12. TYLER JOHNSON, WR, MINNESOTA
An absolute monster at the catch point, Johnson actually finished the year with the highest overall grade among all receivers in 2019. He was unstoppable on a bevy of routes, but he particularly excelled on go-route concepts where he hauled in 17 catches for 445 yards and nine touchdowns. Each of his go-route receptions converted a touchdown or first down, and he finished with the 12th-most contested catches (16) on only the 34th-most contested catch opportunities. Johnson was a hard man to bring down, and he even racked up 240 yards after contact with a defender, not just total yards after the catch, proving how tough he was to bring down last season.
His spectacular plays are at the forefront of the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 2019 highlight reel, and his career year likely paves the way for a high draft pick after two consecutive seasons with at least 1,160 yards and 12 touchdowns.
34. TANNER MORGAN, QB, MINNESOTA
Morgan’s high-end performances were among the best in the nation, and actually, the highest-graded outing from a Power-5 quarterback against a Power-5 defense was his game against Penn State in which he carved up the Nittany Lions' defense. He avoided negative plays at a high rate and piled up the ‘NFL throws’ targeted at least 10 yards downfield this season. He still finished with the country’s 25th-ranked adjusted completion percentage, and his highs — like that against Purdue and Penn State — certainly give hope for even higher highs in 2020. He didn’t field a game grade lower than 62.0 against Power-5 defenses and had three single-game grades well above the PFF elite threshold in his dominant season at the helm of the Minnesota offense.
61. ANTOINE WINFIELD JR., S, MINNESOTA
Playing with arguably the nation’s top football IQ, Winfield Jr.’s pedigree as the son of a former NFL great showed in his final season for the Gophers. He finished the year with an elite coverage, pass-rush and overall grade, finding himself towards the highlight-reel just the same as he made the necessary, routine plays to keep his Minnesota defense in it. Winfield finished with seven interceptions and an additional pass breakup on just 22 targeted passes in coverage, and he routinely made plays that weren’t even in his coverage. Chipping in with another nine pressures, including three sacks, Winfield’s down-to-down reliability saw him finish with a career-high in nearly every advanced metric this season.
72. RASHOD BATEMAN, WR, MINNESOTA
Bateman cemented his name in the 2019 record books with a dramatic one-handed catch that was certainly in the running for the best catch of the season when he snared a deep go route at the goal line against South Dakota State for a touchdown.
That wasn’t his only spectacular play of the year, but it certainly was in line with the best catches of the 2019 season as he dominated opposite Tyler Johnson. He finished the year with an average yards per catch figure of 20.3 and was just one of four receivers to see 50 or more catches and still average above 20.0 yards per catch, joining Dyami Brown, Ja’Marr Chase and Ceedee Lamb. That’s quite a list of talented playmakers.
An absolute monster at the catch point, Johnson actually finished the year with the highest overall grade among all receivers in 2019. He was unstoppable on a bevy of routes, but he particularly excelled on go-route concepts where he hauled in 17 catches for 445 yards and nine touchdowns. Each of his go-route receptions converted a touchdown or first down, and he finished with the 12th-most contested catches (16) on only the 34th-most contested catch opportunities. Johnson was a hard man to bring down, and he even racked up 240 yards after contact with a defender, not just total yards after the catch, proving how tough he was to bring down last season.
His spectacular plays are at the forefront of the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 2019 highlight reel, and his career year likely paves the way for a high draft pick after two consecutive seasons with at least 1,160 yards and 12 touchdowns.
34. TANNER MORGAN, QB, MINNESOTA
Morgan’s high-end performances were among the best in the nation, and actually, the highest-graded outing from a Power-5 quarterback against a Power-5 defense was his game against Penn State in which he carved up the Nittany Lions' defense. He avoided negative plays at a high rate and piled up the ‘NFL throws’ targeted at least 10 yards downfield this season. He still finished with the country’s 25th-ranked adjusted completion percentage, and his highs — like that against Purdue and Penn State — certainly give hope for even higher highs in 2020. He didn’t field a game grade lower than 62.0 against Power-5 defenses and had three single-game grades well above the PFF elite threshold in his dominant season at the helm of the Minnesota offense.
61. ANTOINE WINFIELD JR., S, MINNESOTA
Playing with arguably the nation’s top football IQ, Winfield Jr.’s pedigree as the son of a former NFL great showed in his final season for the Gophers. He finished the year with an elite coverage, pass-rush and overall grade, finding himself towards the highlight-reel just the same as he made the necessary, routine plays to keep his Minnesota defense in it. Winfield finished with seven interceptions and an additional pass breakup on just 22 targeted passes in coverage, and he routinely made plays that weren’t even in his coverage. Chipping in with another nine pressures, including three sacks, Winfield’s down-to-down reliability saw him finish with a career-high in nearly every advanced metric this season.
72. RASHOD BATEMAN, WR, MINNESOTA
Bateman cemented his name in the 2019 record books with a dramatic one-handed catch that was certainly in the running for the best catch of the season when he snared a deep go route at the goal line against South Dakota State for a touchdown.
That wasn’t his only spectacular play of the year, but it certainly was in line with the best catches of the 2019 season as he dominated opposite Tyler Johnson. He finished the year with an average yards per catch figure of 20.3 and was just one of four receivers to see 50 or more catches and still average above 20.0 yards per catch, joining Dyami Brown, Ja’Marr Chase and Ceedee Lamb. That’s quite a list of talented playmakers.
101 best players in college football from 2019 | NFL Draft | PFF
With the end of the 2019 college football season comes the PFF College 101 – a list that outlines the top college football players from an outstanding 2019 season.
www.pff.com