Matt Miller’s Week 5 NFL Scouting Notebook: A New QB Rising Up Draft Boards

Rivalry weekend of college football is here, and while it will be tough to top the Georgia-Tennessee game, Jourdan Lewis’ interception or the electric Clemson vs. Louisville matchup from last week, this is the right kind of weekend to stay in your house all day Saturday.

With so much going on in the college world, it means there is a lot going on in the NFL draft world as well. Which players are moving up boards? Which quarterback is moving down every week? All that, and more, this week.

Here’s what’s below:

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The Scout’s Report

— Members of the San Francisco 49ers are ready for Colin Kaepernick to take over the starting quarterback job. That’s what multiple players told me this week, as teammates are rallying behind Kap. The play of Blaine Gabbert isn’t helping matters.

— Deshaun Watson opened the college football season as the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback on most NFL draft big boards, but now multiple NFL scouts tell me they see Watson as the No. 3 passer behind Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Miami’s Brad Kaaya.

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— The Ohio State defense is rock-solid again in 2016, and that is likely to have an effect on the 2017 draft class. Two NFL scouts relayed to me this week that cornerback Gareon Conley, safety Malik Hooker and linebacker Raekwon McMillan all carry Round 1 grades. What’s notable is that one scout mentioned Conley and Hooker as top-10 players.

— Ohio State isn’t the only school loaded with talent on defense. An NFC West scout working the Southeastern Conference told me Florida has four potential first-rounders in Quincy Wilson (CB), Jalen “Teez” Tabor (CB), Caleb Brantley (DL) and Jarrad Davis (LB).

— Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey, in a press conference this week, announced he would return for his senior season and not enter the 2017 NFL draft. McGlinchey, a fringe Round 1 prospect amid a weak left tackle class, is making his announcement early, which means anything can change, but scouts I spoke to this summer felt he wasn’t a lock to leave school no matter how highly he was projected to be drafted.

— Illinois defensive end Dawuane Smoot has been on the top 20 of my big board since the season began, but an area scout I spoke to for an NFC East team said he graded Smoot in the “Round 2-3 range.” My board won’t change based on this note, but Smoot’s stock among teams might not be as high as my view of him.

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— “No f–king thanks.” That’s what an AFC Director of Player Personnel said when I asked him about Alabama edge-rusher Tim Williams. “Let me see him do something against the run. There are five guys just like him in the SEC without off-field (issues).”

     

5 Names to Know

5. QB Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina

It’s impossible to watch North Carolina junior Mitch Trubisky move around in the pocket and make gunslinger-type throws and not think you’re seeing a smaller Carson Wentz. Or at least that’s what I thought after reviewing three 2016 games and then a mashup of his 2015 snaps.

Trubisky, at 6’3″ and 220 pounds, doesn’t have Wentz’s size, but he makes similar plays in and out of the pocket, allowing his 4.6 speed to set up plays for his arm and legs. And like Wentz, Trubisky is playing mistake-free football (13 TDs, 0 INTs this year) while attacking down the field on a regular rate in the Tar Heels offense.

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He’s only started for this season while playing behind Marquis Williams the last two years, but the early read on Trubisky is first-round potential.

          

4. CB Jourdan Lewis, Michigan

Jourdan Lewis made what might be the interception of the year last week, but he was already on the NFL’s radar before that. Lewis popped last year when he picked off two passes and held opposing quarterbacks to a 36.7 completion percentage when throwing his way, per College Football Focus.

Lewis is caught up in a crowded cornerback class, but his size (5’11”, 186 lbs) and technique when coming out of breaks could push him ahead of the more raw prospects such as Marlon Humphrey of Alabama.

     

3. WR Isaiah Ford, Virginia Tech

The wide receiver class is Clemson’s Mike Williams and then everyone else fighting for positioning right now. Virginia Tech’s Isaiah Ford has a chance to solidify his standing as the second-best receiver in this class, though.

A three-year starter, Ford has NFL size (6’2″, 190 lbs) and went off last season for 75 catches and 11 touchdowns in an offense that struggled across the board. This season he’s showing more of the same as a productive deep threat and exciting yards-after-catch player.

    

2. CB Chris Jones, Nebraska

The nephew of NFL great Walter Payton, Chris Jones is starting to make a name for himself among NFL scouts.

At 6’0″ and 185 pounds, the junior cornerback has NFL size and is showing the awareness and instincts for the position early in 2016. Jones already has two picks this season and on film shows up with timing and toughness when the ball comes his way. He’s a physical tackler too and limits yards after the catch when the ball …

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