We are coming down the final stretch of the 2020 Draft Season. The Combine is wrapped up and we are well into the Pro Day circuit. With everything wrapping up, the grades for players are starting to finalize. In this article, I will provide my current Top 50 for the players that I have final grades on.
The thing to remember is that this is an ongoing process. I do not have every player finalized at this point, so as we get closer to the draft I do expect a few players to work their way into my Top 50 as we go forward.
Before we dive into the list, I want to provide how I go about grading players. It comes down to one major factor and then two factors that I use more as tiebreakers. The major factor should come as no surprise. It is game film. The majority of my grade for each player is what they put out on film. That is what I feel the player has to offer. Not what your 40 time is after months of training or how many reps of 225 pounds you can do. When I first learned how to scout, the scout told me that when he was in the NFL they would say in late January to “Take a picture of your board because you’re going to spend the next three months messing it up.” This is why I put so much stock into the film. That is the best proof of who a player is.
The two factors that I use as tiebreakers are combine performance/medicals and floor/ceiling. If I have two players tied at a position but one dominates the combine or has the better medical checks I will slide them over the other player. As for floor/ceiling, I am more conservative when it comes to grading players and will give the nod to a player who has the higher floor over the higher ceiling because I feel there is way too much risk counting on just a player’s ceiling.
To provide a little insight into each player I have included a few strengths to help paint the picture. Now let’s get into the rankings!
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Top 50 Big Board
1. Chase Young (Edge – Ohio State)
| – Size to play 3-4 Edge or 4-3 DE |
| – Strong and heavy hands |
| – Great strength and athleticism combination |
2. Jeff Okudah (Cornerback – Ohio State)
| – Smoothest footwork and change of direction I have ever seen |
| – Great reactive athleticism |
| – Lockdown in man coverage |
3. Joe Burrow (Quarterback – LSU)
| – Rare pocket awareness and maneuverability |
| – Great leader |
| – Very good accuracy and touch to every level of the field |
4. Jedrick Wills Jr. (Offensive Tackle – Alabama)
| – Great technique and body control |
| – Strong hands and initial punch |
| – Smooth mover/ athlete |
5. Isaiah Simmons (Linebacker – Clemson)
| – Freak athleticism |
| – Most versatile player in the draft |
| – Great awareness |
6. Derrick Brown (Interior Defensive Line – Auburn)
| – Huge body; Space eater |
| – Great combination of power and burst off the line of scrimmage |
| – Can play every down and situation |
7. Jerry Jeudy (Wide Receiver – Alabama)
| – Elite route runner |
| – Good agility with the ball in his hands; good elusiveness |
| – Creates a ton of separation giving the QB a bigger target |
8. CeeDee Lamb (Wide Receiver – Oklahoma)
| – Strong hands and he really attacks the ball in the air |
| – Most dangerous with the ball in his hands; very difficult to bring down in the open field |
| – Great body control when adjusting to the ball in the air |
9. Tristan Wirfs (Offensive Tackle – Iowa)
| – Bulldozer in the run game |
| – Off the charts athleticism for his position |
| – Great at playing through the whistle and finishing his blocks |
10. Javon Kinlaw (Interior Defensive Line – South Carolina)
| – Great burst and violent hands off the line of scrimmage |
| – Can play anywhere along the defensive line thanks to his size, athleticism, and strength blend |
| – Consistently moves the line of scrimmage and collapses the pocket with his bull rush |
11. Andrew Thomas (Offensive Tackle – Georgia)
| – Position versatility; could become an All-Pro guard if tackle doesn’t work out |
| – Exceptionally long arms that he pairs with good athleticism to make him one of the better pass blockers |
| – Has good vision and feel for twists and other stunts |
12. Kenneth Murray (Linebacker – Oklahoma)
| – Very good athlete who does a really good job of shooting through gaps to stop the run |
| – Great closing speed |
| – Good level of awareness when dropping into zone coverage |
13. Tua Tagovailoa (Quarterback – Alabama)
| – Has the best touch on his throws of any draft-eligible QB |
| – Slices defenses up with his accuracy in the short to intermediate pass game |
| – Quick footwork and good athleticism when he needs it to get out of trouble |
14. Henry Ruggs III (Wide Receiver – Alabama)
| – Great play speed and agility combination |
| – Playmaker with the ball in his hands; can take it to the house at any second |
| – Creates really good separation thanks to his speed and underrated route running ability |
15. Mekhi Becton (Offensive Tackle – Louisville)
| – Mammoth of a man with the anchor and play strength to match |
| – Moves surprisingly well for a man of his size |
