Leonard Williams is the most highly touted draft prospect to come out of USC since Reggie Bush and according to one draft expert, he’s at the top of the 2015 class.
Daniel Jeremiah is NFL.com’s top authority on the NFL Draft and he’s weighed in with his top 50 prospect rankings, now that the deadline for underclassmen to declare has passed.
According to Jeremiah, USC defensive end Leonard Williams is the top prospect in this year’s draft class.
Jeremiah says Williams is the whole package, with height, bulk and length and the ability to line up at end while also sliding inside to rush from the interior.
The conclusion Jeremiah draws is that Williams will be an impact player from Day 1.
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Williams had 80 tackles—second-most for the Trojans this season—with 9½ of them for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
Jeremiah’s top rated quarterback is Florida State’s Jameis Winston at No. 6. Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota of Oregon comes in at No. 11.
The rest of Jeremiah’s top five is Nebraska linebacker Randy Gregory, West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White, Alabama wideout Amari Cooper and Washington nose tackle Danny Shelton.
Not the sexiest group, so we’ll be hearing about basically nothing but the quarterbacks for the next three months leading up to the draft.
Winston is the only QB in Jeremiah’s top 10—and these were prospects, not his actual mock draft—with Florida linebacker Dante Fowler Jr., Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon rounding out the top 10.
Teams looking for the much-sought-after “impact quarterback” might not be wild about the draft class of 2015—Winston and Mariota are the only quarterbacks ranked in the top 50.
In his first mock draft, posted last week, Jeremiah had Winston going first overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by the Tennessee Titans taking Gregory. Fowler went third to the Jacksonville Jaguars, White went to the Oakland Raiders at No. 4 and Williams lasted until the Washington Redskins at No. 5.
Mariota was the next guy off the board in Jeremiah’s mock, going No. 6 to the New York Jets.
While I understand the concept of the mock draft, I really wonder sometimes about the sanity of the exercise.
With one trade, the whole process is blown up—such as in 2014 when the Buffalo Bills traded with the Cleveland Browns to move up to No. 4 overall in order to grab receiver Sammy Watkins.
Months of work, undone after three picks.
Or it could just be that I can only take so much ridiculous upside, loose hips, downhill runners and references to being in space before it all becomes a blur.
My lack of “it factor” will probably hurt my stock in the writers’ mock draft later this year.
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