Our analysts are constantly talking to NFL and college sources about players in the college game. This week, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein shares some of what NFL folks are saying about a rising Georgia RB and a DT prospect with NFL bloodlines.
Note: Click through the tabs above to see Sources Tell Us from previous weeks.
The scoop: "I'm Team Sony all the way. He will have a better pro career than college career because he has a pro game to him. I bet he goes second (round)." -- AFC area scout on Georgia RB Sony Michel
The skinny: I'm on Team Sony, too. The senior RB has been outstanding this season, showing off decisiveness, physicality and an explosive burst. Michel is also willing and ready to mix it up in pass protection. His physical play demeanor as an interior runner is exactly what NFL teams want. Before the season, I had a fourth-to-fifth-round grade on Michel, but his 2017 tape, leadership and consistency have won me over and I'm expecting him do be a Day 2 pick (Rounds 2-3) in 2018.
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The scoop: "I was high on him before the year started but he was a major disappointment. He knew this was his year to play well and make money but he did nothing to get rid of all that excess weight and his tape wasn't very good." -- AFC director of college scouting on Utah DT Lowell Lotulelei
The skinny: After watching this year's tape on Lotulelei (the brother of Panthers DT Star Lotulelei) last week, I think "major disappointment" might be an understatement. He looks like he's out of shape and is missing some of the quickness and disruptive qualities that I saw from him when I studied him on tape this summer.
While he's played in a slightly higher percentage of Utah's defensive snaps than he did in 2015 and 2016, he has seen his tackle production fall from 27 last year to just 12 this season. He's not getting to plays and his effort has been spotty. He needs to drop weight (listed at 6-foot-2, 320 pounds) and get himself in substantially better shape before the NFL Scouting Combine in the spring if he wants to mitigate some of the damage that his 2017 play has done to his draft stock.
Follow Lance Zierlein on Twitter @LanceZierlein.
