We witnessed several incredible individual performances during the college football bowl season. Among some of the highlights: We saw 200-yard rushers (San Diego State's Rashaad Penny), multiple 300-yard passers (including USC's Sam Darnold and Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph) and we've also seen some incredible defensive performances (Alabama's Da'Ron Payne, Georgia's Roquan Smith, etc.).
With that in mind, I reached out to 5 NFL personnel executives and asked them the following question: Which prospect helped himself the most with his postseason performance? Here are their answers.
Executive 1: Georgia RB Sony Michel
"Michel is a three-down back. I knew more about the other running backs coming into the bowl season, but I thought he stood out the most during the playoff. I was very impressed."
Executive 2: Wyoming QB Josh Allen
"Da'Ron Payne and Sony Michel were outstanding, but I thought the Wyoming QB helped himself the most. He's not perfect, but I loved that he chose to come back and compete with his team. He made some big-time throws in that game too."
Executive 3: Michel
"I think it might be Sony Michel. He was highly thought of before but he separated himself from Chubb and showed how talented he really is in those two bowl games."
Executive 4: Alabama DT Da'Ron Payne
"Payne had his best two games in the playoff. He was more productive and he was constantly around the ball in run support. He was more active as a pass rusher and generated a lot of push and pressure."
Executive 5: Michel
"I thought Michel was dominate on the big stage. There's nothing he can't do as a runner. He plays the game with passion and maybe the outcome of the championship would've been different if they didn't stop using him in the fourth quarter."
Summary: That's three votes for Michel and one apiece for Allen and Payne.
Conclusion: I can't argue with any of these picks. I was a huge Michel fan before the postseason, and he did nothing but help himself with his performances against Oklahoma and Alabama. Allen won some points for his competitiveness to come back from a shoulder injury and play in a lower-tier bowl game. Payne took his game to another level in the playoffs.
Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter at @MoveTheSticks.
