Big Ten Football: Top 25 2021 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch (#16. Morgan, #20. Bateman)

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BleedGopher

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per Athlon:

16. Tanner Morgan, QB, Minnesota
Last season's passing leader in yards per game, Morgan has proven to be efficient and productive with the football. Morgan averaged 10.2 yards per attempt last year and ended the season with 30 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions. Another year like that and Morgan will be a trendy name moving up some big boards.

20. Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
One of the Big Ten's top receivers should be in line for another solid year of production for the Gophers. And if Minnesota keeps winning games, Bateman will be a big reason why.

athlonsports.com

Big Ten Football: Top 25 2021 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch

The Big Ten continues to pump out NFL talent. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Big Ten had the second-most players drafted (48) with only the SEC having more (63).
athlonsports.com athlonsports.com

Go Gophers!!
 

The really cool thing about Bateman's and Johnson's success is that they are showing that top-end receivers can make a name for themselves at Minnesota.
 

Unless the Gophers make the playoffs this season, don't see Morgan leaving and I see him making a big push to keep Bateman & Mohamed for their SR season...would be great to have our SR led offense in 2022 with our rapidly improving dfense make a run at a Big Ten Title and playoff birth.
 

That's quite something for us to have two first round draft picks. The new normal at Minnesota is awesome.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Unless the Gophers make the playoffs this season, don't see Morgan leaving and I see him making a big push to keep Bateman & Mohamed for their SR season...would be great to have our SR led offense in 2022 with our rapidly improving dfense make a run at a Big Ten Title and playoff birth.
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You mean 2021? Morgan, Bateman and Mohamed are all out of eligibility in 2022
 


Morgan is going to be a really interesting draft prospect. The same "winning and stats versus measurables" conflict that he has faced throughout his career isn't going away, but he could easily be declaring for the draft as the #1 or #2 QB in the Big 10 for 2-3 consecutive years.

Personally, I'd be surprised to see him leave early, especially since the team will have the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes getting ready to do big things. He's basically mini-Fleck, and I think will have a very strong desire to take his best shot at making magic here at MN as a RS-Sr.
 


CoMn said:
That's quite something for us to have two first round draft picks. The new normal at Minnesota is awesome.
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The article is about the top 25 Big Ten draft prospects not where they are predicted to go. Morgan though is mocked for 2022 draft for 2nd round. I believe bateman for 1st round next year.
 

SixBySix said:
Morgan is going to be a really interesting draft prospect. The same "winning and stats versus measurables" conflict that he has faced throughout his career isn't going away, but he could easily be declaring for the draft as the #1 or #2 QB in the Big 10 for 2-3 consecutive years.

Personally, I'd be surprised to see him leave early, especially since the team will have the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes getting ready to do big things. He's basically mini-Fleck, and I think will have a very strong desire to take his best shot at making magic here at MN as a RS-Sr.
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I think of him as the Minnesota Drew Brees.
Hopefully we get a big ten title. But Purdue was 9-4 and 8-4 and never finished in the top 10 in the best two Brees years.

Not necessarily the measurables guy but super accurate and gets the job done.
 



Urbandale said:
Last season's passing leader in yards per game? I love me some Tanner Morgan, but...
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He was, Fields played an extra game. Also putting Bateman at 20 is a fireable offense. Suggests the Athlon writers aren’t watching games.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Unless the Gophers make the playoffs this season, don't see Morgan leaving and I see him making a big push to keep Bateman & Mohamed for their SR season...would be great to have our SR led offense in 2022 with our rapidly improving dfense make a run at a Big Ten Title and playoff birth.
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Tanner Morgan ended the season with the 5th highest passer rating (178.7) behind Tua Tagovailoa (206.9), Joe Burrow (202.0), Jalen Hurts (191.2), and Justin Fields (181.4).

This was higher than Jordan Love (129.1), Justin Herbert (156.8), Jake Fromm (141.2), and Jacob Eason (143.9).

If he replicates that performance this year then he should absolutely declare. Bateman will declare. Mo will depend on the season he has.

Minnesota is a developmental team. The more players get drafted the better. Fleck was a NFL receiver, he would never tell a potential first or second round pick to stay in college. I fully expect 2021 to get off to a rough start (Minnesota opens vOSU with a offense led by first time starters), and that's okay.
 
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Great to see Gophers getting noticed. We've got twice as many on the list than the BADgers, Iwoa, and Duhbraska. Also love the token "well I had to include someone from the corn people" add-on to the bottom of the list, that's quite the endorsement...

25. Dicaprio Bootle, CB, Nebraska
Nebraska may not be loaded with NFL prospects, but Bootle could wiggle his way into the conversation. The two-time Nebraska defensive back of the year should be on NFL scouts' radar.
 




FredCoxRocks said:
Unless, just maybe, this pesky virus sticks around and cancels the season and everyone gets another year.
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Pretty sure the NFL won't delay guys another year. They would have been happy to take Bateman this year if they could have. Some other fringe guys would have a decision on their hands. But first-rounders ain't staying back for shit. We better hope we play this year as it's our last time seeing Bateman in a Gopher uniform. People talking about him wanting to stay another year for a title run or whatever aren't thinking of the economics. Bateman didn't come for an upper-class area of Georgia. Pretty sure I remember reading that he was raised by a single mother (his uncle who was a father figure died in the last year or so). But I think it's a safe bet his family isn't swimming in money. If you are 21 and you are guaranteed millions, you jump immediately to change you and your family's life.

