The dawning of a new college football season brings at least 12 opportunities for 2023 NFL Draft prospects to elevate their stock ahead of April. A bumper block of Week 0 games gives us an early look at 22 teams, with 11 enticing matchups to devour this coming weekend. Who are some of the top 2023 NFL Draft prospects to watch in Week 0?
Who are some of the top NFL draft prospects to watch in college football Week 0?
Summer scouting is fun and all, but there’s nothing like watching NFL draft prospects go to work in live action, and the 2023 class gets underway in earnest this weekend. While each team in action has several potential 2023 NFL Draft prospects, these listed below are amongst the ones that should receive significant attention as Week 0 opens the college football season.
Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
Heading into the 2022 college football season, the offensive tackle class of the 2023 NFL Draft appears to lack the top-end prospects that we saw in the last cycle. As a result, there doesn’t appear to be a clear pecking order and it’s all to play for. After seamlessly succeeding Rashawn Slater at Northwestern, Peter Skoronski is one player attracting significant attention as a potential Round 1 offensive line prospect.
There’s certainly allure to the Northwestern OT. Skoronski boasts impressive athleticism, a component of which is excellent footwork that allows him to mirror rushers in pass protection. Furthermore, once engaged in combat in the trenches, he routinely showcases a solid anchor that is near-impenetrable.
There are some question marks over his size and strength, but Skoronski can begin to answer the latter in a Week 0 matchup against some impressive Nebraska pass rushers.
Skoronski is just one of several Northwestern players to watch out for in Week 0. Cornerback Cameron Mitchell has earned comparisons to former first-round Wildcat Greg Newsome. Meanwhile, running back Evan Hull possesses the speed, vision, elusiveness, and pass-catching ability to feature amongst the best 2023 NFL Draft running back prospects.
Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
Comfortably Sam Howell’s favorite target in his final season with North Carolina, Josh Downs racked up 101 receptions for 1,335 receiving yards and eight touchdowns last fall. As the Tar Heels transition to Drake Maye under center, Downs will be a pivotal part of a somewhat transformed North Carolina offense.
Downs has ludicrous, game-changing speed. He’s an explosive threat who can take the top off a defense with relative ease. Meanwhile, his ability to change direction with twitchy agility makes him a dangerous component in the short and intermediate range.
Downs can definitely dance around defenders all day long. A Week 0 clash with Florida A&M will give us an early glimpse of a player who has the potential to be one of the best wide receiver prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Isaiah Land, EDGE, Florida A&M
While Downs looks to terrorize the Florida A&M secondary, Isaiah Land will be attempting to ensure that Maye’s UNC starting debut is one he wants to forget. The 6’4″, 225-pound outside linebacker led all FCS players with 19 sacks and 25.5 tackles for loss while winning the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in the FCS.
Land, erm, landed on Feldman’s Freaks List after compiling an athletic résumé that includes a 4.6 40-yard dash, 6.7 three-cone, 10-9 broad jump, 375-pound bench press, 600-pound squat. The hyper-athletic pass rusher weaponizes those traits with a relentless motor. He’s explosive, possesses exceptional bend ability, flashes some refined hand technique, and has the fluidity to pose a threat in coverage as well as his obvious pass-rush prowess.
Dom Peterson, DT, Nevada
Nevada defensive tackle Dom Peterson begins his sixth season with the Wolf Pack in an All-Mountain West clash against Utah State. The 6’0″, 299-pound DT has the potential to emerge as one of the top interior defensive line prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Peterson flashed his disruptive ability in the backfield last fall, tallying 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He’s explosive off the snap, boasts impressive athleticism in his stout frame, already has a good pass-rush toolbox, and hustles to the ball in all situations.
Anfernee Orji, LB, Vanderbilt
Need a reason to stay up until 10:30 p.m. ET to watch Hawaii and Vanderbilt? How about the fact that it’s college football? Not enough?! Well, there’s also an unexpected plethora of potential 2023 NFL Draft prospects suiting up in the final game of opening weekend.
