Wisconsin Badgers Stock Up, Stock Down: Week 4

BadgerBlitz.com returns the weekly 'Stock Up, Stock Down' for the 2022 season. In this series, we'll offer evaluations of players on Wisconsin's roster in the context of their 'stock.' Performance, playing time and opportunity are all factored into the movement of a player's stock.

Thoroughly banged-up at cornerback, the Badgers have turned to Ricardo Hallman in the absence of Alex Smith and Justin Clark. Let’s just say he hasn’t disappointed. Hallman has been tremendous in coverage — he’s been thrown at nine times, and opposing receivers have only caught three of those passes, per Pro Football Focus. His acrobatic one-handed interception against New Mexico State was something to behold.

Clark is healthy, and Smith should be returning to action relatively soon as well. But right now, there’s no need to take Hallman off the field. On top of his coverage skills, he’s shown a willingness and knack for taking down ball-carriers. His missed tackle rate is at a perfect 0.0% through three games. Him and Jay Shaw make a formidable duo on the perimeter, and those two have separated themselves as the clear top outside corners.

PFF Grade: 79.6

Last week it was Keontez Lewis in this spot, and it’s encouraging for Wisconsin to have two different receivers improve their stock in back-to-back weeks. Chimere Dike is the technical wide receiver one, but in an offense without a true dominant X receiver, the Badgers figure to get a variety of contributions on the pass-catching end.

Saturday was Badgers fans’ introduction to Skyler Bell, and they’re certainly pleased to meet him. The receiver hauled in four catches, 108 yards and two touchdowns. On his first score, he caught a post route from Graham Mertz and out-maneuvered the hapless New Mexico State safety for 49 easy yards. On his second score, he found the soft spot in the end zone between the corner and safety and let Mertz layer the ball to him.

Don’t expect Bell to replicate these numbers every week. There’s many mouths to feed on offense, and only so many catches and yards available when Mertz throws the ball 15 times. Regardless, it was exciting to watch Bell flash his talent, and his rapport with Mertz will be interesting to follow.

PFF Grade: 69.8

The two offensive linemen are grouped together because they’re in a similar situation. Borolini and Wedig entered Wisconsin’s game against New Mexico State at right guard and right tackle, respectively, and seemed to change the entire complexion of the line. The offense scored four straight touchdowns following their insertion into the lineup, and the Badgers finished the game with the most balanced rushing attack they’ve had all year.

Neither are listed as starters this week, and Wedig isn’t even on the two-deep. Still, these two showed what they can bring to the offensive line, and should hear their numbers called again in the near future. It won’t bode well for the Badgers to be adjusting the line mid-game against a stacked Ohio State defensive front, however. Michael Furtney and Logan Brown may very well start again on the right side of the offensive line, but they’ve been put on notice, at the very least.

PFF Grades: 67.5 (Botolini), 97.6 (Wedig)

If Bortolini and Wedig’s stocks are up, Furtney and Brown emerge from the same situation with their stocks dipping. The sky isn’t quite falling yet for these two, but getting replaced against New Mexico State is hardly inspiring.

Brown may be in more trouble than Furtney. Brown already lost the right tackle job to Riley Mahlman, but is currently playing in his stead while he recovers from injury. Now, there’s a very real possibility that Brown is third on the right tackle pecking order when everyone is healthy. That would be quite the fall from grace for the former four-star recruit, and may spell the end of his time in Madison.

Furtney is still listed as a starter against Ohio State, and probably won’t lose his starting job based on one poor performance. He may feel Bortolini breathing down his neck, and that competition ultimately should be a good thing for the offensive line’s performance.

PFF Grades: 68.8 (Furtney), 73 (Brown)

It’s really tough to put Allen here, but the redshirt freshman receiver simply has yet to make an impact, and is getting paced by other receivers on the depth chart. Through three games, he’s only registered four catches for 45 yards. Now, fellow receivers Lewis and Dean Engram each have only three catches, but the difference is efficiency. Engram has caught all three of his targets, and Lewis has caught three of four. Bell has caught eight of his nine targets. Long story short, Allen’s percentage of targets caught is sitting at 44.4%, easily the lowest on the team, per Pro Football Focus. Against New Mexico State, he was only on the field for six passing plays, and wasn’t targeted once.

Allen simply oozes talent as a receiver, but he needs to string together consistent performances to get more involved offensively. With a deep receiver room and a balanced philosophy, wide outs have no reps to waste in this offense. For Allen, it starts with making the most of each opportunity, and coming down with the football when it’s thrown his way.

PFF Grade: 57.9

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