In the thick of conference play, what are some of the most enticing 2023 NFL Draft prospect battles this week? Clashes such as Tennessee-Georgia and Alabama-LSU are rich with prospects, but even at the Group of Five and FCS levels, there are games to keep an eye on.
Week 10 NFL Draft Prospect Battles To Watch
LSU WR Kayshon Boutte vs. Alabama CB Eli Ricks
Eli Ricks was the 14th overall recruit in the 2020 high school class. Kayshon Boutte was 24th overall in that same class. Both players were part of LSU’s haul and served as perhaps the team’s most dynamic playmakers through 2021.
Then, Ricks transferred to Alabama. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for both players through the year 2022. And now, they find themselves facing off against each other in Week 10 of the college football season.
Ricks started the year on the bench but is now coming off a dominant four-deflection outing in his first start for the Crimson Tide. Boutte, meanwhile, is in desperate need of a big game. The flashes of high-level talent remain, but he’s struggled to find consistency within LSU’s passing attack.
For Ricks, the equation is simple: Keep using feet first and using length to dictate reps, as he did against Mississippi State. If he can do that, he has the athleticism and ball skills to capitalize on targets.
But Boutte — if he’s on his game — has the lateral twitch and explosiveness to get a step on Ricks. This is a must-watch, simply to see which heralded LSU recruit comes out on top.
TCU WR Quentin Johnston vs. Texas Tech CB Rayshad Williams
Quentin Johnston has 30 catches for 536 yards and four touchdowns over the past four weeks. He’s consistently generating big plays for the TCU offense, often in clutch moments. So far, through the latter stretch of the 2022 season, defenses don’t have an answer for him.
It’s not surprising to see Johnston giving defenses so much trouble. He’s truly an elite specimen with early first-round upside in the 2023 NFL Draft. Few, if any, receivers with 6’4″, 215-pound frames have the explosiveness, twitch, and freedom of motion that Johnston has. He’s truly a unicorn — but his opponent this Saturday may test him a bit.
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Texas Tech has an abundance of talent on defense, but the prospect to know in this game is cornerback Rayshad Williams. Williams has high-end length at 6’3″, 195 pounds, and is also a smooth, fluid athlete with great accelerative capacity and ball skills.
Williams has a pick and seven pass deflections on the year, and played well against Bryce Ford-Wheaton and West Virginia two weeks ago. Williams poses a challenge that Johnston hasn’t seen yet with his length, ability to disrupt, and catch-point conversion skills. Some don’t know about Williams yet, but this is a chance for him to change that.
Tennessee WRs Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman vs. Georgia DBs Kelee Ringo, Christopher Smith
We can lump Hendon Hooker in this prospect battle, too. But Hooker has passed every test so far, to the point where his 2023 NFL Draft stock is relatively stable. His receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, however, have more to prove against a talented Georgia secondary.
Hyatt has dominated this year with his game-breaking speed. Tillman, now fully healthy, has a chance to remind onlookers what he can provide as an alpha receiver with size and speed on the boundary.
That said, Kelee Ringo has the size, physicality, and athleticism to lock down Tillman. Christopher Smith will also be a looming threat in zone with his intelligence and closing speed.
Both Ringo and Smith are quality DB prospects, and Ringo has first-round aspirations. This is a prove-it game for Tillman, but it’s also a big game for Ringo, whose discipline and top-end range will be tested by Tillman’s tenacity and Hyatt’s speed.
Alabama OT Tyler Steen vs. LSU EDGE BJ Ojulari
LSU isn’t the same titan that it was several years ago with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. But the Tigers’ roster quietly remains a haven for several quality 2023 NFL Draft prospects, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Chief among them is edge rusher BJ Ojulari, who has fringe first-round ability.
Ojulari’s sack production hasn’t been eye-popping this year, but he’s been a consistent pressure generator with his explosiveness, lateral agility, and violently synced hands at 6’3″, 245 pounds. He’s a finesse rusher at his foundation with some surprising force to his game. This week, he faces a formidable foe in Alabama’s Tyler Steen.
This is a big game for both prospects. For Ojulari, it’s another chance to boost his numbers and put more quality reps on tape. But Steen is particularly underrated in the 2023 OT class. He has the athleticism, size, and flexibility to be an NFL starter. When his hands are at their best, he can lock down smaller edge rushers like Ojulari.
Ojulari will force Steen to be on top of his game. If he is, this game could make him some money.
Georgia OT Broderick Jones vs. Tennessee EDGE Byron Young
By now, Broderick Jones is already a common inclusion in first-round mocks. Even so, there’s something standing in the way of him joining the OT1 discussion with other blockers like Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Paris Johnson Jr.
Jones doesn’t yet have as many true pass sets on tape as his counterparts. It’s partly a byproduct of Georgia’s play style. The Bulldogs often get ahead early and stay ahead with their stifling defense. That gives Jones plenty of opportunities to shine as a run blocker with his explosive athleticism, gnawing power, and ruthless physicality.
Against Tennessee, however, the script may shift. The Volunteers’ offense has been borderline unstoppable, and there’s a good chance they jump out with a lead, and at the very least, keep the game close. Thus, more pressure may be on Jones’ shoulders through the game, to drop back and maintain the pocket.
Jones has flashed with his pass protection. His hands are violent and heavy, and his mobility makes him difficult to get around. But he can still further refine his hand usage and better manage his pad level at times. Byron Young — an explosive, twitchy, high-motor rusher — will force Jones to be at his best.
