NFL Draft 2018: Updated ranking of the top 32 draft prospects entering Week 9
With only a month left until the end of college football’s regular season, the top 32 NFL Draft prospects are beginning to put together their best performances.
Week 9 of the college football season is here. It’s hard to believe that the latter stages of the regular season are upon us, but it won’t be long until bowl season starts falling into place along with the College Football Playoff. It’s also that important time of the year for the top 32 NFL Draft prospects.
With just a month left of the regular season or so, it’s important for every prospect to put their best tape together right now. This is the time of the year when players can elevate their stock with big performances.
For some players, they’re putting together great games at the perfect time. Others are beginning to struggle in a year that began with a ton of hype. Here are the top 32 NFL Draft prospects entering Week 9.
Denzel Ward
CB, Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off of a bye week with a golden opportunity. The Buckeyes have a chance to take back control of the Big Ten East and put themselves back into position for a College Football Playoff spot this week against Penn State at home.
If they’re going to pull off the victory, it’s going to take a team effort on defense. Denzel Ward is the next big Ohio State defensive prospect headed toward the NFL Draft in 2018 and some standout performances in big games are going to help.
He’s shown flashes throughout the season of just how great he can be. When he’s targeted, he has plenty of pass breakups and receivers don’t catch the ball on him. This will be his biggest week of the season however.
Penn State goes a lot deeper than just handing the ball off to Saquon Barkley. They’re going to test the Buckeyes through the air as well and Ward is going to have to win his one-on-one battles consistently again.
Dorance Armstrong
DE, Kansas
The good news for Dorance Armstrong is that he doesn’t have to worry about the disaster that is the Kansas offense affecting his draft stock. While everyone notices how painfully bad they are on offense, Armstrong is one bright spot for the team.
They might have gotten waxed as expected by TCU, but Armstrong continues to be a big player on the Kansas defense. He’s yet another defensive end that is going to see his stock rise because of pass rushing ability.
Against TCU, he finished with 8 tackles and one for a loss. He didn’t get a sack on the day, but he’ll get plenty more as the season goes on. There are plenty of other talented players that fit the same mold in this class.
Playing for a bad program like Kansas might cause him to not get as much recognition as the rest but he’s equally as talented. He’s one of those players that will have exactly a month to put together strong tape as the Kansas season only has five games remaining.