NFL Draft 2018: Updated ranking of the top 32 draft prospects entering Week 11
Marcus Allen
S, Penn State
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Penn State Nittany Lions. After being the talk of college football and in the championship contender discussion, they have lost two straight and have fallen out of contention for a playoff spot.
This past week, they dropped a road game to a great Michigan State team on the rise. In the loss, the defense made some critical errors toward the end of the game that allowed the Spartans to line up for a field goal.
One of those came via Marcus Allen. The star safety had a roughing the passer call when his team could have gotten off the field. That allowed Michigan State to get close enough for the winning field goal.
That one penalty shouldn’t hurt Allen’s draft stock, but it was a day he’d like to forget altogether. He finished the afternoon with five tackles and a big penalty. He’ll gladly move onto the next game and look to rebound.
Denzel Ward
CB, Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions might as well be living the same season right now. Both suffered their second loss of the season this past week and it ended their playoff chances.
While Penn State lost a tough one to Michigan State, the Ohio State Buckeyes were blown out by Iowa in a game that wasn’t ever close. Denzel Ward had a big game the week before, but was relatively quiet in this one.
He did have a pass defensed but that was it. The good news is that his draft stock is still among the highest for cornerbacks in college and he should be taken highly, if not because of the success of those before him at the program.
He’s got the size and tangibles for the spots that coaches loved. As mentioned above, teams know what they’re getting with him. It will be interesting to see how he helps leads a defensive turnaround the rest of the way.