Bottom line: if we want to be a perennial Top 15 program, we need to change our perspective on kids leaving early for the NFL. That becoming a regular thing like at Bama, Clemson, OSU, etc is a positive for two reasons: 1. It shows kids what's very possible at Minnesota. 2. It continues to create opportunity for better and better recruiting classes. If kids are leaving early, it's generally going to mean that they personally crushed it and we maximized their potential during their time at the U AND/OR that the team had a very good year and our players got more exposure because of it. Neither are bad things ever.
 

I think it really depends on how the season turns out. I could totally see winning the West and losing the championship game vs Ohio State as motive to come back and finish the job for anyone thinking to declare early, especially since we open 2021 at home vs Ohio State.

Miss out on the west, and maybe that motivation isn't there and some people declare early. Win it all, and there are a whole other set of potential motives for a junior to come back. Maybe we win it all, but get snubbed and miss the playoff. Then Bateman and Morgan may feel compelled to stay another year and try to get a playoff birth.

We won't really know until the season happens.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Athlon:

16. Tanner Morgan, QB, Minnesota
Last season's passing leader in yards per game, Morgan has proven to be efficient and productive with the football. Morgan averaged 10.2 yards per attempt last year and ended the season with 30 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions. Another year like that and Morgan will be a trendy name moving up some big boards.

20. Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
One of the Big Ten's top receivers should be in line for another solid year of production for the Gophers. And if Minnesota keeps winning games, Bateman will be a big reason why.

athlonsports.com

Big Ten Football: Top 25 2021 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch

The Big Ten continues to pump out NFL talent. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Big Ten had the second-most players drafted (48) with only the SEC having more (63).
athlonsports.com athlonsports.com

Go Gophers!!
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Number 9 on the list is OT Jaylen Mayfield of Michigan. If I recall, Mayfield was one of Fleck’s earliest commitments in his first full recruiting year here. The kid is from Michigan and de-committed when Harbaugh offered. Fleck can pick ‘em.
 

Taji34 said:
I think it really depends on how the season turns out. I could totally see winning the West and losing the championship game vs Ohio State as motive to come back and finish the job for anyone thinking to declare early, especially since we open 2021 at home vs Ohio State.

Miss out on the west, and maybe that motivation isn't there and some people declare early. Win it all, and there are a whole other set of potential motives for a junior to come back. Maybe we win it all, but get snubbed and miss the playoff. Then Bateman and Morgan may feel compelled to stay another year and try to get a playoff birth.

We won't really know until the season happens.
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Yes, that could always be a factor. But Morgan's financial situation could be very different than Bateman's. Morgan is not gonna help with Bateman's family bills. Also, look at this way. Matt Leinart came from some reasonable amount of money. When he decided to go back to USC for his senior season, people were shocked. In the end, Leinart HURT his stock going back for another year. I mean, even CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY - whose Dad played in the NFL for decade-plus and comes from a very upscale area of the Denver metro - left Stanford a year early to go to the NFL. If anyone was in a position to not have to worry about the money AND wanted to get the most out of his education at a place like Stanford, wouldn't he have been the guy?

I just think as Gophers' fans we should expect that it is pretty much as certain as death and taxes that Bateman will not be back. If by some miracle, he is back then we are lucky.
 




GopherNuts said:
He was, Fields played an extra game. Also putting Bateman at 20 is a fireable offense. Suggests the Athlon writers aren’t watching games.
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Ah...I wasn't smart enough to realize it was just B1G players in the article. I just looked at the excerpt. My bad.
 



WriterGoph said:
Pretty sure the NFL won't delay guys another year. They would have been happy to take Bateman this year if they could have. Some other fringe guys would have a decision on their hands. But first-rounders ain't staying back for shit. We better hope we play this year as it's our last time seeing Bateman in a Gopher uniform. People talking about him wanting to stay another year for a title run or whatever aren't thinking of the economics. Bateman didn't come for an upper-class area of Georgia. Pretty sure I remember reading that he was raised by a single mother (his uncle who was a father figure died in the last year or so). But I think it's a safe bet his family isn't swimming in money. If you are 21 and you are guaranteed millions, you jump immediately to change you and your family's life.

Bottom line: if we want to be a perennial Top 15 program, we need to change our perspective on kids leaving early for the NFL. That becoming a regular thing like at Bama, Clemson, OSU, etc is a positive for two reasons: 1. It shows kids what's very possible at Minnesota. 2. It continues to create opportunity for better and better recruiting classes. If kids are leaving early, it's generally going to mean that they personally crushed it and we maximized their potential during their time at the U AND/OR that the team had a very good year and our players got more exposure because of it. Neither are bad things ever.
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This. Bateman isn't even a "maybe". He would have gone and probably been drafted in the 2nd-3rd round if he had been eligible this year.
 



Why does everyone expect Mo to declare early? Looking at this years draft, Jonathan Taylor, who is a much, much better back than Mo, was a 2nd round pick. I don't see Mo being taken in the first 5 rounds, if at all. What am I missing?
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
Why does everyone expect Mo to declare early? Looking at this years draft, Jonathan Taylor, who is a much, much better back than Mo, was a 2nd round pick. I don't see Mo being taken in the first 5 rounds, if at all. What am I missing?
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Not sure anyone "expects" it. If he has a great season this year - one of top 2 backs in conference - I think it's possible. It will be the finish of his 4th year and his stock might not be able to go much higher after an All Big Ten year.
 

WriterGoph said:
Not sure anyone "expects" it. If he has a great season this year - one of top 2 backs in conference - I think it's possible. It will be the finish of his 4th year and his stock might not be able to go much higher after an All Big Ten year.
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Lot of if's in there. I mean, we could say the same about nearly any guy on the roster who would be draft eligible.

If Boye Mafe leads the conference in sacks, he'll go pro. There is no reason to expect this, but what if.
 

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