With the draft rapidly approaching, teams are beginning to lock in on their draft targets. Having covered three defensive players and two offensive in the first edition, we will flip the script and preview three offensive and two defensive players in this piece.
Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State
Stats (2021 Season): 819 offensive snaps (500 Pass Block Snaps, 319 Run Block Snaps)
A lot of the attention in this year’s tackle class goes to Alabamas’ Evan Neal, and rightfully so. Neal is a 99th percentile athlete at the position and has performed at the highest level for the top program in the country for three years now. However, when it comes to evaluating both him and Ekwonu as NFL prospects, scouts and executives split between the two guys speaks volumes about Ekwonus’ ability.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Ekwonu has everything you would want in a franchise left tackle. His run-blocking film and overwhelming power are reminiscent of 2020 1st-round pick Mekhi Becton’s tape from his days at Louisville. NC State loved to pull Ekwonu across the formation on run plays, and it was a tough day for any defender who ended up in his path.
Ekwonu isn’t quite the athlete Neal is, but he is right there. According to Ekwonus’ Relative Atheltic Score (RAS), his composite speed grade was elite. The RAS measures a player’s athletic ability on a score from 1 to 10. Ekwonus’ 40-yard dash graded out at a 9.71, and his 10 and 20-yard splits graded out at 9.46. Don’t just take the stats words for it; Ekwonus’ film also showed off his nimble feet and the ability to maul a blocker in space.
Ekwonus’ Weaknesses and Draft Projection
His pass protection is solid but still a work in progress. He tends to overset, meaning he gives up inside leverage and leaves his inside shoulder vulnerable to pass rusher. While one of his strengths in the run game is using his long arms to latch onto rushers, this will occasionally work against him in pass sets. He will lunge and miss his contact point on rushers as they get off the line. These issues are minor in the grand scheme of things. Ekwonu clearly has the athletic ability and grit to eventually become a strong pass protector with proper development.
Ekwonu is ranked as a top-10 prospect on most experts’ boards. He is a strong candidate to go within the top-5 come draft night. Two popular landing spots for him in most mock drafts are the Texans at 3 and the Giants at 5. Ekwonu is best suited in a zone-blocking scheme, similar to the one he ran at NC State. With that being said, he will be a successful left tackle for any team he lands with on draft night.
Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson
Stats (2021 Season): 578 snaps, 326 yards allowed, 3 interceptions
After covering Cincy corner Ahmed “Sauce” Gardner in the last edition, we now switch to his counterpart at the same position in Booth. While the numbers aren’t as impressive as Gardner’s, Booth comes into the NFL from an elite college program with impressive physical traits.
Booths’ performances throughout the season were highly volatile, with elite games one week to mediocre ones the next. Let’s start with the good. His two highest graded games in coverage came against Clemsons’ non-conference SEC opponents. He finished with a 86 coverage grade against Georgia in Week 1, allowing just three receptions while matched up with elite receivers in Ladd McConkey and Jermaine Burton. Booth also finished with a 92 coverage grade against South Carolina, allowing zero receptions on four targets.
Booths’ Strong Traits on Film
Booth has a lot of great traits that every coach wants in a corner. He is quick on his feet and has very fluid hips, which keeps him latched onto receivers in coverage. Booths’ arms measured at 31.5, second to only Gardner amongst the consensus top-5 cornerbacks in this class. He has excellent anticipation on routes and closes well on receivers. There was a clear miscommunication between quarterback and receiver on this specific clip. However, don’t let that overshadow Booth’s anticipation and stellar ball skills on this interception.
His speed, physicality, and anticipation that appears in his film in coverage also translate to the run game. Booth finished the season with a 72.3 run grade, according to PFF. While that isn’t the most elite grade, his tape shows his ability to track the quarterback’s eyes and make sudden plays at the line of scrimmage. His closing speed and willingness to make a tackle in space is something coaches love to see in a corner.
Booth’s Areas of Improvement and Draft Projection
Even though there are a lot of things to like about Booth, there are still parts of his game that are a work in progress. While he shined against Georgia and South Carolina, some of his other performances weren’t as inspiring. In games against Georgia Tech, NC State, and Boston College, Booth allowed 19 receptions on 23 targets for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
At this stage in his development, Booth struggles in zone coverage. He is too comfortable letting receivers catch the ball in front of him and allowing yards after the catch. According to PFF, he allowed 149 yards after the catch this season. For comparison, Gardner allowed 83, and Trent McDuffie, another projected first-round cornerback, allowed just 25. Booth also has some injury concerns, having missed time in all three of his seasons at Clemson. Some of his more notable injuries include surgery on his right knee, knee tendinitis, and a double hernia surgery that forced him out of participating in this year’s combine.
With all of this taken into account, Booth is projected in the late first round, roughly the 20-35 range. The Chiefs (selections at 29 and 30th overall), the Cardinals (selection at 23rd overall), and the Lions (selection at 32nd overall) are all teams that could be looking for a corner in Booth’s projected range. If Booth can become more comfortable in zone coverage and overcome injury doubts, he could be an anchor of a team’s secondary for years to come.
Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
Stats (2021 Season): 66 receptions, 1106 yards, 12 total touchdowns
The wide receiver pool is full of dynamic playmakers, none more unique than Trelyon Burks. Jameson Williams from Alabama has the speed, Drake London from USC has the size, and Burks has a little bit of both. Burks can do a little bit of everything on the outside, making him a candidate to be one of the first five receivers off the board.
Burks started his college career a little slow with just 29 receptions for 475 yards his freshman year. However, with 1924 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns through his past two seasons, he has gained the attention of draft experts. On offense, his versatility as a playmaker makes him so unique. At 6’2 and 225 pounds, he is physical at the catch point and wins with power. Arkansas loved him as a deep threat, as his deep ball receiving grade was one of the best in all of college football.
