NFL
NFL Prospect Preview: CFP Semifinal — Peach Bowl
Here are the top prospects to watch as #1 LSU takes on #4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Sooner Sports
The four best teams in College Football have been selected by the Committee, and today they decide who moves on to fight for a National Championship in New Orleans. #1 LSU will face off against #4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl (4 P.M. ET) while #2 Ohio State will see the reigning National Champion, #3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl (8 P.M. ET).
Before the games kick off, here’s a look at the top-three 2020 NFL draft-eligible prospects from each team in order of pro potential. While several of them could potentially stay in school for an extra season, these players specifically will be targeted in the first two rounds and might not even benefit from returning to school. That does mean, however, that underclassmen like LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr will not be included, because they will not be draft-eligible until next season.
Before this season, Joe Burrow was projected as a late day-three pick after a very average junior season in which he threw just 16 touchdowns (only five interceptions) with just under 2,900 yards on 7.6 yards per attempt en route to a 10-3 record. Fast forward one year, and Burrow has completely transformed a traditionally conservative, ground-heavy LSU offense into arguably the most potent passing attack in the country. He has tripled his touchdown output from a year ago and sits just over 4,700 passing yards while going undefeated through an extremely difficult SEC schedule that has featured five top-ten matchups before today. To say his 2019 season has been special would be quite the understatement.
With the Heisman now in his trophy case and numerous school, SEC, and even Heisman voting records broken, the stage has been set for Burrow to continue making history. In order to get a chance to capture LSU’s first National Championship since 2007, the Tigers must take on a battle-tested Oklahoma program led by Heisman finalist and former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts. While LSU matches up well against the Oklahoma defense, breakout RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been battling a hamstring injury, so the Tigers may lean a bit more on Burrow and the passing attack.
While the major draft events have yet to take place (Senior Bowl, Combine, Pro Days, etc.), Burrow’s status as QB1 and likely top overall pick appear all but cemented heading into today’s matchup, especially considering the needs of the team that will own that No. 1 pick (Cincinnati). Despite Chase Young’s presence as a premier prospect, in a quarterback-driven league, a resume like Burrow’s might be too good to pass up. It will ultimately come down to which direction the Bengals want to move in, and last year’s hiring of Zac Taylor might be an indicator.
Projection: Top-2 Pick
A very important matchup to keep an eye on will be how well the LSU secondary can contain WR CeeDee Lamb, who leads the Sooners with over 1,200 yards and 14 touchdown receptions. Lamb has had a fantastic three-year career, totaling nearly 3,200 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns with three different quarterbacks.
Lamb doesn’t just put up impressive numbers, he jumps off the screen when you watch him play. Along with a great combination of size, speed, and agility, he plays with physicality and routinely makes the first defender miss. He can create separation on short, intermediate, and deep routes with quick hips and feet, even when fighting through press coverage. Lamb’s size, speed, and ball skills make him a prototypical outside threat, but Lincoln Riley has frequently utilized him in the slot as well, adding some versatility.
Projection: Top-15 Pick
LSU might field arguably the best secondary in all of college football, but Oklahoma’s offense is a handful to contain. Whether it be through the air or on the ground, QB Jalen Hurts is unquestionably one of the most explosive players in the entire country, and he is surrounded by a plethora of weapons. S Grant Delpit will have to keep an eye on Hurts as a rusher as well as his favorite target, the aforementioned CeeDee Lamb.
After a five-sack, five-interception 2018 season, Delpit’s statistical production dipped this season, causing some of the hype surrounding him to cool down. Regardless of his stats, however, Delpit is a fantastic athlete at 6’3″ with great instincts and ball skills. He was widely considered the best safety in the country coming into the season, and that has not changed. He checks all of the boxes and should test very well at the combine, it would be shocking if Delpit was not the first safety selected in April.
Projection: Top-15 Pick
On the other side of the key matchup to watch for in this game is CB Kristian Fulton, who might be able to limit Lamb’s explosiveness due to his strength in man coverage. He is comfortable in both press and off-man coverage and has great footwork and fluid hips to mirror routes. Lamb is a larger receiver, but Fulton plays with enough physicality to be able to disrupt the timing of his breaks, especially if he knows he has safety help.
In the SEC Championship Game, Georgia QB Jake Fromm didn’t challenge Fulton’s coverage until the third quarter (it was incomplete, of course). Quarterbacks are terrified to throw in his direction and some even avoid him altogether. It’s hard to imagine Jalen Hurts and Lincoln Riley being intimated to that result, but they would be wise to at least game plan around him. While he is arguably the best man-to-man corner in the entire country, he is not an incredible athlete and his ball skills could use some refinement, as he has a tendency to get handsy once he sees the ball is in the air.
Projection: Top-20 Pick
Although the common notion that the Big 12 does not play defense often rings true, several Big 12 defenders should garner first-round consideration this year including Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray. Not only does he possess good size (6’2″, 235), but he flies from sideline-to-sideline and closes in on ballcarriers in an instant. He matches up well with tight ends and can run with running backs out of the backfield, which is a necessity nowadays.
In today’s pass-heavy NFL, where most defenses line up in nickel and dime packages to counter 3-receiver sets, linebackers must have coverage ability. Murray’s combination of size, athleticism, and instincts make for an intriguing prospect because has the potential to be a true every-down linebacker. He won’t get bullied and tossed around in the run game yet he possesses the tools to further develop his coverage skills. With a strong showing against a potent passing attack like LSU and a quality performance at the combine, Kenneth Murray could continue ascending draft boards.
Projection: 2nd Round
Regardless of the game’s outcome, Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts’ remarkable journey will never be forgotten. After finding success early in his career at Alabama (reached the CFP Championship game as a freshman), he was benched for QB Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2017 National Championship, who led the Crimson Tide to a comeback victory over Georgia. After Tagovailoa suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of the 2018 SEC Championship game against the same Georgia team the very next season, it was Hurts who came in and led his own comeback. He went on to transfer to Oklahoma, where he has torn the Big 12 to shreds en route to a 12-1 record and a chance to play for a National Championship, where everything could come full circle.
Jalen Hurts’ ability to play quarterback at the next level has been doubted since his early days at Alabama, where Nick Saban relied heavily on his running backs. He isn’t afraid to use his legs (3,231 career rushing yards), which has led many to pigeon-hole him as a running quarterback, but he has continued to improve as a passer while still retaining his trump card. After molding two unorthodox transfer quarterbacks into Heisman winners and number-one overall picks the last two seasons, Lincoln Riley has done it yet again, incorporating Hurts’ strength as a runner into his wide-open, pass-heavy system. Riley’s scheme has allowed him to utilize his greatest strength while also presenting more opportunities to establish a rhythm and gain confidence as a passer, something he severely lacked at Alabama.
Projection: 1st/2nd Round
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