Texas A&M G Layden Robinson vs. Florida DT Gervon Dexter
In the trenches, play strength and power are two traits that always win out. But what happens when two prospects who have both in elite quantities face off?
That’s a question we’ll get to explore this week when Layden Robinson and Gervon Dexter face each other on the interior.
Robinson is a mountainous guard at 6’4″, 320 pounds, with elite proportional length and subsequent power capacity. His punches can blast defenders back, but Dexter won’t be moved so easily. The 6’6″, 312-pound Dexter has an enticing combination of burst and length, which he leverages into awesome power on his own. In anchor situations, his strength is eye-catching. He can hold the line and wrench down blockers with force.
This is a clash of traits to nearly the highest value. Both of these prospects have early-round aspirations in the 2023 NFL Draft, and this may be a game evaluators look back on, when deciding if they’re worth that kind of investment.
South Alabama WR Jalen Wayne vs. Georgia Southern CB Derrick Canteen
For prospects in conferences like the MAC and Sun Belt, it can be a bit more difficult to distinguish oneself. But every now and then, in-conference opportunities arise, to battle with one of the league’s standout players.
In the Sun Belt, we have one of these clashes in Week 10, as South Alabama WR Jalen Wayne goes up against Georgia Southern CB Derrick Canteen. Wayne has 644 yards and six touchdowns in what’s been a career year, while Canteen has eight pass deflections, nearly matching the total he had in his six-interception 2019 season.
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Wayne and Canteen are both on the fringe of the NFL draft, but this matchup is a good chance for one of them to earn an extended look. Canteen has the edge on paper. He’s a superior athlete to Wayne, with the urgent play style and natural ball skills to be consistently disruptive at the catch point.
All that aside, however, Wayne has a size advantage at 6’2″, 207 pounds. He has enough foot speed and hip sink to separate at stems, and can win in tight situations with his length.
NC State G Chandler Zavala vs. Wake Forest DT Kobie Turner
An under-the-radar prospect battle in the ACC will take place in Raleigh, North Carolina, this weekend, where the NC State Wolfpack will host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This battle comes in the trenches, as Wolfpack guard Chandler Zavala lines up against defensive tackle Kobie Turner.
Zavala is a sixth-year senior and a deep sleeper in the 2023 NFL Draft iOL class. He’s not an elite athlete and has dealt with injuries in the past, but he’s a visibly powerful blocker with exceptional length and knock-back capacity at 6’5″, 325 pounds.
Zavala’s power can be jarring, but Turner is an explosive 6’3″, 290-pound lineman who can pry his way around blocks with flexibility and quick swipes. Turner has six tackles for loss this year and will look to up that total in Week 10.
Fresno State WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper vs. Hawaii CB Hugh Nelson II
There are several big-name matchups this week, but this might honestly be my favorite clash of the entire slate. It’s one that pits two severely underrated Mountain West prospects against one another: Wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper and Hawaii cornerback Hugh Nelson II.
Moreno-Cropper has more name recognition than Nelson to this point. The Fresno State WR caught 85 passes for 899 yards and 11 scores in a terrific 2021 campaign. He’s a bit underweight at 6’0″, 180 pounds. But with Moreno-Cropper, you have burst, cylindrical twitch, high-level catching instincts, and size-defying RAC ability in a condensed package.
Moreno-Cropper is the real deal. But quietly, so is Nelson. A former Georgia commit, Nelson transferred to Hawaii, where the 6’2″, 205-pound defender has found a home as a lockdown CB on the boundary. Nelson has six deflections so far this year. With his length and density, he’s also shown disciplined technique, lateral quickness, and closing burst at the catch point.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff OT Mark Evans II vs. Grambling State EDGE Sundiata Anderson
There’s an incredibly exciting HBCU prospect battle on tap this weekend, as Arkansas-Pine Bluff takes on Grambling State. In this contest, veteran Pine Bluff tackle Mark Evans II will be matched up against edge rusher Sundiata Anderson.
PFN’s own Tony Pauline spotlighted Evans a couple weeks ago, highlighting the tackle’s natural leverage, athleticism, and footwork on the boundary. Evans could be a potential guard candidate, being under 6’3″ and around 300 pounds — but his combination of leverage and mobility allows him to counteract size mismatches when they come about.
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Anderson — a 2023 NFL Draft sleeper in his own right — is a unique test for Evans. The Tigers’ edge rusher has 5.5 sacks and nine TFLs this year, and is coming off a career-best 2.5-sack showing against Alcorn State. He’s a bit light at 6’5″, 240 pounds, but he’s the best athlete on the field in almost every game he plays, with the burst and pursuit speed to flash past the apex.
Other Prospect Battles To Watch in Week 10
- Virginia WR Dontayvion Wicks vs. North Carolina CB Tony Grimes
- Nebraska WR Trey Palmer vs. Minnesota DBs Tyler Nubin, Terell Smith
- Tennessee G Jerome Carvin vs. Georgia DT Jalen Carter
- Oklahoma RB Eric Gray vs. Baylor DB Al Walcott
- Florida State WR Johnny Wilson vs. Miami (FL) CB Tyrique Stevenson
- Syracuse RB Sean Tucker vs. Pittsburgh LB SirVocea Dennis
- Michigan State WR Jayden Reed vs. Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
- Utah State WR Brian Cobbs vs. New Mexico DB Jerrick Reed II
- Arizona WR Jacob Cowing vs. Utah CB Clark Phillips III
- Notre Dame G Jarrett Patterson vs. Clemson DTs Bryan Bresee, Ruke Orhorhoro, Tyler Davis