Kiper & McShay pick first-round sleepers for the 2020 NFL draft

Five weeks into the college football season seems like a good time to start identifying prospects who could play Round 1 sleeper in April's 2020 NFL draft. Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay go back and forth naming some talented players who are lurking just outside their first 32 picks. One such player jumped out this weekend with a career day for Alabama.

See who Mel and Todd think have first-round upside, along with their draft board risers and under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on.

FIRST-ROUND SLEEPERS

DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

OK, so maybe we can't call Smith a sleeper anymore. No, not after he had five touchdown catches in Saturday's rout of Ole Miss. And these weren't easy TDs -- he scored on plays of 74, 25, 23, 33 and 27 yards.

Best known for his walk-off 41-yard touchdown catch in the national title game as a true freshman, Smith isn't as fast as Henry Ruggs III or as explosive as Jerry Jeudy, but he has smooth speed and creates separation on every route. He has also shown the ability to break tackles in space, and he's a good route runner. At 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, he still has room to grow into his body.

This is a really deep class of receivers, and I want to see what Smith runs at the combine. Right now, I have him graded as a second-round pick, but he could definitely rise. Tua Tagovailoa has incredible weapons, and Bama could have three first-round receivers. -- Kiper

Quartney Davis, WR, Texas A&M

Kiper, speaking of wide receivers off to a hot start, we have to mention Davis. He's a 6-foot-2, 200-pound fourth-year junior who has made huge strides over the past two years after redshirting in 2016 and playing mostly special teams in 2017. And since he is scheduled to graduate this season, he will be eligible to play in the Senior Bowl. I wouldn't be surprised if his name starts popping up a little more around that time.

After catching 45 passes with seven touchdowns last season, Davis has 23 catches and four TDs in four games this season. He hauled in five catches against both Clemson and Auburn and then was a force in a win against Arkansas with seven receptions and two touchdowns. -- McShay

Carlos Basham Jr., DE, Wake Forest

The fourth-year junior is having a breakout season so far, with 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble for the undefeated Demon Deacons. He had 4.5 sacks all of last season. Basham wrecked North Carolina two weeks ago with 2.5 sacks and five total tackles.

"Boogie" has always been physically gifted -- at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, he could play end in a 4-3 or 3-4 defense -- but he's putting it together this season. And I love his motor -- check out the effort on this scoop-and-score from last season. Basham is making an early case to be included among the top pass-rushing prospects for the 2020 class. -- Kiper

Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama

Alabama is just stocked with NFL prospects -- which is wild considering it has had 32 players drafted over the past three years -- and McKinney is making a case to be included in that top tier of Crimson Tide Day 1 hopefuls.

Through five games, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety leads the team in tackles (41). And since the start of the 2018 season, he has accumulated three forced fumbles, three interceptions, three sacks, 10 passes broken up and seven tackles for loss. McKinney will impact multiple facets of the game from the back end. -- McShay

Tyler Biadasz, C, Wisconsin

So how can my top-ranked center be considered a first-round sleeper? Because there is usually just one center in Round 1 each year, and he's usually picked in the back half. Teams don't always have a need there.

Biadasz is the real deal, though -- a 6-foot-3, 321-pound fourth-year junior who has started 31 straight games for the Badgers. He's a good athlete who is already advanced technically. He can pull and use his athleticism to get on the edge and plow defenders ahead of running back Jonathan Taylor, who last week made his Big Board debut. Biadasz had hip surgery after last season, but he has shown no ill effects. He's a really solid interior lineman. -- Kiper

Jared Pinkney, TE, Vanderbilt

OK, I know. This is cheating a little bit. I have Pinkney at No. 22 overall on my latest draft board, and he's my top-ranked tight end. But even so, he is getting overlooked nationally. For one, he's suiting up for the 1-3 Commodores. For two, he hasn't had a lot of big-play production so far this season, nor has he found the end zone. His longest play of the season was a 30-yard catch against LSU, and he managed just 1 yard this past weekend against Northern Illinois.

But keep an eye on the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder. He averaged 15.5 yards per catch last season, showing the ability to threaten down the seam with speed, make defenders miss and then adjust his body to haul in passes. For a guy his size, he can get good separation and catch anything in the neighborhood. -- McShay

PROSPECTS ON THE RISE

These are the 2020 NFL draft prospects moving up boards:

Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor

A senior, Mims leads Baylor with 24 catches this season, averaging 14.7 per catch, finding the end zone five times and going over 100 yards in three of four games. In a win against Iowa State, he came up big with six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Mims (6-3, 215) currently has a Day 3 grade, but he's rising.

Teammate Tyquan Thornton is just a sophomore and won't be draft-eligible in April, but he also has a bright future. After just five catches in the Bears' first three games, he broke out for 11 catches against Iowa State. He's a string bean at 6-foot-3, 176 pounds, but he has explosive burst off the line and out of his breaks. Remember that name for 2021.

DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

Do I really need to explain why Smith is rising? He had five touchdown catches! -- Kiper

UNDER-THE-RADAR PROSPECTS TO KNOW

Keep an eye on these potential Day 2 or Day 3 picks:

Nasir Player, DE, East Tennessee State

The Buccaneers lost at Furman on Saturday, but I was impressed again with Player, the fifth-year senior who had six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. He has good bend off the edge when chasing down quarterbacks, and he has the ability to get pressure inside with a rip move. Player, who's 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, had 14 sacks his first three seasons and has 2.5 in 2019. I have him graded as a solid early-Day 3 pick on my board. -- Kiper

Akeem Davis-Gaither, OLB, Appalachian State

Davis-Gaither is undersized (6-2, 215), but he's an instinctive and rangy outside linebacker with good stopping power. He's got the athletic ability to match up in coverage and the skill set to develop into a core special-teams player. So far this season, Davis-Gaither has 32 tackles and a pair of sacks. And he was instrumental in the Mountaineers' win over North Carolina, recording eight tackles, a blocked kick and an interception. He's a midround pick whose size could hold him back a bit -- though he's listed at 215, NFL scouts estimate he is closer to 205.