Missouri Tigers
2020 NFL Draft Prospects
DeMarkus Acy, CB
Career Snapshot: Three year starter for Missouri. Missed four games in 2019 due to injury. Earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2018. Led the Missouri secondary in tackles for loss in 2017, his first season as a starter.
Positives: Nice-sized cornerback who is best facing the action. Quick to flip his hips in transition, mixes it up with receivers and displays good awareness. Remains disciplined with coverage assignments, tracks the pass in the air and has a nice move to the throw. Physical, possesses a burst of closing speed and flies around the action to make positive plays. Gives effort against the run.
Negatives: Struggles to stay with receivers out of breaks. Easily blocked from the action despite his size. Has short arms and small hands.
Analysis: Acy is a solid athlete with underrated ball skills and potential for the next level. He possesses the ability to line up in dime packages and play on special teams.
Kelly Bryant, QB
Career Snapshot: Graduate transfer from Clemson who completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,215 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions. Missed one game with a hamstring injury and one game with a knee injury in 2019. One-year starter at Clemson who completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions and rushed for 665 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior in 2017. Started four games in 2018 before he lost his job to Trevor Lawrence and transferred to Missouri.
Positives: Athletic quarterback with big upside. Patient in the pocket, scans the field and buys as much time as necessary. Spreads the ball around and distributes passes to all his targets. Effectively sets up screen passes and rarely makes poor throws or forces the ball into coverage. Takes the safe underneath outlet if nothing is available downfield. Elusive, can scramble or pick up yardage with his feet. Keeps his eyes downfield when he leaves the pocket and easily gets the ball downfield.
Negatives: Slow to pull the trigger and very hesitant to deliver passes. Makes receivers wait on the ball. Throws behind and often high of his target, which leads to incompletions on catchable passes.
Analysis: After a hectic career at Clemson, Bryant transferred to Missouri and showed progress on the field last season. He’s a good athlete with a next-level arm, but he needs work from the ground up. Bryant could eventually develop into a second quarterback for an NFL team, and at the very least he’s worth a practice-squad spot this fall.
Trystan Colon-Castillo, OC
Career Snapshot: Three-year starter at center.
Positives: Tough, intelligent center who blocks with outstanding fundamentals. Bends his knees, gets leverage on opponents and keeps his feet. Quarterbacks the offensive line extremely well, keeps his head on a swivel and plays through the whistle. Stays square, works his hands and outpositions defenders from the action.
Negatives: Must improve the strength of his base. Gets pushed back into the pocket by defenders and cannot finish blocks. Average skill in motion.
Analysis: Colon-Castillo possesses the size and mentality to play at the next level, but he may never be anything other than a backup in the NFL.
Yasir Durant, OT
Career Snapshot: Junior-college transfer who started at left tackle during all three of his seasons at Missouri. Missed one game due to a neck injury in 2019.
Positives: Massive right-tackle prospect who comes with big upside. Quickly sets up off the snap, plays with an aggressive nature and works to finish blocks. Large, powerful and gets movement as a run blocker. Sets with a wide base, works to bend his knees and stays square.
Fires his hands into defenders and easily steers them from the action. Keeps his feet moving, flashes the ability to slide off the edge and makes proper use of angles. Explosive at the point of attack.
Negatives: Unrefined and inconsistent in all his techniques. Lacks footwork. Average athlete who would be ineffective in a zone-blocking scheme.
Analysis: Durant possesses the size, power and nastiness to develop into a starting right tackle, but he needs a bit of work on his game. He must improve his fundamentals and balance, but Durant comes with great upside and is worth a spot on an active roster.
Jordan Elliott, DT
Career Snapshot: Transfer from Texas who started his final season at Missouri. Made 44 tackles (8.5 for loss) with 2.5 sacks and three pass breakups as a junior in 2019. Made 24 tackles (eight for loss) with a career-high three sacks as a sophomore.
Positives: Athletic, explosive interior defensive tackle who consistently makes plays on the ball. Plays with terrific leverage and power and can be an overpowering force. Easily holds his ground and shows the ability to bull rush double-team blocks and collapse the pocket. Flashes tremendous hand technique and athleticism and solid movement skills. Consistently sheds blocks to get to the action.
Negatives: Not quick or fluid when asked to twist or stunt. Displays an average closing burst despite his 40 time at the combine.
Analysis: Elliott is a large, athletic defensive tackle who showed major development last season and comes with big upside. He needs time to further complete his game, but his size, explosion and power are great combinations to help him develop into an NFL starter.
