Ten Washington Football Players Rank Top 150 2017 College Football Players by NFL.com’s Chad Reuter
The Washington football team placed two players in the NFL.com top 40. And now, with the release of that full list, the team has ten players in the NFL.com’s top 150. The author of the list is none other than Chad Reuter, a six year veteran of NFL.com who has covered the NFL Draft since 2000. With the Washington Huskies football team emerging as a national power, players on the roster are getting national attention.
On one hand, Reuter took on the Herculean task of wading through all college players present and projected to arrive at the top 150 list. Nobody tackling that many names from that many schools can be expected to get it correct. On the other hand, the ranking has flaws that jump out at those who follow the Washington Huskies. But first of all, let’s examine the ranking of the ten Washington Players:
NFL.COM Washington Football Player Ranking
Rank First Name Last Name Posn
38 Jake Browning, QB,
39 Vita Vea, DT,
54 Keishawn Bierria, LB,
77 Azeem Victor, LB,
79 Myles Gaskin, RB,
83 Dante Pettis, WR,
94 Greg Gaines, DT,
101 Taylor Rapp, S,
102 JoJo McIntosh, S,
123 Trey Adams, OT,
Secondly, let’s discuss the underrated players on this list. Finally, we can discuss the pleasant surprises.
Underrated Players
The challenge to this list is the overall implications to the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft.
Now, Chad Reuter’s list ignores the class and draft eligibility of players in his list, while cross referencing to mock drafts is focused exclusively on players emerging from NCAA college football to take on an NFL career.
FanSided
So in some ways, this is an apples to oranges comparison, and that is factored in.
But even in that context of dissimilar populations, there are some rankings that simply do not line up. So far this spring, some early 2018 NFL Draft mocks have begun to spring up. In a recent FanSided mock, linebacker Azeem Victor projects as a first round selection. In similar fashion, ESPN’s Mel Kiper mocks offensive tackle Trey Adams in the first round. Thirdly, ESPN’s Todd McShay projects defensive tackle Vita Vea in round one. Washington Football players, when compared to peers and NFL needs, stand out.
Matter Of Opinion?
According to Reuter, two of three are wrong. That’s a hard sell.
Reuter has a natural bias to his rankings. Quarterbacks tended to excel in his ranking system. Three of his top five, and four of his top ten are quarterbacks. While quarterbacks tend to monopolize headlines and highlight reels, they are not as impacting as media professes.
Reuter completely misses the boat on Myles Gaskin, Azeem Victor, and Dante Pettis. But burying Trey Adams, a projected first rounder, near the bottom of the list is simply a lack of knowledge.
Dual Standards
The challenge on all Washington Huskies football players seems to be in applying ranking to similar positions.
In his rating, he awards Penn State running back Saquon Barkley the eighth spot on his list. While Barkley is certainly a capable running back, he has one more touchdown rushing and 103 fewer yards rushing over a two-year period. That equates to a difference of 71 spots on the national ranking.
Huh?
Likewise, USC linebacker Cameron Smith has 90 solo and 161 total tackles over the past two years, and is ranked 14. LB Azeem Victor has 105 solo and 163 total tackles over the past two years, and played in two fewer games. But he is ranked 77th.
Whoops!
Trey Adams Underrated
Finally, offensive tackle Connor Williams, a 6-foot-6 288 offensive tackle for the University of Texas is awarded the sixth ranking nationally. Conversely, Trey Adams, a 6-foot-8 309 pound offensive tackle for the University of Washington is projected 123rd nationally. The rub is that Adams is projected as one of the top 32 college football players in the 2018 NFL Draft.
So there are points in Reuter’s list where closer examination reveal persuasive arguments to amend the list.
Pleasant Surprises
First of all, I don’t want to give the impression that Chad Reuter is not knowledgeable. In fact, quite to the contrary. You see, Chad Reuter is one of the brighter football analysts out there. And furthermore, he actually picked up on some players who are about to have great seasons for the Washington Huskies which is not quite common knowledge.
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On one hand, Reuter projects Washington football team’s linebacker Keishawn Bierria at 54th best player in the nation, and that’s a pretty good spot for him. While I believe Victor is slightly more impactful in a football game, Bierria is that player who does everything well. He has a deceptively effective pass rush, and makes quick work of the quarterback when he gets there.
Standing 6-foot-1 at 221 pounds, Bierria is a solid player capable of physical play in the trenches. With 180 tackles over three seasons, you can look for 70 plus this year.
Safety Dance
On the other hand, he validates his ranking with the inclusion of safety Jojo McIntosh and Taylor Rapp. (Tyler Rapp in sports-reference.com) Ranked at 101 and 102, Reuter correctly reflects this duo on his list as a pair. McIntosh plays at 6-foot-1 209 pounds and Rapp measures 6-foot-0 and 202 pounds. In summary, this duo is a matched set. As a matter of fact, McIntosh is the hammer, and Rapp is the anvil.
On the Washington football team, McIntosh is the big thumper. He created 67 tackles, 40 of those solo, in 2016. His hard hitting ways jarred the ball loose twice. He even pulled down an interception.
Next: Washington Football WR Dante Pettis Leaves Passing Game In Great Hands
Meanwhile, Rapp is the anvil. He tackles, but his role is making the opponent pay the price. In that role, he recorded 51 tackles, 29 solo, in 2016. But he hauled in four interceptions as well. And so, with a big hitting hammer and a vacuum anvil playing in the defensive backfield, quarterbacks have no margin for error on their passes.
Ten of 150 isn’t bad. But upon closer review, it may have been even better.