California Golden Bears
2020 NFL Draft Prospects
Ashtyn Davis, S
Positives: Athletic safety who plays with an explosive style. Instinctive, smart and effectively tracks the pass in the air. Nicely times his pass defenses, plays with a nasty attitude and drives his shoulders through ball carriers. Plays with an aggressive attitude and plays within the system. Tough run defender who quickly makes his way up the field and gives effort. Displays good hand hands for the interception. Effective facing the action.
Negatives: Does not show deep speed or recovery speed despite his athletic background. Late to arrive on the scene in coverage. Not a secure tackler.
Analysis: Davis is an athletic safety who is best in a straight line and between the numbers. He lacks great range and must play in a system that uses him as a zone or strong safety.
Jaylinn Hawkins, S
Positives: Fierce safety who gets the most from his ability. Quick to read and diagnose the action, works hard and wraps up tackling. Displays a good head for the ball and shows above-average range and the ability to get to the sidelines in coverage. Quickly picks up and stays with his coverage assignments.
Negatives: Inefficient and does not always take proper angles to the action. Lacks closing and long speed.
Analysis: Hawkins is a hard-nosed defender with a terrific head for the ball, but he has average next-level speed. He comes with limitations, but he plays with a special-teams mentality and could make a roster as a fourth safety.
Evan Weaver, ILB
Positives: Explosive, hard-charging linebacker who lays it on the line every snap. Instinctive, quick to read and diagnose and plays with a great amount of suddenness. Flows well laterally to the action, plays faster than his 40 time and has a violent nature to his game. Quickly reads the action, unfolds plays before they occur and works to annihilate opponents. Displays solid range, fires up the field and sells out to make plays. Squares and wraps up tackling.
Negatives: Better up the field than in reverse. Struggles in pass coverage, slow off the line and faceguards too much. Tested poorly at the combine.
Analysis: Weaver is an instinctive, intense linebacker who sells out to make plays. He lacks great athleticism, but Weaver could be a productive linebacker at the next level in the right system.
Colorado Buffaloes
2020 NFL Draft Prospects
Delrick Abrams Jr., CB
Positives: Nice-sized cornerback with an underrated game. Strong, outmuscles opponents to defend throws and defeats blocks to make his way up the field and stop the run. Displays a terrific burst to the ball out of his plant, flashes on the scene and wraps up tackling. Fights throughout the action, shows the ability to stay with receivers downfield and plays faster than his 40 time. Relatively instinctive and nicely reads and diagnoses plays.
Negatives: Not a stout tackler. Often slow to get his head back around and locate the pass in the air. Occasionally bites on ball fakes, which leads to blown coverages. Prefers to side shuffle downfield. Stiff in reverse.
Analysis: Abrams entered the season as a priority free agent and showed some development in 2019. He possesses the size, speed and quickness to be used as a dime back who can play over the slot receiver, and he’ll be best facing the action in a zone system or backed off the line of scrimmage.
Tony Brown, WR
Positives: Sure-handed receiver who comes off a terrific campaign. Displays focus and concentration, consistently finds the soft spot in underneath coverage and adjusts to the errant throw. Uses his frame to shield away defenders, quickly transitions upfield and works to pick up positive yardage after the catch. Makes the difficult over-the-shoulder reception at full speed.
Negatives: Struggles in battles and gets outmuscled. Marginal blocker. Tested poorly at the combine.
Analysis: Brown had an inconsistent college career before he transferred to Colorado and watched his production take off last season. He’s a solid receiver, but he’s a poor athlete who must earn his wage on special teams.
Arlington Hambright, G
Positives: College left tackle who is best in a small area. Fires off the snap, works to bend his knees and generally blocks with leverage. Explosive, works his hands throughout the action and stays square. Solid position blocker who controls opponents once engaged at the point of attack. Tough and stays with assignments.
Negatives: Lacks lateral range and footwork. Must improve his use of angles. Lacks a next-level build.
Analysis: Hambright showed flashes of ability last season as a senior after a limited starting career at the college level. He’s a developmental prospect at offensive guard who should be given practice-squad consideration.
