Day three is upon us, and some big names are still on the board, ready for their NFL careers to be started, but with Shedeur Sanders being the obvious, there are two other big names who could fall further down than people may think.
Oregon’s Tez Johnson, and Arizona’s Cam Skattebo are two of the names in this year's draft who have been amongst a lot of conversations, but in some cases not for the right reasons. Despite both being massive talents, and do have clear futures in the NFL, they both are amongst some of the players in this year's class with serious physical and athletic downsides, and may be a reason they could fall so far in the draft.
Throughout last season, Oregon’s Tez Johnson wasn't spoken about as much in terms of the receiving core, but following a tough combine, and an underwhelming showing at his pro day, Johnson's physical attributes and athleticism shocked NFL scouts, and made his draft stock deplete massively. Johnson was once tipped as a third or even second round talent, and could be a great slot receiver for any team, but his numbers at the combine put him in a much lesser regard.
His speed, size, and ability to use his body on plays was a massive concern to scouts, a a horrible 40 yard time, paired with his poor ability to make deep plays due to his size made his stock deoplete rapidly, and despite now being tipped to be a fourth round talent, his concerns and woes could make him fall even more. With the NFL changing at the pace it is, and the speed needed to be elite in the league, Johnson may not be the first name on anyone's radar heading into the day three, and would need a big punt to be taken in the fourth, and could maybe even slip past the fifth.
His value in general to teams, and the low upside to his game will not make him desirable at all, and unfortunately he could be on the wrong side of luck as his numbers haven't been so kind to him.
Similarly to Johnson, Arizona’s star running back, and fan favourite Cam Skattebo could see himself slip further than he would've wanted, and could see his value as a draftee drop massively again due to athleticism issues. Skattebo has proved time and time again that he is a powerful runner and not a speedy one, but with a deep running back class, and a class of backs who are speedy and can offer more as a yard gainer, Skattebo’s third down abilities may be overlooked, and he could fall very, very low down.
Skattebowas often talked about as a consistent day two pick, and his bursts of power and energy made him a very attractive third down back. But after reflection, it seems Skattebo’s ability has a peak, and not a very high one. It is often you see some drafted players have already reached their potential, and can't quite cut it at the NFL level, and particularly with Skattebo, it seems he may have become too comfortable with being a third down back, and doesn't quite have the attributes to push hsi game any further.
Much like Johnson, Skattebo probably isn't as high value as a lot of the prospects in his field due to big concerns in his numbers and size, and in the rapidly evolving game of quick football, his blue collar style of play won't be what teams are looking for.
Despite being great players at the college level, and bringing some valuable traits to their teams, they dont look like game changers, and certainly don't look like they have the ability to push their games to the next level. Despite being elite college players, and held in high regard, it seems they could fall much further than anticipated, and fall into the category of those who just don't have the NFL ability.
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