(Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Ranking the five most overrated players in the 2020 NFL Draft. These players are going to be drafted way sooner than they should, including Justin Herbert.
NFL scouts, player personnel, coaches, general managers and assistants all make a great deal of money and spend substantial time evaluating, scouting, and watching players develop the team’s ‘Big Board’ for each draft cycle.
At the same time, spectacular space on the internet and print sources are dedicated to media-types and draft analysts who do much the same thing, though often with far less time and energy put in to studying and researching players.
Despite the tremendous time and money invested in the entire draft process, it never fails when reflecting on the draft class years later, seemingly all of the experts were simply wrong about dozens of prospects. Because the draft and player evaluation are not exact sciences, but rather arts, it is impossible to be 100 percent accurate.
So inevitably, some of the players taken early in the 2020 NFL Draft will show themselves to be massively overrated as the years drag on.
What five early-round prospects are the most overrated in this year’s draft cycle?
5. Mekhi Becton, Tackle, Louisville
Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton has average-NFL-lineman written all over him. Scouts and draft analysts have fallen in love with Becton because of his size (which is rare: 6-foot-7, 364 pounds) and speed (which is quick: 5.1, 40-yard dash). And looking at those physical traits and athletic abilities can help project the degree to which an athlete can become a solid NFL player.
But they do not tell the full story. Becton is a project of an offensive tackle prospect who is not ready to be tested by NFL caliber edge rushers any time soon. He is incredibly raw in terms of his understanding of the position and game, and in terms of his ability to adapt to changing pass-rushing techniques. At the pro level, these are devastating lacks.
Statistically and on film, Becton looks impressive. But, his statistics and film are based on playing against mostly lesser opponents in the ACC. NFL combine analysis notes his weaknesses are correctable “if he’s disciplined enough to prioritize them”.
And it is a question of discipline where Becton draws a red flag. Becton had his drug test flagged. Under the new CBA, players will not be suspended for failed drug tests. Still, it’s a bad decision knowing there will still be consequences.
Becton entered “Stage 1” of the league’s intervention program for no more than 60 days, and can be asked to submit testing. But if he’s not flagged in that span, he’ll have the same designation as a player who never was in the program.
Combine huge size with rare athletic talent, and raw technique with an undisciplined approach to the business of the NFL, and you have all of the hallmarks of an NFL draft bust waiting to happen.
Becton may very well be a top ten pick when the NFL Draft commences on Thursday night. And if he is, some team is likely to be making a massive error in judgment.