NFL Draft: Boca Raton Bowl
College football bowl season is under way. If you are like most NFL fans, you know some players on the top college football teams but that is about it. As a Bears fan, my NFL season has been over for weeks so I’ve gotten an early start on my scouting for next year’s NFL draft.
I love watching football even if it’s games I have no rooting interest in, so over the holidays I end watching a lot of random bowl games. One thing that makes the bowl games more interesting for me is to keep an eye on players who will be drafted next season. This year I will breaking down the players who have a shot at getting drafted for most of the remaining bowl games. If you end up watching the Boca Raton Bowl, here are some players to keep an eye on.
Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall vs Northern Illinois
When: Dec. 23rd, 6 PM (EST)
Marshall
Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports
QB Rakeem Cato, SR #12 (6’1, 178, 4.68)
Scouting report: Cato may slip out of the draft altogether because of his lack of height, thin build, and inconsistent footwork, but if he were 6’5, 230 he would be a first round pick. Cato has a powerful arm and throws an accurate, catch-able ball. His sub 60% completion percentage may lead you to think he has accuracy issues, but that number is more a reflection of throwing a ton of deep passes and a lack of talent at the WR position. The rest of Cato’s numbers are awesome; Over the last three years he’s thrown 113 TDs with just 33 INTs, has thrown a TD in 45 consecutive games breaking Russell Wilson’s record of 38, and has the 2nd highest QB rating on 3rd down (135.7) in college football this season (Jameis Winston is #1).
Cato is a leader on the field who has shown the ability to read defenses correctly and make plays with his arm and legs. His lack of size is an obvious issue as is the fact that he plays almost exclusively out of the shotgun formation and hasn’t played against top competition in Conference USA. There are a lot of question marks about Cato’s ability to succeed at the next level, but he has enough talent that some team will see a Russell Wilson comparison and roll the dice late in the draft. Personally I think Cato could be a steal anywhere from round 5 on.
Projection: 6th-7th round
NFL Comparison: Seneca Wallace
DT James Rouse, SR #11 (6’5, 270, 4.93)
Scouting report – Plays NT for the Herd, but is too small for that position in the NFL. Rouse’s best position at the next level is probably at 3-tech in a 4-3 or a 5-tech in a 3-4. He is very quick of the ball and sheds blockers well, but doesn’t have the straight line speed to chase down QBs or opposing ball carriers off the edge. Rouse’s lack of a clear position will hurt his draft stock and he will need to put on weight regardless of where he plays, but his quick first step could get him drafted on day 3.
Projection: 6th-7th round
WR Tommy Shuler, SR #1 (5’7, 191, 4.48)
Scouting report – Very small for an NFL receiver, but has been extremely productive in college with 290 receptions over the last three seasons and 24 touchdowns. Shuler does almost all his work on underneath routes and would be limited to a slot receiver role at the next level. He has great hands, catches the ball away from his body, and is a sharp enough route runner to get consistently get separation. Shuler may struggle to beat press coverage against stronger DBs and may not hold up taking hits from NFL-sized players, but to his credit hasn’t had any injury issues in college. He’s a long shot to get drafted, but could sneak into the 7th round if a team thinks he can contribute on special teams as a return man.
Projection: 7th round
NFL comparison: Andrew Hawkins
Northern Illinois
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
FS Dechane Durante, SR #1 (6’2, 200, 4.56)
Scouting report – Coverage safety with good size, range and ball skills (11 career INTs). Durante draws a lot of comparisons to former Husky Jimmy Ward, but has better size and could be better against the run in the NFL. Durante consistently made big plays in NIU’s tougher non-conference games the last few seasons and could be a day 3 sleeper.
Projection: 5th-6th round