It just means more. The 2022 SEC Championship game sees Georgia take on LSU in a matchup that is packed full of 2023 NFL Draft prospects. Who should you be watching out for when the Bulldogs attempt to tame the Tigers in Atlanta?
Top NFL Draft Prospects to Watch in the 2022 SEC Championship Game
LSU’s Draft Prospects
QB Jayden Daniels
He started the season with a quarterback battle he had no guarantee of winning, but Jayden Daniels has guided LSU to an SEC Championship while emerging as one of the program’s brightest potential 2023 NFL Draft prospects following his transfer from Arizona State.
At 6’3″ and 200 pounds, Daniels is the biggest he’s been during his college football career, helping to overcome some of the “skinny running back” objections he’s faced as a potential NFL QB prospect. With 44 runs of 10+ yards this season, there’s no doubting his electric ability on the move.
However, he’s developed significantly as a passer this season. His timing has been better. His footwork has been better. Subsequently, he’s been more accurate, completing 68.6% of his pass attempts. Manipulating the dominant Georgia defense would be a tremendous tick on his résumé.
WR Kayshon Boutte
Considered one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft ahead of the season, Kayshon Boutte comes into the 2022 SEC Championship Game having had what can only be described as a disappointing season. He’s shown frustration — including deleting all reference to LSU from his social media — and a relative lack of production versus expectation.
On his day, however, Boutte has shown he can still be capable of being the explosive big-play threat that we were promised coming into the year. His accelerative ability is ludicrous, and with the ball in his hand, he can contort away from would-be tacklers. The LSU WR has the speed to take the small stuff into a house call.
EDGE B.J. Ojulari
LSU has a true freshman blowing up college football in the form of Harold Perkins, but their 2023 NFL Draft defensive prospects are led by pass rusher B.J. Ojulari. The 6’3″, 244-pound outside linebacker started the season in explosive style before missing time with an injury. As a result, his production has dipped relative to 2021, but he’s still a devastating pass-rush prospect.
MORE: 2023 NFL Draft Big Board
Ojulari taking on this vaunted Georgia offensive line promises to be the story of the 2022 SEC Championship Game. The LSU edge prospect boasts a superb first step, often exploding into the backfield unabated. However, it’s his loaded pass-rush toolbox and ability to combine moves to counter his opponent that is enticing. That, and a motor that never stops running.
CB Mekhi Garner
With Eli Ricks departing to Alabama, LSU bolstered their secondary with Louisiana transfer Mekhi Garner whose play at cornerback has helped the Tigers transition from a 6-7 team last season to a program playing in the 2022 SEC Championship Game. Garner leads the team with eight pass breakups this fall.
You’ll struggle to find a more physical defensive back amongst all 2023 NFL Draft prospects at the position. He’s a tall, long cornerback who uses his size, length, and physicality to be a disruptor at the catch point. Meanwhile, every tackle is an opportunity for him to try and dislodge the football. This is the first season of his college career without a forced fumble.
DT Jaquelin Roy
While Perkins and Ojulari grab the headlines with their dazzling disruption in the backfield, Jaquelin Roy has been a quietly key component to LSU’s defensive success on the run to the 2022 SEC Championship. He started the year as one of their more highly rated 2023 NFL Draft prospects, and he’s done nothing but build on that résumé this fall.
Roy showcases an explosive first step and impressive play speed for a 6’4″, 297-pound defensive tackle prospect. In addition to exciting athletic attributes relative to his size, the LSU prospect possesses violent, powerful hands that he uses to shed and shock with equal potency.
Georgia’s Draft Prospects
DT Jalen Carter
Remember how Georgia dominated the first round in April, with a record five selections from their national title-winning defense in the first round? Well, it turns out that haul didn’t even include the best player on that dominant unit. Jalen Carter has spent the season proving he’s one of the best defensive prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, if not the number one overall prospect.
Carter has already had one sensational performance in a marquee game this season, blowing away Tennessee with two tackles for loss, one sack, and two forced fumbles. It would be no surprise to see him dominate the SEC Championship Game against a young LSU offensive line.
From snap to whistle, Carter is a dominant example of how to play the DT position. An explosive first step is just the start of an exceptional athletic profile. With power and violence, he possesses the physical tools to succeed. The Georgia DT already has a pass-rush plan brimming with the tools of the trade. Monster is an overused adjective in football. That’s not the case with Carter.
CB Kelee Ringo
Another overused term in football is freak. Not with Kelee Ringo. The Georgia cornerback is the epitome of an athletic freak at the position, with a high school verified 4.35 seconds 40-yard dash at around 6’2″ and over 200 pounds. He routinely clocks in over 20mph on GPS tracking data made available throughout the season.
Speed is nothing if you don’t know what you’re doing at the CB position. Thankfully, Ringo knows exactly what he’s doing. His technical ability and awareness — question marks on his summer scouting report — have all improved this year. Throw in his ball skills and physicality, and Ringo is atop all 2023 NFL Draft cornerback prospects ahead of the SEC Championship Game.
OT Broderick Jones
When Broderick Jones started four games at left tackle at the end of last season and immediately upgraded the Georgia offensive line, we knew that the Bulldogs had a special talent on their hands. During Georgia’s run to the 2022 SEC Championship Game, he’s proven that he’s one of the top offensive line prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, earning first-round recognition.
MORE: College Football Playoff Rankings
At 6’4″, 315 pounds, Jones might not be the tallest tackle in the class, but he has a stout, immovable frame with an impressive length that is more important when projecting NFL success. He’s strong and powerful in both protection and run blocking, while his explosive athleticism helps him get out in front of the action as a reliable blocker in motion.
C Sedrick Van Pran
It was no surprise to find that the Georgia offensive line was one of nine semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, honoring college football’s top offensive line unit. While the o-line award is unique in that it honors a group that is more than the sum of it’s parts, there are some high-level individuals protecting Stetson Bennett IV in the 2022 SEC Championship Game.
Center Sedrick Van Pran is arguably one of Georgia’s top 2023 NFL Draft prospects, although positional value might not mean he’s close to being the first selected. The 6’4″, 310-pound center has excellent size, and with it comes brutal play strength that regularly results in a face full of dirt for this opponent. Meanwhile, Van Pran is technically refined with a high football IQ.
Darnell Washington, TE
Having bemoaned the overuse of the word freak earlier, there simply isn’t another word to use for Georgia tight end Darnell Washington. The 6’7″, 265-pound tight end is a mismatch nightmare in the passing game with deceptive athleticism and excellent catch-point body control.
MORE: PFN Mock Draft Simulator
He heads into the SEC Championship Game with single-season career-highs for receiving yards (403 yards) and yards per catch (16.1 YPC), outstripping his career production in one season. Beyond the obvious statistics, Washington is a top-tier blocking tight end who has held his own against some of the most ferocious defenses in the nation during his Bulldogs’ career.