2023 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 9
I promise this will be an improved slate compared to last week. Ok, maybe it’s still a bad slate but I tried. The 2023 NFL Draft stock report for Week 9 includes Ohio State vs. Penn State, Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, Arkansas vs. Auburn, Florida vs. Georgia, and Kentucky vs. Tennessee.
Side note: I really tried to watch the Kansas State game. I bet K-State after I saw the line move like crazy. Every single time there was a commercial in the Georgia game the K-State game was also in a commercial. Game was over two minutes in. I tried Big 12 but I guess it’s just not in the cards for me.
Ohio State
Hard to know how to approach this section considering the guys who won the game aren’t draft-eligible. You know who I’m talking about. Don’t mind me as I’m already foaming at the mouth of knowing I already have Marvin Harrison Jr. in fantasy. In an effort to improve this section, I did a separate post on Harrison. Enjoy your bonus content.
Let’s get to what matters for the 2023 NFL Draft. Is anybody willing to bet their life that they know the outcome for CJ Stroud? I am not one of those people. Hey, another great day. 26/33 for 354 yards and a touchdown. He did what he always does; got the ball to his playmakers. His guys are just always better.
The arm strength is probably a B-. Can move but not crazy fast. Can throw the deep ball. Does he ever blow you away? I don’t know what you do here. Good luck. Does anybody have a takeaway from that game that he’s a home run can’t miss guy?
Tommy Eichenberg led the team in tackles with 12. However, there was a play on the goal line on a 4th down where he could have made the play and freshman Kaytron Allen ran through him for a score. That kinda play can’t happen. I have no idea where people have this guy but I’ll just say he doesn’t look as strong or as fast as someone like Pete Werner.
Penn State
Nobody is covering Marvin Harrison Jr. Joey Porter Jr. is special. You can knock the guy cause he lost a few routes. I don’t care. That’s a mistake you can make. I won’t.
Parker Washington had a HUGE game. 11 catches for 179 yards and a score. Washington is trying to be the next KJ Hamler and Jahan Dotson. Checks in at about the same size (5-foot-10, 215). Good sign he’s a little thicker. That matters a lot. It just feels like a real outlier game. Washington hasn’t done anything like this before in a single game.
If there is hope, it’s that extra broken tackle ability. A guy like Hamler can’t absorb a hit like that keep trucking forward. That part makes all the difference in the world. Putting together this type of performance against a team like Ohio State is also important. I need to see more but Washington is firmly on the radar now.
Notre Dame / Syracuse
Not positive what to make of Sean Tucker. Has way more juice than that fat turd Notre Dame has Estime (that guy blows and won’t make it). It was just a bad day for the Orange. They got blasted by a hungrier Irish team. It happens. They have a good front and Tucker didn’t do much (16 carries for 60 yards and a score).
I like the fact that he can catch. Looks pretty smooth doing it. That makes him way more valuable. Might be worth a look in the later rounds but I’m still not positive how explosive he is.
Auburn / Arkansas
KJ Jefferson isn’t an NFL quarterback. I hope we know this by now. Auburn is just a trash program right now and we all know Bryan Harsin is getting fired at any given moment. What does that guy bring to the table? Oh, goody! He can run head first on the goal line and score. Yippee. The Razorbacks tell you the truth about Jefferson every week. 48 carries again in this one for the Hogs. They’re a run first team because lord help us all to ask that guy to go win a shootout. I just want to mention that because this whole thing is a product of culture. When the Jefferson successor takes the field next year, you probably won’t notice much of a difference.
Florida
Anthony Richardson needs to go back to school. Is that fair to say at this point? He’s just still all over the place. He also definitely hurt his knee one play into the game. Wasn’t great to start. Got a little hot when the game was already over. Ends the day 18/37 for 271 yards and a score. Showed a little heart trying to fight back. He’s way too inconsistent and is still very flawed in many ways. Go back to school. Go do what Hendon Hooker is doing right now. Then we can revisit this thing. Right now, why go any further?
Some other notes on the defense. We’ve been on the Brenton Cox train for a while. Thought he lost today. Georgia tackle got him almost every time. Especially in the run game too. There was a play around the goal line where he could have made the tackle and the Georgia tackle just carried the back into the end zone. Would have liked to see more playing against his old team. Bad sign.
This one sort of bleeds into the Georgia section but Ventrell Miller looked over matched in the tackling department. Kenny McIntosh is a guy we’ve talked about being a a receiving type of back. Well, today he showed he can run between the tackles (minus a bad fumble so he kinda crossed himself out today I guess). Ran right through Miller on a longer run.
I don’t know who this Burney guy is but he’s all over the place. A pass deflection, two quarterback hurries, seven tackles, and this interception. It was something.
Georgia
We already did the Kenny McIntosh stuff. Thought he looked really good minus the fumble. Good to see him rush for 90 yards and two scores on 16 attempts.
None of that is the point. Where is Kendall Milton? Does it matter? Daijun Edwards looks damn good. Not the first time either. Only 12 carries but maximized every touch. Runs HARD. 106 yards and two scores in this one. He’s just a nasty MFer. His on field speed looks faster than Zamir White last year and he’s kinda the mold we’re looking at. I’m in.
Stetson Bennett is horrible. The only difference is I don’t think he can beat Ohio State or Tennessee this year. We’ll see. Either way, it’s a Taysom Hill only type of guy and he’s way smaller so I wouldn’t count on this working.
Kentucky
Horrific drop by Tayvion Robinson. Over and over again we see the guy lacks juice. Fails to make the play on a ball lofted by Levis that could have went for a big gain. Looks small.
Let’s get to the exciting part. We have been over this and I hope you have learned your lesson this type. What are you people doing on this ridiculous Will Levis thing? Are you people done with this now? He was a wildcat quarterback at Penn State (and still looks like one a lot). We just talked about Taysom Hill clones. This might be who that is in reality.
It was a blood bath, 44-6, in a game I had turned off during the second quarter. UFC and Playoff baseball sounded better at that point. Stat line at the end of it was 16/27 for 98 yards (-22 net rushing yards) and three picks. One of the picks wasn’t his fault but in fairness on that throw he was asking his wide receiver to get killed on the play. Looked like a hot pile of garbage. Actually, that’s not true. He looks jacked. Definitely can kinda run. Has a pretty big arm. Asking that guy to go play quarterback is hilarious. Sorry, just true.
Don’t tell me this is Josh Allen. I watched Josh Allen. This isn’t that. Can’t read defenses. Eyes are never up field. Finds a way to injure himself constantly because he can’t make a throw that would have saved him. Late to make decisions. Gun shy to rip it in tight windows. Only can throw those 1 v 1 go balls.
By the way, can we talk about this? Didn’t we just see Bryce Young carve this Tennessee defense up? That’s what you people aren’t getting. For the record, Kentucky has good weapons so I don’t want to hear it. Bryce Young is a point guard. Will Levis is Westbrook.
You want my honest opinion? We’re lucky if we see modern Brady Quinn. This isn’t a first round quarterback. It’s just not.
How high are you on this Chris Rodriguez? He can’t go higher than the 6th round. That’s all I’ll say. You’re lucky if you even get James Robinson and that’ probably too high here. 15 carries for 64 yards and a score. Nothing ever surprising. Runs into the hole and gets what he can. Never hits a home run because he probably can’t do it.
Tennessee
Hendon Hooker is better than Will Levis. Guys are running wide open the whole game. He’s well coached but this guy can play too. Makes quick decisions and has plus stuff on the deep ball. Just be careful here. End of blog.
