CFB Prospect Watchlist: Week 4
Some potential future help on the defensive side of the ball headlines this Prospect Watchlist!
College Football continues to role on and one of the biggest benefits to being a year-round NFL Draft fan is that the longer the season goes, the more clarity you get. Not only do prospects begin to separate themselves, new prospects emerge, new draft crushes form, and most importantly, you start to get an idea of what your favorite NFL team may be in the market for.
Take our beloved Kansas City Chiefs for example. After two weeks it’s pretty clear that the majority of attention for the NFL Draft should be shifting towards the defensive side of the ball. Yes, there are some potential concerns at WR or RB but neither are near as pressing as the entire defensive side of the ball at this point in time.
So this week’s Prospect Watch is going to focus solely on that side of the football so we can begin to daydreaming about future possibilities of this defense.
Week 4 Prospect Watchlist
Day 1 Stud
Kingsley Enagbare| EDGE
6’4” 260lbs | South Carolina | #1
Let’s keep adding long, thick defensive ends to this Prospect Watch List each week because it’s a position the Chiefs should probably be heavily considering. Enagbare certainly fits that mold and honestly looks much bigger than his listing on paper. He is looking to top his 6 sack, 7 TFL career highs he set in 2020 this year and is on his way there after an impressive display against the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend.
Enagbare has the power to match his impressive frame and plays with a certain level of violence in his hands that isn’t overly common at the DE position in college. He’s active in run defense using his power and body control to slip off and around blockers. As a pass rusher he was mostly a linear rusher in 2020 while recovering from offseason hip surgery. Early in 2021 he looks to have a little more bend around the arc and if that keeps up all year, he’s going to be comfortably in the top 32 come Draft time.
How to watch: Kentucky vs South Carolina, 6:00 PM CST, ESPN2
Potentially the marquee prospect vs prospect matchup this weekend is South Carolina vs Kentucky as Enagbare tries to best OT Darrion Kinnard of Kentucky. Kinnard is a powerhouse of a run blocker but with the Wildcats emergence of a passing game this year, Enagbare should have chances to show off his athleticism as a pass rusher in this one.
Potential Riser
Trent McDuffie | CB
5’11” 195lbs | Washington | #22
Trent McDuffie may be going under the radar heading up to the 2022 NFL Draft because of the incredibly strong CB class and Washington’s rather disappointing start. Add on his being slightly undersized - potentially closer to 5’10” than 5’11” - and there is a recipe for him to slip a little bit in the draft despite his elite athleticism.
McDuffie follows the same mold as previous Washington CBs in that his IQ, comfort in zone coverage, and tenacity are what is going to jump off the screen immediately. Something going for McDuffie is that he’s pairing all those Washington DB tropes with true top end athleticism with a vertical jump reported over 40” and a low 4.4 forty. If McDuffie can start to put more ball production on film, it would be easy to see him start to quickly climb draft boards throughout the CFB season.
How to watch: California vs Washington, 8:30 PM CST, Pac 12 Network
Playing in the Pac 12 this year, Washington isn’t likely to see a high-powered passing attack until their Bowl Game but California at least presents a competent passing attack. Averaging over 250 yards per game, California’s duo of WRs - Trevon Clark and Jeremiah Hunter - will present the kind of size mismatch McDuffie will have to excel vs in the NFL.
Local Flavor
Jalen Catalon | S
5’10” 200lbs | Arkansas | #1
One of my absolute favorite players to watch right now, Jalen Catalon is a rocket ship of a S that - to put it bluntly - has a little Bob Sanders to his game. Those are lofty claims but his ability to fly up into the alley to help in run support, then make receivers pay for crossing the middle of the field, and then to flash quality range on the back end give him a rare skillset. His size will concern some but the leader of the Razorbacks defense hasn’t backed down from anything on the football field.
Watching Catalon deliver massive hit after massive hit in 2020 was a ton of fun. He comes downhill in a hurry, with great angles, and the mentality to put players through the ground. So it was incredibly fun to see him play a deep centerfield role vs Texas to show off that versatility. At the end of the day, his best position is probably going to be as a strong safety, crashing downhill and playing physical but he may not be limited in his usage in the NFL.
How to watch: Texas A&M vs Arkansas, 2:30 PM CST, CBS
While TAMU may not have the most electric passing attack in all of CFB, they do have NFL caliber weapons at both WR and TE with Aainias Smith, Demond Demas, and Jalen Wydermyer. Seeing Catalon matched up with the TE Wydermyer especially will be a fun matchup. Even more enticing is going to be watching RB Isaiah Spiller and Catalon clashing in the open field as two physical, future NFL players try to see who comes out the superior.