Matt Miller’s Week 3 NFL Scouting Notebook: Kizer Rising, Anonymous Scout Q&A

It’s Friday, and if you don’t have a job (or you’re reading this while pretending to work), or you don’t have anything better to do than read this week’s Scouting Notebook. Oh boy, it’s a good one.

What’s on tap this week? An interview with an anonymous scout—talking about the best and worst players he’s seen and which school rolls out the red carpet for NFL teams. We’re also going to highlight:

The next generational talent at defensive end The linebacker NFL scouts are comparing to NaVorro Bowman An updated Top 32 Big Board Are we too quick to crown Carson Wentz? …and a look back at the top prospects playing this weekend

      

The Scout’s Report

— The NFL draft season is only a few weeks old, and already a player is emerging as the clear-cut best among prospects. That’s Texas A&M edge-rusher Myles Garrett. My spotlight on Garrett highlights his power, flexibility and quickness at the position. And at 275 pounds, one NFL scout told me he’s a “generational talent” at defensive end.

— How good is Alabama’s Reuben Foster? One area scout told me he look like NaVorro Bowman, with another calling him the “best player on (Alabama), easily.” Foster currently ranks No. 7 overall on my big board.

— The 2017 running back class is absolutely stacked with talent, but are we forgetting Royce Freeman? The Oregon offense hasn’t produced a legitimate NFL running back yet, but Freeman may be the man to break that trend. His mix of power and speed will turn heads.

— “Pass. Pass. Pass.” That’s what one NFL personnel director told me when I asked him about senior quarterbacks Chad Kelly, C.J. Beathard and Greg Ward Jr. The general feeling I’m getting from talking to scouts around the NFL is that the senior quarterback class is a weak one.

— Malik McDowell from Michigan State is getting buzz as the top defensive lineman in the class. When I asked about him in preparation for the Spartans’ test against Wisconsin, a former NFL GM told me this: “He’s not the sexiest guy out there, but if (DeForest) Buckner can go top 10, he can too. They’re very similar athletes.”

— “I would hate to need a left tackle in this class. Thankfully we got ours a few years ago.” – AFC South southeast scout on the 2017 tackle crop. I can vouch for his opinion, as no tackle ranks inside my top 20 players.

— Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has yet to break out and have a monster performance in 2016…at least if you ask a personnel director I talked to this week. “Your Jamaal Charles comparison was a good one, ’cause neither of them have done s–t this season.”

— Louisville’s DeVonte Fields is a favorite player of mine given his speed off the edge, but an NFL defensive line coach I spoke to this week noted Fields’ lean frame. “Bulk him up and risk losing the bend or teach him to play linebacker—he’s not an edge for us.” The dreaded “tweener” label may be coming for Fields, who is listed at 242 pounds.

— “Man, this tight end class is loaded. I like them more than the wide receivers,” said an NFC West scout when discussing the state of the tight end, and wide receiver, classes this year. No wideout is in my top 15 players, and just one makes the top 32 (Mike Williams, Clemson).

 

5 Names to Know

5. EDGE Charles Harris, Missouri

A redshirt junior at Missouri, Charles Harris briefly appeared on my 2016 draft big boards due to his impressive talent and get-off at defensive end. A scheme change with new coach Barry Odom had slowed Harris’ production so far this season, but then he attacked the Georgia offensive line to the tune of three sacks last weekend. Harris has the speed and bend to gain Round 1 attention as a 4-3 defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker.

       

4. CB Jourdan Lewis, Michigan

One of the nation’s top cornerbacks, Jourdan Lewis, hasn’t seen the field yet this season due to muscle strains dating back to camp. If he’s on the field this weekend against Penn State, the Wolverines will get back a ball hawk (Lewis had 20 pass breakups and two picks in 2015) with toughness to make plays from the corner in the run game. Lewis doesn’t have the size (5’11”, 186 lbs) to be a top-ranked cover man for the NFL, but he’ll be considered a very valuable slot cornerback at that size. 

         

3. FS Justin Evans, Texas A&M

A lot of time is spent talking up Jamal Adams (LSU) and Jabrill Peppers (Michigan) as the best safeties in the nation—and they are—but don’t sleep on Justin Evans at A&M. In his first year with the Aggies after transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Evans established himself as a leader, a hard-hitter and enough of a ball hawk that SEC quarterbacks won’t be testing him any time soon. He’s already a top-20 player on my board with room to rise.

              

2. WR Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington

Cooper Kupp has won awards named after Jerry Rice (FCS freshman of the year) and Walter Payton (FCS offensive player of the year), which should tell you plenty about his ability and production. Kupp has NFL size (6’2″, 205 lbs) and the hands to be a threat from the slot or outside the formation. Sure, he’s beating up lower-level competition, but Kupp’s tools are Top-50 caliber.  

          

1. LB Vince Biegel, Wisconsin

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