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NFL Draft Watch: Memphis' Lynch held without TD for 1st time in 2015

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty

NFL Draft Watch takes a weekly look at the world of college football, focusing on some of the top draft-eligible players that could transition to the professional game in 2016.

A highly productive junior season has seen Paxton Lynch enter the conversation surrounding the No. 1 pick in next year's draft, joining Jared Goff and Connor Cook as the consensus top signal-callers set to be available.

While the Memphis quarterback has been dominant for the majority of his junior season thus far, a disappointing offensive showing Saturday against Temple easily made for his least productive game.

Temple's defense limited Lynch to just 156 passing yards on the day, also holding him without a touchdown pass for the first time since October 2014.

With a typically dominant offense managing just 12 points, Memphis dropped a third straight game to follow its 8-0 start and fell out of the AP Top 25 poll entirely.

Though Lynch will certainly remain a first-round prospect heading into the spring, and a potentially the top pick should a quarterback-needy team end up selecting in the spot, the lack of production to close out the year will be an important part of his NFL evaluation.

As little weight as it may carry in the end, everything is a piece to the puzzle when it comes to teams seeking out a franchise player.

Notable Performances

Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina
11 receptions, 191 yards, 1 TD
Following his best performance yet, reports surfaced that Cooper would indeed declare for the NFL draft at the conclusion of his junior season. Having put together a solid college career and contributing in just about every way possible, the junior will bring value as both a slot receiver and return man at the next level.

Vernon Adams, QB, Oregon
20-of-25, 407 passing yards, 6 TDs
Adams remains a likely late-round prospect, but it's this kind of production against a worthy defense that hints at a successful career at football's highest level. Whether it's as a starter or a long-term backup quarterback, athletic skill sets like that of Adams' are becoming more of a fit for NFL offenses with every passing year.

Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma
2 INTs, 4 tackles
Sanchez is widely considered to be a gambling type at the cornerback position, often taking chances in hopes of creating turnovers. While such a trait can been seen as a negative for a defensive back, the benefit of that playmaking ability was on full display once again this week. Sanchez should generate plenty of NFL interest as a potential game changer in the secondary.

Injury Updates

Travin Dural, WR, LSU
Torn hamstring
Dural will miss the remainder of the 2015 season and is facing a three-to-four month recovery after undergoing surgery to repair a torn hamstring. While the redshirt junior still appears likely to make the jump to the NFL, the projected rehab timeline could conceivably prevent him from working out for teams until far closer to draft day.

Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
Shoulder injury
Despite insisting that he'd be able to play, Cook was held out of Michigan State's matchup with Ohio State on Saturday. The shoulder issue doesn't appear overly serious, as Cook is considered a game-time decision against Penn State, but his status will be worth monitoring both in the weeks ahead and throughout the pre-draft process.

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