| – Might have the most upside at the tackle position |
16. K’Lavon Chaisson (Edge – LSU)
| – Very good bend around the corner |
| – Shows very good ankle, knee, and hip flexibility when rushing the passer |
| – Has become a disruptive pass rusher while being pretty raw, Has a lot of room to develop still |
17. Kristian Fulton (Cornerback – LSU)
| – Aggressive man to man corner, the closer he can line up to the corner the better |
| – Really nice reactive athleticism when in man coverage |
| – Great body type, thick build compared to the usual lanky cornerback |
18. Patrick Queen (Linebacker – LSU)
| – Elite recognition skills |
| – Great athleticism that he shows in his ability to cover RBs and TEs man to man and also cover a large area when he is in zone coverage. |
| – When he can shoot the gap he is great against the run. |
19. Antoine Winfield Jr. (Safety – Minnesota)
| – Most versatile safety in the class; can play all three levels of the field effectively |
| – Heat-seeking missile when he comes up to make a tackle |
| – Great range when he is playing Cover 2 or Single High |
20. CJ Henderson (Cornerback – Florida)
| – Super aggressive corner, Will press the receiver and will take chances to make plays on the ball |
| – Very loose hips that he flips easily to close on a receiver or turn and run with one. |
| – Quick twitch player who isn’t shaken off from a sharp route; very good reactive athleticism |
21. Jonathan Taylor (Running Back – Wisconsin)
| – Shows the patience to allow his blocks to set up before hitting the gap |
| – Very good size with a surprising blend of athletic traits, like speed and agility |
| – Has shown the ability to have an impact in the passing game both as a receiver and blocker. |
22. Jalen Reagor (Wide Receiver – TCU)
| – Has the ability to play in the slot and on the outside making him available on every snap. |
| – Has plenty of speed, but his best traits is his short area burst in and out of his breaks when route running. |
| – Playmaker with the ball in his hands as a receiver and as a return man. |
23. Josh Jones (Offensive Tackle – Houston)
| – Best pure pass blocker at the position this draft cycle |
| – Has the agility to handle speed rushers and the anchor to hold up against bull rushers |
| – Plays with really nice hand placement |
24. Jeff Gladney (Cornerback – TCU)
| – Very aggressive, constantly in the receivers hip pocket and battles at the catch point with even the much larger receivers. |
| – Does a really good job of reacting to the receiver in man to man |
| – Very confident player. He is slightly undersized but is always willing to battle larger receivers. Has some Jaire Alexander to him in that aspect. |
25. Tee Higgins (Wide Receiver – Clemson)
| – Jump ball, 50/50 ball specialist. |
| – Has consistently shown the ability to make catches in traffic |
| – His size is his greatest tool when it comes to creating separation. He treats it like grabbing a rebound. Boxes out and uses his length to make the catch. |
26. Justin Jefferson (Wide Receiver – LSU)
| – Mainly a slot receiver, but has the size, speed, and strength to play on the outside as well. |
| – He isn’t a super athlete, so he has had to develop very good technique when running routes and making contested catches. |
| – Uses his savvy route running to create separation. |
27. D’Andre Swift (Running Back – Georgia)
| – Swift is a compact player who has the ability to run between and outside the tackles |
| – He has really good vision with the ball in his hands both as a receiver and a runner. |
| – He can be a three-down back because he is just as much of a threat as a receiver as he is as a runner. |
28. Trevon Diggs (Cornerback – Alabama)
| – Diggs has a very high ceiling after only a couple of years of corner experience. Came into Alabama as a receiver. |
| – You can see his receiver traits coming through when you look at his ball skills. Does a good job of playing the ball in the air. |
| – Has the makings of a very good outside corner. He just needs time because he is very raw right now, but you can’t miss the potential. |
29. Xavier McKinney (Safety – Alabama)
| – He has experience of playing and succeeding at all three levels of the defense. |
| – He is best when he is playing in a deep cover two where he can show off his range and mental quickness to process what is happening. |
| – He is an overall tough player with good strength to be a factor against the run and cover TEs. |
30. A.J. Epenesa (Interior Defensive Line – Iowa)
| – Played DE at Iowa, but his traits and athletic testing suggest he will be better if he can slide inside some to 5 tech. |
| – Very strong and heavy hands. Shocks linemen with his punch. |
| – If he can consistently face guards then he has the burst, strength, and hand use to create consistent pass rush from the inside. |
31. Cam Akers (Running Back – Florida State)
| – Impressive contact balance. He had a horrible offensive line and had to create a lot of his plays on his own. |
| – Very good vision. To go with the first point, Akers made a lot of plays that didn’t seem possible at the snap of the ball. |
