College All-Star Game 2020 standouts to watch for in the NFL Draft

Zack Braun

Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin

At six-foot, 240 pounds with little room to add to his frame, Baun is often labelled a tweener. For the Badgers he almost exclusively lined up on the edge, which is where he also made his biggest impression rushing the passer. His burst around tackles and sweet spin move to counter off it won him several matchups during one-on-ones with the O-line. However, NFL coaches also wanted to see him play off the ball and I thought he looked very well equipped for it. Baun made a few nice plays in coverage and simply showed the ability to make plays sideline-to-sideline standing up. Some people might find it tough to find a perfect fit for him, since you also saw him struggle to hold his ground in the run game versus Houston tackle Josh Jones, but he has done everything well and is just a football player. It will continue to be an interesting evaluation where Baun will line up at the next level, but my guess is an off-the-ball linebacker who can operate in space and then come down to rush the passer on third downs.

Jalen Elliott, S, Notre Dame

For a safety group that was largely disappointing at the Senior Bowl, outside of two small-school standouts in Kyle Dugger and Jeremy Chinn, this young man clearly set himself apart from the rest. He had three great days of one-on-ones against the tight-ends and even some wideouts. Elliott had several textbook reps against Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins, who is universally regarded as a top-three prospect at the position, and Dayton’s Adam Trautman, who I already outlined earlier as one of the biggest winners down in Mobile. The six-foot, 205 pound safety also nearly picked off another pass on a corner route to the Michigan tight-end. What I think he really does a really nice job at is reaching around the body of pass-catchers and knocking the ball down. For a guy who was known as a big hitter as a member of the Fighting Irish, if Elliott runs well at the combine, he will be very intriguing as a tight-end eraser with plenty of experience in zone.