It’s never too early to look to the future. With that in mind, we at Sports Illustrated have our eyes on who’s up next and who you should keep in mind for the 2023 NFL draft with five players each week who stood out in college football.
Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
The NFL may have gutted much of the Bulldogs’ defense, but there’s still a foundational piece left as the reigning champs reload. There are some NFL talent evaluators who actually thought Carter was better than all-world talent Jordan Davis due to being a bit more usable in pure passing situations. This space won’t serve to argue that point, but it will serve to show that guess what? He played only 18 snaps in Week 2 against FCS Samford because, well, it’s Samford. But his dominating showing against Oregon shows he’s still great as he takes over as the primary force in the middle for the Dawgs.
Jordan Addison, WR, USC
New place, same production by Addison. Even if you didn’t factor in Addison’s 75-yard blazing touchdown catch with an impressive broken tackle to boot, Addison still would have had six catches for 97 yards to lead the Trojans. But on the long touchdown you see him flat-out picking on a hopeless defender on an island. He sets the cornerback up and after being shown the middle of the field; he simply takes what the DB is giving him, not even breaking stride or slowing down as he breaks on what becomes a dead sprint down the field. The only thing that makes him break stride is a valiant effort by the DB to bring him down. But Addison uses his body control to get by him and waltz into the end zone.
Calijah Kancey, DL, Pitt
Kancey will battle size concerns throughout the evaluation process as an undersized defensive lineman, but there can be no question about his positional versatility and how he gets the most out of his body. In 30 pure pass-rush snaps against Tennessee, he had a sack, a hit and three hurries and also registered two tackles for loss. He’s been a productive player since he was a freshman in Pat Narduzzi’s defense.
Achane had one of the plays of the day with this electric 96-yard kick return. It shows the explosiveness of a running back who will have decision-makers salivating.
Achane was already going to be featured more prominently this season taking over the starting job for Isaiah Spiller. But also consider that he gives a sputtering A&M offense something in the way of easy production, which it sorely lacks thus far this season. Achane accounted for the vast majority of A&M’s statistical output, and as it search for bailouts, the answer may be more of a steady diet of Achane moving forward.
Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss
Mingo showed an ability to make circus catches in two ways Saturday.
A good bet to make is if a wideout is going to be featured in the Ole Miss passing game, he’s going to be productive. Mingo is in his fourth season at Ole Miss, and after missing half of last year due to injury, he may be ready for a breakout this season.
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