The Commodores have several players to watch out for, including UConn transfer DB Jeremy Lucien, RB Re’Mahn Davis, and WR Will Sheppard. Meanwhile, Anfernee Orji is comfortably Vanderbilt’s most productive returning defensive player for the 2022 college football season.
The 6’2″, 224-pound former safety was a monster in the box last fall, tallying 13 tackles for loss as part of a 92-tackle campaign. He’s an explosive tough tackler with elite football intelligence, whose main limitation may be a lack of top-end speed.
Ilm Manning, OT, Hawaii
With Timmy Chang at the helm, there’s excitement around a revitalized Hawaii program that could have a potential pot of 2023 NFL Draft prospects at the end of their signature rainbow. While there’s been an abundance of change, the offensive line isn’t one with several returning starters. One of the key returning pieces is left tackle Ilm Manning.
An impressive pass protector, Manning’s likely to have that skill set tested in a high-volume passing attack. At 6’4″ and 295 pounds, he’ll get the “undersized” treatment. However, he’s got good functional length, is strong beyond his frame, and has the athleticism to get after it in the run game. Not that he’s likely to need it this fall.
Caleb Tannor, EDGE, Nebraska
In what may be an exciting matchup, Skoronski’s first real test of the season will be whether he can contain one of Nebraska’s 2023 NFL Draft prospects — Caleb Tannor. The 6’3″, 220-pound EGE may lack the ideal size the NFL covets, but he has a multitude of alluring physical traits that help mitigate those concerns.
Tannor is a long, flexible, athletic pass rusher who can play more violent than his frame would suggest. He can bend around the edge, and he’s more than capable of converting speed to power. A more productive season than his previous may elevate his national standing.
Grant DuBose, WR, Charlotte
At first glance of the schedule, the Charlotte and Florida Atlantic clash in Week 0 might not appear to yield a huge amount of 2023 NFL Draft prospects. However, Charlotte WR Grant DuBose is already gaining national attention with a spot on the Shrine Bowl 1000 watch list following an 892-yard, six-touchdown campaign last fall.
It’s been a winding road for the ex-DII player, but DuBose has legitimate talent. At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, he’s a size threat who can use physicality as well as good hands and ball tracking to win at the catch point. Yet, he’s also got the juice to gain an advantage on release and pull away from defenders as a yards-after-the-catch threat.
Chase Brown, RB, Illinois
After averaging 100.5 yards per game last season, Illinois running back Chase Brown is one of the Big Ten conference’s most productive returning backs. In Week 0, he’ll get to stretch his legs against a Wyoming rush defense that allowed 180.69 yards per game as one of the worst in the Mountain West.
Brown possesses game-breaking long speed, impressive acceleration, and has the patience to let the play develop before attacking lanes mercilessly. He can cut with the best of them and is more than physical enough to absorb contact and break tackles. While he’s not been a high-volume pass catcher, Brown did average 10.1 yards per catch on 14 receptions last fall.
Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
Is the hype surrounding FSU this season legit? We’re unlikely to find out in a Week 0 cupcake against Duquesne, but they have multiple potential prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Yet, none will draw more fascination than Jared Verse. The Seminoles have lost significant EDGE production, and what better way to replace it than with a man who tallied 21.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in 15 games for Albany?
Verse is a terrifying speed threat off the edge who has reportedly added multiple rush moves to his arsenal since arriving at FSU. The 6’4″, 248-pounder adds a red hot motor to his athletic threat to be a monster in pursuit. It may take him a game or two to acclimatize to the elevated competition level of the ACC, but this Week 0 matchup can ease him in gently as he begins to assert himself on the national landscape.
Daniel Gutierrez, K, UNLV
UNLV kicker Daniel Gutierrez heads into the season needing just 17 field goals to stand alone as the program’s record holder. He already holds the Rebels record for consecutive field goals having nailed 16 consecutive attempts between 2020 and 2021.
Ranked as the fifth-best of all 2023 NFL Draft kicker prospects by Pro Football Network, Gutierrez has showcased a strong leg and consistency, two prerequisites for NFL success at the position. He has a legitimate shot of being the program’s first-ever drafted kicker.