| – He came out of high school as one of the best RBs and it shows up in his elite size, strength, speed combination. |
32. Damon Arnette (Cornerback – Ohio State)
| – Arnette has fluid hips that allow him to recover quickly even when he is originally beat. |
| – He plays with a high level of physicality and aggressiveness. |
| – He plays with the mentality you need in a cornerback. Even if he gets beat he comes right back the next play just as physical and aggressive as he was on the previous play. |
33. J.K. Dobbins (Running Back – Ohio State)
| – Solid agility and contact balance |
| – Showed that he could handle a heavy workload despite his stature. |
| – Really like his vision for cutback lanes. Built for the outside zone. |
34. Denzel Mims (Wide Receiver – Baylor)
| – Jump ball specialist |
| – Great body control in the air when going up for the ball |
| – Great run blocker |
35. Justin Herbert (Quarterback – Oregon)
| – Prototypical size and arm strength |
| – Surprising mobility |
| – Good ability to push the ball deep. Also, he has the traits to thrive in a play action heavy offense. |
36. Yetur Gross-Matos (Edge – Penn State)
| – Great length for an edge defender; has the size to play 4-3 or 3-4 OLB |
| – Has the strength to set the edge against the run game |
| – Generates a good push with his bull rush |
37. Laviska Shenault (Wide Receiver – Colorado)
| – Playmaker when he gets the ball in his hands, turns into an RB |
| – Made for a creative offensive mind, can line up wide, in the slot, or in the backfield |
| – Makes some very impressive catches in traffic |
38. Ross Blacklock (Interior Defensive Line – TCU)
| – Pass rush specialist from the interior when he enters the league |
| – Plays well with his hands that he turns into several pass rush moves |
| – Quick twitch agility that gives IOL trouble to react in time to |
39. Eno Benjamin (Running Back – Arizona State)
| – Best traits are his vision and burst; built for the outside zone game like the Chiefs and 49ers |
| – Threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball |
| – One of the more shifty RBs in this class; very good agility and elusiveness |
40. Brandon Aiyuk (Wide Receiver – Arizona State)
| – Offers impactful return skills |
| – Didn’t test fast, but on the field, he pulls away from defenders easily |
| – Creates separation deep with his speed, but creates it with quick footwork and savvy when running short routes |
41. Lucas Niang (Offensive Tackle – TCU)
| – He played well in 2019 while dealing with a hip injury that he was compensating for until he missed the rest of the season. Tough. |
| – Plays with a nasty mentality |
| – I’m confident in him as a player. Could be a steal if he is able to return to his 2018 form after the injury. |
42. Cole Kmet (Tight End – Notre Dame)
| – The most complete tight end in the draft. |
| – Field stretcher down the seam |
| – Strong blocker, can shut down an edge pass-rushing and drive him off the ball in the run game |
43. Austin Jackson (Offensive Tackle – USC)
| – One of the best athletes available at tackle |
| – Good character, donated bone marrow to his sister that left his strength depleted for the season |
| – When he regains his strength he could become a steal if he lasts into the second round |
44. Bryce Hall (Cornerback – Virginia)
| – The string continues of potential steals because of an injury. |
| – Aggressive play style and very good at filling vs the run game |
| – I think he could switch to safety if the injury cost him any speed and still have a very successful career. |
45. Grant Delpit (Safety – LSU)
| – Looks like a Create-A-Player safety, prototypical size |
| – Has the range to cover the whole field |
| – Can shut down a tight end in man coverage |
46. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Running Back – LSU)
| – Surprising elusiveness in the hole and open field |
| – Will provide a team with a nice receiving threat |
| – Good vision that he uses to set up blocks |
47. Josh Uche (Edge – Michigan)
| – Just as comfortable rushing the edge as he is dropping into coverage |
| – Undersized, but really nice arm length to help offset his overall size |
| – Elite range for an edge defender |
48. Chase Claypool (Wide Receiver – Notre Dame)
| – Elite deep threat who wins with both size and speed |
| – Deceptive speed because of his long strides |
| – Very good ability to track the ball and adjust to it |
49. Adam Trautman (Tight End – Dayton)
| – Best receiver in the tight end class |
| – Is able to move defensive linemen when he is asked to block |
| – Creates separation through his superior size and route running |
50. Jordan Love (Quarterback – Utah State)
| – Strongest arm in the draft |
| – Mobility to buy time and pick up yards if everything is covered |
| – Always looking to make the big/winning play |
Complete early mock drafts using our free draft simulator
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Mark Johnson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mark, check out his archive and follow him @MJ_NFLDraft.