Cale Garrett, LB
Career Snapshot: Two-year starter who played five games as a senior in 2019 and made 43 tackles (five for loss) with two sacks and three interceptions before a pectoral injury ended his season. Earned Second Team All-SEC honors and made 112 tackles (6.5 for loss) with one sack as a junior. Made 105 tackles (10 for loss) with three sacks and two interceptions as a sophomore.
Positives: Smart, instinctive linebacker who gets the most from his ability. Efficient, flows well laterally and takes good angles to the action. Remains disciplined with assignments, quickly reads and diagnoses plays and plays smart, tough football. Fires up the field to defend the run and wraps up tackling. Gets depth on pass drops.
Negatives: Average speed, slow to close and marginally effective in pursuit. Really must play in a small area.
Analysis: Garrett makes as many plays with his head and competitiveness as he does with his athleticism. He lacks the speed to play in the NFL, but he could make a depth chart as his instincts and approach to the game could help him find a spot on a roster as a backup.
Jonathan Johnson, WR
Career Snapshot: Three-year starter who caught 29 passes for 294 yards as a senior in 2019 before a shoulder injury ended his season after eight games. Set career highs with 59 receptions and 737 receiving yards and added five touchdown catches as a junior. Made 41 catches for 724 yards and a career-best six TDs as a sophomore.
Positives: Smallish, quick and explosive receiver who can also double as a return specialist. Quickly releases off the line of scrimmage and runs scissor-sharp routes that opponents struggle to stay with out of breaks. Incredibly quick, tracks the pass in the air and displays good timing. Gets vertical to make the reception and exposes himself to the big hit. Extends his hands to snatch the ball away from his frame and displays terrific hand-eye coordination. Possesses soft hands with the ability to pluck the ball from the air.
Negatives: Small and loses out in battles. Displays minimal strength. Needs space to work.
Analysis: Despite the fact that he missed the final month of the season, Johnson showed progress last year and offers possibilities as a slot receiver and return specialist at the next level.
Jonathan Nance, WR
Career Snapshot: Junior-college transfer who spent two years at Arkansas before he graduate transferred to Missouri and started his final season with the Tigers. Caught 31 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns as a senior in 2019. Made four starts for Arkansas in 2018 before he decided to redshirt and transfer. Started six games and made 37 receptions for 539 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in 2017.
Positives: Nice-sized receiver who watched his game take off last season. Comes back to the ball to make himself an available target, nicely adjusts to the errant throw and makes the reception at full speed. Uses his frame to shield away defenders and effectively blocks downfield.
Negatives: Lacks strong hands and does not pull the fastball from the air. Loses out in battles.
Analysis: Early in his college career, Nance caught my eye as a next-level prospect when he played for Arkansas. He had a bit of an up-and-down career in college, but he showed enough ability at Missouri last season to get free-agent consideration.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE
Career Snapshot: Three-year starter who earned Second Team All-SEC honors and caught 26 passes for 306 yards and six touchdowns as a senior in 2019. Earned Second Team All-SEC honors and made 29 receptions for 415 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2017. Made 43 catches for 466 yards and six TDs as a junior. Missed one game in 2019 and four games in 2018 due to shoulder injuries.
Positives: Athletic tight end who plays the position like a receiver. Smart, comes back into the clearing to make himself an available target and works across the field to follow the quarterback. Has a smooth and fluid style, nicely makes the reception on crossing patterns and adjusts to the errant throw. Extends his hands to snatch the pass away from his frame. Runs sharp routes, separates from defenders and works to keep the play in bounds and pick up yardage after the catch. Very effective whenever the ball is in his hands.
Negatives: Displays average strength and rarely finishes off opponents. Does not always play to his 40 time and shows himself to be a one-speed tight end.
Analysis: Okwuegbunam was very productive for Missouri once he stepped on the field as a freshman, when he was immediately identified as a top prospect for the next level. He has the size and athleticism to play in the NFL, but he must improve his overall strength to develop into a starting tight end.
Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms, RG
Career Snapshot: Three-year starter at right guard.
Positives: Wide-bodied blocker who is best in a small area. Sinks his butt at the line of scrimmage and starts with excellent knee bend. Explosive at the point and fires off the snap. Stays square, easily outpositions defenders from the action and plays with a nasty attitude. Quick with his hands, anchors at the point and keeps his feet moving.
Negatives: Ineffective in motion. Stiff, struggles to adjust and gets exploited by quick defenders.
Analysis: Wallace-Simms possesses next-level size, but he comes with athletic limitations and can only be used in confined quarters. He’s a throwback lineman who could be an effective backup for a conventional running offense.
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