NFL Draft Prospects of the Week: Week 2

Week 2 of college football featured two high profile inter-conference matchups. Early on Saturday, Oregon upset Ohio State in Columbus and later in the day, Michigan walloped Washington on the Huskies home turf. Two Big 10/Pac-12 games with two very different outcomes for the conferences they are representing. Of course, these games couldn’t have been won without clutch performances by NFL draft prospects.

The Ducks had one of their biggest wins in the last few years and it was possible through CJ Verdell’s dominant game on the ground. The fourth year running back carried the ball 20 times for over 160 yards and two scores and chipped in another score through the air, that was basically a swing pass.

This was his most impressive score of the day.

Vedell’s burst at the line to start a run and muscle to finish one is evident on this long rush. His combination of strength, acceleration and vision made him a hell of a lot to handle fo the Buckeyes to handle all game.

Verdell has been a fixture on the Ducks offense since his freshman year and the only reason he isn’t working on a fourth straight 1,000 yard season is because COVID-19 shortened the Pac-12 season in 2020. Verdell has a complete NFL skill set and could rise on NFL draft boards as he establishes himself as one of the better backs in the country.

Defensively, it is hard to find a defensive performance more impressive than Aidan Hutchinson dismantling Washington’s offensive line last Saturday. The senior defender had talented offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland living in a nightmare for four quarters.

Hutchinson’s size, strength and non-stop motor yielded 2.5 sacks and four quarters in the offensive backfield. He dominated against the run, as well as hounding the quarterback all game as a pass rusher.

Hutchinson might be one of the top healthy defenders in the country right now and he is only going to gain more hype with play like this.