Ranking the top local Bay Area prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft
By Justin Fried
The 2019 NFL Draft is under a week away and the Bay Area has some excellent local talent that will likely be drafted come next week. Here are some of the top Bay Area collegiate prospects ranked.
The Bay Area may not be the ideal football breeding grounds for prospective NFL talent, but it’s certainly produced its fair share of successful players over the years.
Universities such as Stanford and California have each produced a myriad of NFL stars with the likes of Andrew Luck, Richard Sherman, Jared Goff, and Cameron Jordan still dominating the league to this day. Even some of the smaller Bay Area schools have been able to produce NFL talent with both San Jose State and UC Davis having sent players to the big leagues in the past.
This year will be no exception as there are upwards to 10 or more Bay Area players who could find themselves selected in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft. As expected, the Stanford Cardinal dominate this list as they are fresh off a nine-win season and a victory in the Sun Bowl.
However, both San Jose State and UC Davis manage to have players make the list proving that even smaller schools can and do produce NFL Draft talent. Surprisingly, Cal failed to have a prospect make the overall list — apart from the honorable mentions — despite a seven-win season of their own.
With that, let’s take a look at the top six 2019 NFL Draft prospects from the local Bay Area, first with a look at some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: OL Nate Herbig (Stanford), CB Alijah Holder (Stanford), RB Patrick Laird (California), P Jake Bailey (Stanford), LB Joey Alfieri (Stanford), OL Jesse Burkett (Stanford), LB Jordan Kunaszyk (California), OL Brandon Fanaika (Stanford)
We start our list off with one of the better small-school prospects in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft, UC Davis wide receiver Keelan Doss.
Doss was an extremely productive receiver during his time at UC Davis having hauled in 3,744 yards and 26 touchdowns over the last three seasons. In fact, over his final two years with the Aggies, Doss recorded a whopping 233 receptions for 2,833 receiving yards establishing himself as one of the most talented players at the FCS level.
The local California product is a physically imposing receiver who used his stature to dominate at lower levels of competition. However, there are concerns about how his skill set will translate to the next level.
Doss is far from the greatest athlete and his lack of athleticism could limit his separation ability in the NFL. He doesn’t have the quickest feet and his route running isn’t particularly refined meaning that he might have trouble against more agile defenders.
At the same time, Doss’ high-point ability and ball skills are where he really shines. The UC Davis product has strong hands and he uses them to the best of his ability when he extends out to make contested grabs.
While Doss doesn’t necessarily have the highest ceiling, he should be able to find his way on to an NFL roster as a depth receiver to start off as he continues to develop. If he could improve upon his outside release, Doss could be a very productive X receiver at the next level. If not, he may be better suited as a big slot.
Either way, expect Doss to be drafted on Day 3 come next week and fight for playing time in 2019.