2023 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 12
Yes, you’re getting Maction on the Week 12 notes for the 2023 NFL Draft Stock report. I promised Scott I would watch Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Soooo you’re getting that along with Illinois vs. Michigan, Georgia vs. Kentucky, Ohio State vs. Maryland, and USC vs. UCLA.
Kurtis Rourke
We just can’t have nice things now, can we? Rourke went down with what looked to be a knee / concussion in the second quarter. It sucks but what I can say is the things that I saw were encouraging. I’m glad I tuned in. That’s what I’ll say.
Ends the day going 12/16 for 169 yards and a touchdown. Ohio was up 17-3 at the time of the injury to close out the first half.
None of that matters. What matters is the skillset. Underrated athlete. Did some things in the option to grind out some first downs with his legs. Looks like a 4.8 guy which is something we’ll take. I bet the combine number comes in similar to that.
Looks very comfortable in the shotgun. Decision making was on point. Ball comes out quick and with clear direction of what he wants to do. If you don’t have that today then we don’t have a starting point. Rourke has more than a starting point.
This right here is the throw that caught my attention. Just look at the footwork. The load up to make sure he’s on the back foot is a positive. There’s way more juice in the tank than when you first initially look at him. Can get the ball downfield. His throws all night were accurate too.
Where do we go from here? That remains to be seen but his stock is up and on the radar.
Illinois
We’re just going to talk about the running backs in this one. Sorry but that’s Big 10 football and to me it felt like the story. Look, I know my eyes work. I watched a random Illinois game talking about Chase Brown. 12 weeks later and he’s the nation’s leading rusher.
It’s the information process for a reason. To be totally honest, I think he’s better than Blake Corum. I don’t think the ceiling is off the charts but when you really compare the two backs from that game, something really stands out. Brown is as powerful as Corum but just way quicker. His 40 time is going to be way faster. It has to be. He just has a different burst watching the game.
The problem is Brown has probably already reached his peak as a 5th year player. Still, hell of a game. Rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries against this Michigan front is worth celebrating.
Michigan
Now let’s get to Blake Corum. Let’s just summarize it like this. During the broadcast that fraud Todd McShay is doing his song and dance about how Brown and Corum have raised their draft stock. He goes on and on and eventually says both are probably going to be third of fourth round picks. That right there is my whole point. That’s still too high.
I’m not saying the guy is super terrible but you’re going to get your heart broken if you really good off the deep end here. Honestly reminds me a lot of Kyren Williams. You can tell he’s slow. Decent cuts and can show off the power. Got hurt in the middle of the game and you could tell he was better than Isaiah Gash. I’m not sure he’s better than CJ Stokes though which should tell you where I stand here.
By the way, that Michigan center (Olusegun Oluwatimi) is damn good. If Scott wants to collab on a post and put together a video on him, I won’t say no.
Side Note: Max Duggan
Can we just give Max Duggan his respect? I’m just going to say it, I was impressed. He’s got that gamer quality in him. On the road, missing the best three guys, found a way to win. Makes throws. I’m just saying I don’t think he’s terrible, okay.
Ohio State
I’m not sure what you want me to say about CJ Stroud. I’d feel sick turning the card in with him as my top five pick. I just don’t see ELITE and that’s the problem. What am I really signing up for here? Is this someone I can convince my fan base that we can go win a Super Bowl with? I continue to see question marks that I don’t know how you ignore.
18/30 with 241 yards and a score. His ground game had to bail him out because otherwise, the other Tagovailoa outgunned him. Yes, a road game in a look ahead spot to Michigan. I get all of that. Trust me I do which is why I’m guaranteeing an Ohio State victory this upcoming week. I just can’t possibly see how anyone watching Stroud and feels great about putting him as their first pick.
Accuracy is a B and probably will always be a B. Can make downfield throws. Pure juice is also probably a B.
Truth be told, I think I’d take him in the second round but I know he’ll be long gone before I get my crack and that’s okay.
Still waiting for Julian Flemming to totally bust out. Marvin Harrison Jr just swallows everything around him. It’s truly incredible to watch.
Just real quick here too with this note. Josh Proctor is a guy that can be a plug and play strong safety for someone. He’s going to play for someone and might be there in the deep portion of the draft. Not sure he can cover (one career INT) but he can hit and play the box. Someone will use him. Had an important sack and TFL in this one.
Maryland
Can we just talk about Taulia Tagovailoa? He’s for sure not better than his brother. I’m also leaning towards the side that this version of the Tagovailoa is bad (when I was very much the opposite on Tua). I’m also not sure he can’t totally make it as a back up somewhere. That game has to be viewed as a positive, right?
USC
Caleb Williams isn’t draft-eligible. I’ll tell you what, I’ll make a separate post for him later in the week.
He’s also their entire team. It’s the easiest team to describe in the country.
Lincoln Riley came here to win right away and did a great job in the transfer portal.
Caleb Williams is the best quarterback draft prospect of possibly my lifetime. I really think that.
Make no mistake, Jordan Addison is very, very real. Blew up once again with 11 receptions for 178 yards and a score. I think he looks very similar to Calvin Ridley. Slippery, fast, and has that craft part of his game taken care of. If I were to include Addison in last year’s draft, I’d put him 4th behind Pickens, Olave, and Wilson from my rankings a year ago. I think he’s a first round player and someone that I feel very confident will outproduce a DJ Moore-type guy in the NFL.
The rest of their team isn’t that good. Am I supposed to take Austin Jones seriously? Please don’t. The defense has two guys that are NFL worthy (Shane Lee and Tuli Tuipulotu). Tuipulotu, in particular, I’m very high on. Only thing to really note with this game is that Lee led the team with nine tackles and did his part to look like the fringe Bama linebacker that he is.
UCLA
Michael Ezeike has four touchdowns all year but three of which came in this game. Big body tight end that looked interesting. This USC defense is god awful so let’s talk about the real story. Yes, we’re going to talk about Dorion Thompson-Robinson who deserves some level of respect.
No question he’s risen his stock to the point where it no longer feels outlandish to suggest he can develop into the next Tyler Huntley. Threw two bad picks at the end of the first half. Can blame those on Chip Kelly if you want. Don’t care either way. Threw a third to an edge player who dropped into coverage.
Having said ALL of that, I still think DTR passed a little bit of a test. USC dared him to throw and while DTR didn’t totally finish the job, he still put up 45 points to go along with 23/38 for 309 yards and four touchdowns. Also added 81 yards and two scores on the ground.
I thought it was a gutsy performance. Took some big hits and for sure injured his hand. Still made big throws (along with the mistakes) and kept his team in the game. We want to talk about translation, this is an A-level athlete. Those guys usually aren’t overwhelmed at the NFL level.
You want my honest opinion… he’s probably better than Hendon Hooker…
Speaking of Hooker, I didn’t catch much of the South Carolina game. Apparently, Spencer Rattler remembered how to play again. Hooker tore his ACL which is just so brutal for his stock. Older quarterback that needed to finish the year strong.
He’s going to enter the draft and I can’t wait to see what the loser analysts that know nothing decide what to do with him. Has some talent but you better be careful unless you want your heart broken.
