A yr from now, the West Coast will dominate the NFL Draft. The Pac-12 won't.
Bear in mind the notorious 2019-20 recruiting cycle, when a slew of five-star prospects from California and Arizona shunned the Pac-12 and signed with faculties elsewhere?
These gamers will likely be draft-eligible subsequent spring, and the NFL is salivating.
Quarterbacks CJ Stroud (Ohio State) and Bryce Younger (Alabama), cornerbacks Eli Ricks (Alabama) and Kelee Ringo (Georgia), tailback Bijan Robinson (Texas) — all 5 grew up within the Pac-12 footprint and are first-round alternatives within the 2023 draft.
Add the elite prospects from the category of ’19, together with quarterback Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) and linebacker Henry To’o To’o (Alabama), and the footprint may generate six or eight first rounders who didn’t play within the Pac-12.
What of the convention itself through the three-day draft in Kansas Metropolis?
A handful of gamers ought to obtain first-round consideration. However as we scan rosters for the highest abilities and cross-match them with the positions of highest worth (quarterbacks, offensive tackles and edge rushers, receivers and cornerbacks), the potential alternatives are slim, particularly on offense.
The Pac-12 carried out modestly within the ’22 draft, with 4 first-round picks however simply 25 total alternatives — its lowest complete since expanded to 12 groups a decade in the past.
Subsequent yr could possibly be extra of the identical.
Welcome to one of many Hotline’s hottest workout routines: Our projections of the highest NFL expertise within the Pac-12 for the upcoming season.
Futile because it might sound, the analysis helps illuminate positions of energy (and weak point) throughout the convention, which, in flip, present a framework from which to evaluate the fast-approaching season.
Notes on the next:
*** Projections embrace underclassmen who will likely be draft-eligible subsequent spring and are, in our view, prone to declare.
*** Not each participant listed will declare for the draft, whereas some prospects who aren’t listed will assuredly go away college.
*** We aren’t rating each draft prospect, solely these we see as sturdy candidates for the excessive rounds.
(Inquisitive about our projections for the ’22 draft, which had been printed final spring? Right here they're.)
Additionally thought of: DL Kyon Barrs (Arizona), LB Mohamoud Diabate (Utah), WR Stanley Berryhill (Arizona), TB Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), OL Braeden Daniels (Utah), LB Justin Flowe (Oregon), DE Korey Foreman (USC), OL Alex Forsyth (Oregon), DL Brett Johnson (Cal), TE Dalton Kincaid (Utah), TE Brant Kuithe (Utah), QB Cam Rising (Utah), LB Merlin Robertson (ASU), DE Ron Stone (WSU), TB Tavion Thomas (Utah), LB Edefuan Ulofoshio (Washington), OL Andrew Vorhees (USC) and CB Rejzohn Wright (Oregon State).
10. Arizona State DL Jermayne Lolo: This categorization comes with a big caveat: Lole is at present within the switch portal however has indicated a willingness to return to ASU given the fitting supply for title, picture and likeness alternatives. At 300-plus kilos, and assuming good well being, he could be one of many high linemen within the league.
9. Stanford CB Kyu Blue Kelly: The second-team all-conference decide has the dimensions (6-foot-1), size and ball expertise to be an early-round choice much like former teammate Paulson Adebo, a third-round decide final spring who began for the Saints. However as with many cornerbacks, Kelly’s 40-time on the Scouting Mix will assist form his draft vacation spot.
8. USC DT Tuli Tuipulotu: We envision ’22 as a breakout season for the third-year playmaker, who was one of many few shiny spots for the Trojans’ overwhelmed protection final yr. Undecided Tuipulotu has the preliminary burst wanted to develop into a pure edge rusher within the NFL, however his dimension (290 kilos) and mobility makes him a invaluable possibility alongside the road. Has the potential to be a Day One choice.
7. Oregon DE Brandon Dorlus: Like Tuipulotu, the 280-pound Dorlus may land wherever from the primary spherical to the center rounds, relying on efficiency in-season and in draft exercises. He gained’t get as a lot consideration as Oregon’s stellar linebackers, however the disruptive Dorlus will play a central function of their success by occupying a number of blockers. When he’s in one-on-one conditions, the pocket collapses.
6. Utah DB Clark Phillips III: Our decide because the No. 1 cornerback within the convention — the opposite possibility is Stanford’s Kyu Blue Kelly — Phillips has been nearly as good as marketed since arriving in Salt Lake Metropolis as one of many high recruits in program historical past. He’s not fairly 6-foot, however the pace, footwork and ball expertise are readily obvious. Utah’s success churning out NFL-caliber defensive backs gained’t damage.
5. WSU QB Cameron Ward: Don’t be fooled by his background (two years at Incarnate Phrase). Ward has the arm and the legs required to develop into high-round choice, particularly with the league’s acceptance of Air Raid quarterbacks. As one scout famous after watching movie: “He made me say ‘Wow’ 5 occasions in about 20 minutes. He can work in an NFL system.”
4. Washington OL Jaxson Kirkland: The mammoth (6-foot-7) left deal with handed on the ’22 draft and returns for his closing season in Seattle as one of many high offensive line prospects within the nation. A two-time, first-team all-conference choice, Kirkland will obtain first-round consideration if he avoids efficiency regression and severe harm. For Kirkland and all the UW offense, it can not get any worse than final season.
3. Stanford QB Tanner McKee. The perfect pure passer within the convention since Stanford’s Davis Mills in 2020, the 6-foot-6 McKee has the pocket expertise essential to develop into a Day One decide. He’s not as cellular as Mills, which may restrict his NFL worth and seemingly will increase the probabilities of harm given Stanford’s probably reliance upon the passing sport. But when he stays wholesome and slings it as we anticipate, the scouts will rave.
2. Oregon LB Noah Sewell: We undertaking Sewell as one of the best participant within the convention subsequent season (on both aspect of the ball), however that doesn’t imply he’s the highest draft prospect. Inside linebackers merely don’t carry as a lot worth as their perimeter friends. However Sewell is elite — nearly as good in the course of a protection as anybody within the nation — and that makes him a first-round candidate.
1. Washington DE Zion Tupuola-Fetui: Admittedly, this choice requires two leaps of religion: 1) That Tupuola-Fetui’s rehabilitated Achilles tendon stays structurally sound, and a couple of) That his efficiency returns to pre-injury kind. In spite of everything, ‘ZTF’ led the nation in sacks per sport (1.75) within the shortened 2020 season, and maybe no talent is extra coveted on Day One of many draft than the power to hurry the passer. That stated, it’s clear the Pac-12 at present doesn't possess an apparent top-15 choice — there’s no ’22 equal to Kayvon Thibodeaux or Drake London. At the least not but.
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