Tim Lynott, C
Positives: Tough, versatile offensive lineman who has an outstanding feel for the game. Displays great vision, sees the blitz and effectively picks up defenders. Strong, stays square and turns defenders from the action to open up running lanes. Terrific position blocker who keeps his feet moving and works to bend his knees. Effective with the shotgun snap. Quarterbacks the offensive line and makes the line calls. Quick out to the second level and squares into linebackers.
Negatives: Stiff and struggles to adjust or redirect. Lacks footwork in space. Comes with poor size and speed.
Analysis: Lynott is a hard-working blocker who can be used at several positions on the inside of the offensive line. He lacks great upside, but his intellect and intensity could help him find a roster spot as an inexpensive backup.
Steven Montez, QB
Positives: Athletic quarterback with big upside. Patient in the pocket, resilient and works to make positive plays. Remains poised under pressure, possesses a big arm and easily gets rid of the ball with a flick of his wrist. Has a quick release, airs out deep passes and gets the ball through tight windows. Elusive with the ability to escape the rush and take off upfield to pick up positive yardage with his legs. Stout, can withstand pressure and fights hard to make positive plays. Will get rid of the ball rather than take a bad sack. Effectively sets up screen throws and puts touch on passes when necessary.
Negatives: Does not consistently follow through over his top foot, which results in wayward passes. Puts the ball up for grabs into double and even triple coverage. All over the place with throws and must improve his accuracy and pass placement. Has a tendency to stare down the primary target.
Analysis: Montez presented himself as a bigtime NFL prospect during his sophomore season, but his game leveled off and even regressed in some aspects since then. Physically, he’s as complete a package as any signal caller in this draft, but Montez has shown tremendous inconsistencies in all areas of his game. He possesses great upside, but he needs work from the ground up and may need his hand held often at the next level.
Mikial Onu, S
Positives: SMU transfer who flashed next-level ability the past two seasons. Quick to read and diagnose the action, shows ability against the pass and fires up the field to defend the run. Keeps the action in front of him, takes proper angles to the action and tracks the pass in the air. Displays good recognition, plays heads-up football and works well with cornerbacks to bracket receivers over the middle of the field. Possesses good hands for the interception, shows speed both in a straight line and laterally and drives his shoulders through ball carriers.
Negatives: Easily disrupted by blocks. More of a one-speed safety. Not a secure tackler.
Analysis: Although he wasn’t invited to the combine, Onu is one of the more underrated safeties in this year’s draft. He’s a three-down defender with limitations, but he should be very effective in a zone system and on special teams.
Laviska Shenault Jr., WR
Positives: Highly rated receiver who was beset with injury the past two years. Fluidly releases off the line of scrimmage, displays a burst of speed and effectively tracks the pass in the air. Displays focus and concentration, reaches back to grab the errant throw and exposes himself to the big hit in order to come away with the catch. Tough, plays through pain and works hard in all areas. Extends his hands to make the reception away from his frame and displays both quick and strong hands.
Keeps the play in bounds after the catch. Stays low out of breaks and positions himself to make the reception. Works well with the quarterback, knows where he is on the field and displays hand-eye coordination. Effective downfield blocker. Works hard even if the play is away from him.
Negatives: Durability has been a major issue the past two years. Plays to one speed and isn’t a vertical wideout. Very streaky.
Analysis: Entering the season, many thought Shenault would be a top-15 selection in the draft if he stayed healthy and was consistently productive, but unfortunately none of that happened. He possesses great upside and has all the tools necessary to develop into a No. 2 receiver at the next level, but Shenault must display durability and consistently play to his level of ability.
Davion Taylor, OLB
Positives: Explosive run-and-chase linebacker with defensive-back speed. Shows fluid and fast lateral movement ability, covers a lot of area on the field and quickly collapses outside-in to defend the run. Works his hands to protect himself, shows incredible quickness and has a closing burst of speed. Breaks down well, builds a good amount of momentum and sells out on the blitz. Explosive, flashes on the scene and displays suddenness. Outstanding in pursuit, scrapes well laterally and fires to the action. Possesses good change-of-direction skills, fluidly flips his hips in transition and gets depth on pass drops.
Negatives: Occasionally bites on ball fakes. Easily taken from the action by blocks. Hesitant and possesses average instincts.
Analysis: Taylor is one of the more physically gifted linebackers in this year’s draft, although there are concerns about his instincts. He should be productive in a system that allows him to run to the ball, and Taylor offers possibilities as a three-down defender.
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