After marching through the top 10 defensive players in 2018 the past couple of weeks, CUSportsNation.com now looks at the top 10 offensive players. The ranking is according to the analytics/grades according to Pro Football Focus. Coming in at No. 9 is center Colby Pursell.
Note: Players needed to have seen 100 snaps in order to be on this list... 19 Buff offensive players saw 100+ snaps
2018 STATS
According to PFF
4 sacks allowed (tied for most on team)
20 pressures allowed (tied for second most on team)
penalized 5 times
TOP GAME OF THE SEASON
Pursell's top game of the season was against New Hampshire, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a decent overall grade of 67.6, but he stood out in pass protection in that contest with a 77.7 grade. He did not allow any recorded quarterback pressures.
OUTLOOK ON PURSELL
Colorado's offensive grades are not very good. Pursell coming in at No. 9 with a 60.9 is simply bad. I've said this before and I'll say it again -- these analytics are interesting and tell a story, but they don't tell the whole story. They're not perfect. I've noticed that run blocking grades are usually pretty low for every school, and run defenses seem to be graded higher than they should. With Pursell, he stared 12 games as a redshirt freshman and performed admirably, but I believe his best days are ahead of him, and offensive line Chris Kapilovic will help his growth.
Top Buff Offensive Players in 2018
No. 10 Tony Brown (60.2 grade)
Top Buff defenders in 2018
No. 10 Rick Gamboa (65.8 grade)
No. 9 Derrion Rakestraw (70.5 grade)
No. 8 Evan Worthington (71.9 grade)
No. 7 Israel Antwine (72.3 grade)
No. 6 Delrick Abrams Jr. (72.5 grade)
No. 5 Davion Taylor (74.1 grade)
No. 4 Drew Lewis (74.7 grade)
No. 3 Javier Edwards (76.9 grade)
No. 2 Mustafa Johnson (82.7 grade)
No. 1 Nate Landman (86.1 grade)
