QB: JAMIE NEWMAN, GEORGIA
The addition of transfer quarterback Jamie Newman from Wake Forest has a far larger impact on Georgia’s 2020 squad than most people think. Most know him for his mobility and athleticism, but Newman’s arm talent is legit, and he’ll finally be in an offense that’ll allow him to showcase that.

He wasn’t in an ideal situation at Wake Forest, yet he still managed to produce an 85.7 passing grade that tied for 14th in the FBS. Newman threw into a tight window at the highest rate by a mile, and his accuracy was pinpoint on those throws — he had the fifth-lowest rate of uncatchable passes thrown en route to the second-highest grade in college football. Not to mention, he was one of the best deep passers in the country, owning the third-best grade when throwing 20-plus yards downfield.

RB: JARET PATTERSON, BUFFALO
The four most valuable running backs of 2019 were fairly predictable, with each coming from powerhouse programs — LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Clemson's Travis Etienne, Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and Alabama's Najee Harris. Rounding out the top five, though, Is the most underrated back in the country in Buffalo's Jaret Patterson. Patterson broke an impressive rate of tackles as a ball-carrier (86 broken tackles on 313 carries) and displayed the same elusiveness on his limited action in the receiving game with 12 broken tackles on 12 catches.

WR: TUTU ATWELL, LOUISVILLE
Atwell is small in stature at 5-foot-9 and a shade over 150 pounds, but he carries big playmaking ability with his wheels. He reportedly ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash, and it shows with the magic he creates after the catch — he averaged 10.7 yards after the catch per reception in 2019, which helped make him the most productive receiver on a per-route basis (4.33 yards per route). Because of his speed in an open field, Atwell can carve defenses up through screens/sweeps (only wide receiver to produce an elite receiving grade on such plays last year). He ended up posting the second-highest receiving grade among Power-5 wide receivers, trailing only Tyler Johnson, and should be considered one of the best in the nation.


TE: TREY MCBRIDE, COLORADO STATE
McBride was one of college football’s most reliable tight ends with his receiving and blocking ability last year. His run-blocking grade ranked seventh in the FBS while his receiving grade ranked 16th on the year and continuously got better as the season progressed, improving to eighth from Week 7 and on. McBride had some of the surest hands at the position with one drop on 47 catchable targets and held his own on contested balls by catching eight of 10 such targets. All in all, McBride was the fourth-highest graded tight end in the country — he’s the best tight end in the Group-of-5.

T: RASHAWN SLATER, NORTHWESTERN
After producing an 11th-ranked PFF grade in 2017 and 2018 at right tackle as a true freshman and sophomore, Slater kicked over to left tackle and put up a PFF grade that ranked fifth among all FBS left tackles. In addition, he was one of six tackles to own 85.0-plus grades as both a run blocker and a pass blocker. Slater surrendered only six pressures on 355 pass-blocking snaps and closed out the season with none allowed over his last five games (94.2 pass-blocking grade over that stretch).

G: NOLAN LAUFENBERG, AIR FORCE
Laufenberg’s pass blocking wasn’t perfect in 2019, but his run blocking was close to it in Air Force’s triple-option offense, as he earned the second-lowest negatively graded run-blocking rate in the FBS. That helped him put together a PFF Wins Above Average (WAA) total that made him the second-most valuable guard of 2019 and the eighth-most valuable season at the position since 2014.

C: JAMES EMPEY, BYU
There hasn’t been a better center in pass protection over the past two years than James Empey. He has a top-ranked PFF pass-blocking grade in that stretch and his grade on true pass sets — the most predictive measure for offensive line play — ranked behind only 2020 first-round pick Cesar Ruiz. And he’s also been a top-three run blocker in PFF grade over that span, too. You’re not going to get a more reliable player at center in college football than Empey. Yet, he’s gotten little to no recognition for it.

DI: JACK HEFLIN, IOWA
Iowa secured a huge transfer addition this past week in interior defensive lineman Jack Heflin. Playing for Northern Illinois in 2019, Heflin put together one of the most underappreciated seasons at his position. He produced an elite 90.1 PFF overall grade, which was the seventh-best among 316 qualifiers at the position in the FBS. Heflin missed 13 of his 44 tackling attempts, which is a concern, but he certainly made up for it with his pass-rushing production. Heflin won an incredible 18.4% of his pass-rush reps in 2019, which trailed only Christian Barmore of Alabama and 2020 14th overall pick Javon Kinlaw. And he also generated pressure at the second-highest rate. It’ll be a tall order for him to match that type of production in the Big Ten with the Hawkeyes, but he will be a force on the interior regardless.

EDGE: CHRIS RUMPH II, DUKE
As you probably know at this point from the All-PFF College Football Team for 2020 article, Rumph was one of college football’s most effective edge rushers in 2020. He produced a 93.9 overall grade on the year, trailing only 2020 second overall pick Chase Young for the best at the position in 2019. That is the second-best mark PFF has ever given out since college grading began in 2014.

Rumph isn’t a beefcake at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, but he has the length, explosiveness and speed needed to be a menacing pass rusher. No edge rusher came close to touching his 25.7% pressure rate and 30.8% win rate in 2019 — not even Young. There were very few defensive linemen who were game-wreckers like Rumph was in 2019. Take Week 14 for example — Rumph posted a 95.2 overall grade and recorded 14 pressures on 31 pass-rushes (four of which were sacks) with a forced fumble.

LB: NICK BOLTON, MISSOURI
Bolton was one of the best off-ball linebackers in coverage during the 2019 season — he produced an elite 90.4 coverage grade, which was the highest among those in the Power-5. He made more plays on the ball (10) than first downs allowed (seven) and did it while playing in the highly talented SEC. And he was consistently solid when stuffing the run or blitzing. Bolton tied for the sixth-best run-defense grade in the FBS and recorded a pressure on 11 of his 42 pass-rushes. Penn State's Micah Parsons is without question the best off-ball linebacker in college football, but Bolton has locked up the No. 2 spot.

CB: AHMAD GARDNER, CINCINNATI
Gardner had one of the biggest unheralded rises in 2019, going from three-star recruit in August to legitimately one of the best defensive backs in college football. He doesn’t play for one of the schools that claim to be DBU like an Ohio State or LSU, but Gardner performed at their level in 2019.

Gardner was one of eight cornerbacks to produce an elite PFF coverage grade last year and was the lone one of that group to not allow a single touchdown. As a matter of fact, Gardner’s PFF grade was the third-best we have ever seen by a true freshman corner. He had two impressive pick-sixes from jumping hitches and forced tight coverage at an astronomical rate. With his size and length, it was incredibly difficult to beat him on such plays. Gardner allowed only six catches on 35 targets with 18 plays made on the ball in tight coverage, helping him earn a top-ranked PFF grade. He’s a big reason why this last true freshman cornerback class is the best in recent memory.

S: TREVON MOEHRIG, TCU
If you didn’t know already, TCU has the best safety duo in college football by a mile with Moehrig and Ar’Darius Washington. Moehrig was the highest-graded safety in college football last year and had incredible ball production. He made 19 plays on the ball while surrendering 11 first downs in coverage. Whether he was dropping into coverage playing deep, in the box or in the slot, Moehrig was performing at a high level. It was the third-most valuable season we have recorded at the safety position — and Moehrig just isn't getting enough credit for that.