draft, I could see him sneaking up into the first-round but as of right now, he's a late-2nd/3rd round player. Whoever gets him is gonna be one happy franchise.
* RB Myles Gaskin, Washington - When you're looking for a running back, you always wanna look for one that has a knack for playing well in crunchtime in a close game. And that's exactly who Myles Gaskin is. Over the course of his career, he has seemingly come up huge in big moments and that's what I want from my #1 RB. He was nothing but phenomenal at Washington, seriously. 4 years, 4 1,000-yard seasons, which is absolutely absurd. 5,202 rushing yards in 4 years + 55 rushing touchdowns (21 in 2017). There are some things that he could work on, like catching out of the backfield, but as of right now, if I were a GM, he would be a top-3 RB to me. He will also need to put on some weight, as he's roughly only 185 pounds right now. But, I cannot wait to watch Gaskin on Sunday's, as he reminds me of a mixture of Sony Michel and Alvin Kamara (although he would need to get better at catching the ball out of the backfield).
* WR Stanley Morgan, Jr., Nebraska - A pedigree player, his dad also played wide receiver at the University of Tennessee and then the Patriots in the NFL. Unfortunately for Morgan, he really had no true gunslinging QB to throw him the ball while at Nebraska and because of that, his stats weren't exactly otherworldly. Despite that, he did manage to (barely) put up a 1,000 yard season this year even though Nebraska wasn't the most consistent team in the NCAA. I really, really like Morgan's upside, even though he's only 6'1" (but 200 pounds). I don't know if he will ever be a true WR1 in the NFL, but I believe he could be an extremely valuable WR2, similarly like Sterling Shepard, Pierre Garcon, Robert Woods, Nelson Agholor, and so on.
* OLB Jabari Zuniga, Florida - Every time I watched a Florida game this year, I consistently heard Zuniga's name. I find it amazing that he isn't in the upper echelon of OLB's in this draft. He was seemingly in the backfield the majority of plays. I think he is a slight project and has some things he needs to work on, but I believe he will eventually flourish in a 3-4 defense. Since he is a junior, there is a chance he could return to Florida for his senior season, so he can boost his stock. But since he hasn't announced anything, I'm including him in this. Zuniga reminds me a lot of an elite pass-rusher currently in the NFL by the name of Danielle Hunter.
* RB Josh Jacobs, Alabama - I have to include at least one Alabama player in here. Jacobs is undoubtedly one of my favorite Bama players of the Saban era. He is not your typical Bama player though, as he was not heavily recruited coming out of high school and was not a 4/5-star player. But, if there's one word I could use to describe Jacobs... it would be hungry. He was consistently hungry to make big plays, try his hardest, and prove everyone else wrong. I don't know if he would be an every-down back in the NFL, but he would be an outstanding change-of-pace back.
* DL Austin Bryant, Clemson - Bryant usually gets lost in the shuffle after Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Dexter Lawrence, but I believe it is possible that he ends up the best of the bunch. There were some games where Bryant was the most dominant out of the four Clemson defensive linemen. He has played spectacularly the past two seasons with 26.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks. He's like a mammoth out there, standing at 6'5" and 265 pounds, and would be great in a 3-4 defense. He just knows how to disrupt the backfield. As it stands right now, he's likely a Day 2 guy but it would not shock me if he moves himself up into the first round when it is all said and done.
* QB Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt - Like I said in my mock draft, I'm really not a fan of any QB in this draft and I think most of them will crap the bed in the NFL. However, there are some I like more than others and one of them is Shurmur - and yes, he's the son of the current NY Giants coach. His stats don't pop off the wall like Grier or Haskins, but he also didn't have a lot of elite talent around him like Grier and Haskins did. I view him as an incredibly raw prospect, but given the right situation, I could see him flourish.
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