Burks’s unique blend of speed, size, and strength makes him so intriguing as a prospect. A testament to his strength, he reportedly had a 380-pound bench press, 500-pound squat, and 320-pound power clean during his time at Arkansas. He is very comfortable catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage and getting yards after the catch. Burks also loved to go one-on-one with corners and win the jump ball with his frame and physicality. His tape really shows him doing it all for Arkansas.
Burks Concerns and Draft Projection
Teams may be concerned about his receiving depth and volume. 45 of 66 catches for Burks last season came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. He also didn’t face much press coverage in college, as Arkansas liked to use pre-snap motion to avoid him getting jammed at the line of scrimmage. While his tape suggests he can be a solid X receiver, he took 77% of his snaps from the slot during his three years at Arkansas. His route running also needs refinement for him to take the next step as a receiver.
Burks draft projection is difficult to measure given the other players in front of him. If Williams and London come off the board within the top-15, Burks has a good shot to go at the end of Round 1. The Chiefs would love him with one of their first-round picks, looking to replace the recently traded Tyreek Hill.
Travon Walker, DE, Georgia
Stats (2021 Season): 6 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 596 defensive snaps
From the start of the draft process, Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux have been unanimously considered the top edge prospects. However, if those two are in Tier 1, Travon Walker is in Tier 1A. His potential is so high that there are even reports of him going first overall come Thursday night.
While the stats from this past season aren’t eye-popping, scouts love Walker’s physical tools and athleticism as a prospect. At the combine, Walker measured in at 6’5 and 272 pounds. His hands clocked in at 10.75 inches and his arms measured an absurd 84.25 inches. Both measurements ranked in the 95th percentile amongst defensive ends. His 4.51 40-yard dash and 6.89 3-cone drill ranked in the 98th and 93rd percentiles, respectively. All of this is reflected in his RAS score, which was spectacular in every sense of the measurement.
Even while being thickly built at 272 pounds, Walker has remarkable fluidity and burst off the edge. He loves to use his long arms to get into the tackle’s chest pads and drive them back into the quarterback. Walker is a strong run defender and sets a great edge on run plays. Even on a consistently loaded Georgia defense, Walker’s snap count steadily increased over his three years: freshman (16.2), sophomore (22.2), junior (39.7).
Walker Film Review
Walker has some remarkable tape against SEC opponents, including a few great reps against 2021 first-round pick and current Las Vegas Raider Alex Leatherwood. He plays with incredible speed and strength, which keeps the quarterback on his toes. Watch how he uses two different rush techniques to get the Florida offensive tackle off-balance.
Walker is also a strong run defender. He explodes out of his stance and has no problem shedding offensive lineman to get to the ball carrier. Check how he moves Leatherwood off his spot and wraps up the ball carrier for a tackle. Walker also had a great tackle for loss against Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
While Vegas is predicting that Walker will be the first overall pick, it would be shocking if he ended up going before Hutchinson. He still needs a lot of refinement and development before he becomes a true superstar edge rusher. For a team like Jacksonville, which has had its fair share of draft busts in recent memory, Hutchinson seems like the safer prospect.
With that being said, Walker will almost certainly be the third edge off the board after Hutchinson and Thibodeaux. The Giants at seventh overall or the Falcons at eighth are two realistic landing spots for Walker. It appears unlikely that Walker would fall out of the top-15, even if that means a team trades up for him.
Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State
Stats (2021 Season): 1636 rushing yards, 19 total touchdowns, 90.7 rushing grade
For the last of the five, we turn to the second Walker out of the top prospects. A Heisman finalist this past season, Kenneth Walker put himself on the map with a historic season for the Spartans.
A native of Arlington, Tennessee, Walker started his career at Wake Forest. He played two seasons there, appearing in 20 games and amassing 1158 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. His 13 rushing touchdowns during his sophomore season led the Demon Deacons in that category. However, his true breakout didn’t happen until he decided to transfer to East Lansing.
Walker Scouting Report
Walker is a combination of strength and electric speed. One of the most telling stats about Walker as a prospect is his yards after contact. Out of his 1636 rushing yards this past season, 71.4% were yards after contact. Even if a tackler managed to get to Walker in the backfield, it was rare that that was the end of the run.
His 1.50 10-yard split and 4.38 40-yard dash both ranked in the 95th percentile amongst testing running backs. Walker didn’t test his 3-cone speed at the combine or his pro day, but the expectation is that those numbers would’ve been stellar too. His explosion out of cutbacks and through tacklers is second to none. His 197 rushing yards and five touchdown performance versus rival Michigan produced some of Walker’s best clips from the season. Check his long speed on the touchdown run, as well as the excellent balance and strength in the other two runs.
Walkers’ ability to make tacklers miss makes him special as a runner. He forced 89 missed tackles last season with the Spartans and tallied 159 over his three collegiate seasons. Despite being just 5’9, he has a strong center of gravity that makes him hard to bring down without significant effort.
Walker Draft Projection
Walkers’ draft projection is a little harder to predict as a running back. The league doesn’t value the running back position as highly anymore, with the earliest running back taken last season being Najee Harris at 24th overall to the Steelers. Kenneth is definitely one of the top-3 running backs in the class, with some boards even placing him at first overall. The consensus now seems like Iowa States’ Breece Hall will be the first back off the board, but Walker is still in contention.
I would expect Walker to go somewhere between picks 45-60. Some potential suitors in that range include the Eagles (51st overall), Patriots (54th overall), and the Bills (57th overall). The Bills would be a great fit, as they are already rostering Devin Singletary and Zach Moss, two backs that share the same player archetype as Walker. Given his power and explosion as a runner, Walker projects to be a solid rotational back for years to come.
