Cal Football Countdown: Four Days, Draft Prospects
With 4 days left on the countdown, today we are going to gaze past UC Davis, past USC, and into next April, when we are projected to have a batch of players entering into the NFL:
Over the last decade, the number of draftees from out of Berkeley has gone as follows:
2010 – 3: Tyson Alualu, Jahvid Best, Syd’quan Thompson
2011 – 4: Cam Jordan, Shane Vereen, Chris Conte, Mike Mohamed
2012 – 6: Mitchell Schwartz, Mychal Kendricks, Bryan Anger, Marvin Jones, D.J. Campbell, Trevor Guyton
2013 – 4: Keenan Allen, Brian Schwenke, Steve Williams, Marc Anthony
2014 – 2: Richard Rodgers, Khairi Fortt
2015 – 0
2016 – 4: Jared Goff, Trevor Davis, Daniel Lasco, Kenny Lawler
2017 – 3: Davis Webb, Chad Hansen, Khalfani Muhammad
2018 – 2: Devante Downs, James Looney
2019 - 0
That makes a tidy average of 2.6 (with a median of 3). The real question at the heart of this column, though, is just how many 2020 Pro Bears are there on the roster?
At this point, it feels like this group should be no worse than the 2016 or 2013 classes in terms of future NFLers, with a pretty decent shot at even surpassing 2012.
As close to a lock as you can get:
Ashtyn Davis – Long, rangy, physical, and ball-hawking. Perfect for today’s NFL. The high end projection on him is first rounder at the moment, and no later than day two.
Evan Weaver – The leader of the Cal defense. Non-stop motor. Reads the field well, plays violently. Will produce tremendous numbers regardless, and lost some weight this offseason in an effort to shore up his work in pass coverage, which is already quite good for the ILB slot. Projection range is pretty much the same as Davis at this point. (Also equally important, Devante Downs showed all these same skills with a long injury history and still got drafted, which bodes better for Weaver.)
Cam Bynum – Another long-framed guy that NFL scouts will love. Tremendously intelligent, technician. Stock will rise depending on what he runs in Indianapolis next year, and whether he can address his biggest area of improvement regarding bigger, more physical receivers.
Elijah Hicks – Most of the above applies here too, but Hicks is a better tackler than his running mate. We feel that teams could love him as a press guy.
Could – can see each of these guys being called, but each have something to answer for the scouts:
Jaylinn Hawkins – Davis’ safety partner with equally excellent statistical profiles, yet with half the publicity. Lowest passer rating allowed in the conference last year.
Traveon Beck – Beck’s draft prospects really depends on how teams see his size, because there is no question about his playmaking ability, his coachability, or the size of his heart.
Luc Bequette – Extremely stout at the point of attack, solid athlete at line, has flashed ability as a disruptor. Will get to show some versatility on film as he slides over to the nose this year, after playing 5-tech.
Cam Goode – In short: if he has a fully healthy 2019 campaign, you can feel pretty good about bumping him into the lock category.
Trey Turner – The Bears will rotate some him in some for Davis and Hawkins so he’ll get some chances to produce. Certainly has the will and athleticism to earn a special teams slot.
Tevin Paul – Tough to project what his spot is in the NFL right now. Would need to bulk up to slide back down to DL, would need to lose some to stay at LB.