Week 7 of the 2023 college football season was highlighted by an exciting Oregon-Washington matchup, with the Huskies outlasting the Ducks in a 36-33 win. But we also saw Notre Dame beat USC, Pitt upset Louisville, Oregon State knock off UCLA, Arizona blow out Washington State and North Carolina hold off Miami. So how did the top draft prospects look during Saturday's action?
NFL draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Steve Muench answered big draft-related questions coming out of the weekend's slate, including early-season comps and growing concerns. Miller picked out prospects rising after Saturday's action, and Reid identified players currently flying under the radar who could get a draft stock boost with more high-level play. Muench broke down a key highlight that is making him go back to the tape for more evaluation, and Kiper turned the page to Week 8 with three things to watch for next weekend. Finally, our analysts emptied their notebooks with everything they saw and heard over this past weekend.
Jump to:
Favorite comps | Early concerns
Risers | Under the radar | Back to the tape
Week 8 lookahead | Latest draft buzz, notes
What is your favorite early comp for a first-round prospect in this class?
Miller: Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State to Tee Higgins. Their body types are the same, as both receivers are 6-foot-4 and between 215 and 220 pounds, and I see similar physicality at the catch point and ability to adjust to the ball in the air. Higgins came into the NFL as a pro-ready route runner, and Coleman will do the same. The Michigan State transfer has been phenomenal in his first year with the Seminoles and has shown his basketball background, with post-up moves on defensive backs and enough explosive speed to be featured as a punt returner. Coleman is my WR2 and a top-10 overall player for me.
Reid: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State to A.J. Green. These two receivers are both crafty route runners, but it's their ability to make hard catches look easy that makes them special. Harrison -- whose 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame is nearly identical to Green -- has battled inconsistent QB play at Ohio State this season, but we've seen his strong hands and wide catch radius. He's a true WR1 at the next level and could be one of the top receivers in the NFL right away as a rookie.
Muench: Jer'Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois to Grady Jarrett. Both of these smaller interior defensive linemen have the initial quickness and active hands to disrupt plays in the backfield. But they can also both stack blockers, locate the ball and disengage in time to make a play. Their active hands make them effective pass-rushers, and they chase with great effort. Jarrett had a second-round grade back in 2015, but he somehow fell to the fifth. It seems unlikely teams will make the same mistake with Newton, who has a late-Round 1 grade at this point.
What is one growing concern through seven weeks?
Reid: LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith is still working his way back to pre-injury form after tearing the ACL in his left knee in last season's opener. The flash plays and explosiveness as a pass-rusher have come in spurts, but I see some issues in his take-on ability against double-teams and the way he uses his hands to beat interior blockers. Smith is inconsistent in detaching from single blocks, and he struggles to stand his ground when teams put two blockers on him. He was in the top-15 range before the season, but I now have a Day 2 grade on him. Smith has one sack and three tackles for loss in five games.
Miller: Ohio State's JT Tuimoloau flashes as a pass-rusher, but the consistency you want to see from a top-tier prospect is lacking. He has three sacks in the past two games -- including 1.5 against Purdue -- but was blanked on the stat sheet in four games before that. We saw something similar last season, when he was largely quiet outside of a great game against Penn State (two sacks). The stretch run of the schedule is a great time for him to show that his speed-to-power ability can be harnessed full time for a more consistent stat sheet. If Tuimoloau locks in better week-to-week performances, he still has first-round upside.
Muench: Miami safety Kamren Kinchens -- who picked off six passes in 2022 and has a Day 2 grade -- is one of the top safety prospects in this class, playing with an edge and flashing stopping power. But the tape raises concerns about his finishing ability as a tackler. His technique is inconsistent, and his pursuit angles are arguably an even greater issue. We saw it last week, when Kinchens got nosey and was beat over the top on Georgia Tech's late winning touchdown.
Miller's draft risers from Week 7
Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
Franklin is coming off another brilliant performance in a close Oregon loss to Washington. The 6-foot-3, 187-pound burner has awesome vertical ability, and it showed in his 154-yard day (eight catches with one score). In a very deep wide receiver class, Franklin has been a consistent week-to-week riser on my board, and he's inching toward my top 50. He has a solid Round 2 grade right now.
Bo Nix connects with Troy Franklin III for a touchdown and adds on a two-point conversion after.
Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
Franklin was great Saturday, but the best wide receiver (and maybe player) in the Oregon-Washington game was running routes for the Huskies. Odunze (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) had eight catches for 128 yards and two scores in the win. Teams looking for a wideout like Deebo Samuel or A.J. Brown -- someone who can physically overpower defenders -- will love Odunze's play style. He is locked in as a Round 1 player for me and is ranked at No. 22 overall.
Audric Estime, RB, Notre Dame
Hello, RB1. Estime rushed for just 95 yards Saturday in a massive win over USC, but he had two touchdowns and helped Notre Dame to control the clock and tempo of the game. The punishing runner looks like a downhill back with his big 5-foot-11, 227-pound frame and thick lower body, but he continually shows the agility to bounce outside runs and pull away from defenders. The 2024 running back class won't feature two first-rounders like 2023, but Estime is the top guy right now and a top-50 prospect.
Reid's draft sleepers to keep an eye on
Devontez Walker, WR, North Carolina
Walker was initially declared ineligible to play this season after transferring from Kent State, but the NCAA reversed course and ruled him eligible in early October. Walker broke out against Miami this week -- his second game with UNC -- for six catches, 132 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, he became the second Tar Heel player since 2008 to have three receiving TDs against a top-25 opponent (Hakeem Nicks). Walker flashed big-play ability, as all three of his scores were 15-plus yards. He was an early- to mid-Day 3 prospect coming into the season because scouts wanted to see how he would perform at the FBS level, but he could rise if he keeps playing like this.
Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
Hart has strung together a series of standout performances, and he added three tackles and a forced fumble against USC. He has now forced a fumble in two consecutive weeks. At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Hart is a tall corner who shows savvy in coverage. His instincts are routinely on display, as he's quick to react and disrupt throwing windows. Coming into the weekend, Hart had allowed only a 20% completion percentage on throws into his coverage, the second-best mark in the FBS. Preseason evaluations had him in the Day 3 range, but he's trending up, and a zone-heavy team might be intrigued by him in the third or fourth round.
R.J. Oben, DE, Duke
Oben caught my eye earlier this season, and he flashed again against NC State with a game-clinching sack. His length at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds is notable. I see really good upfield burst on tape, and he already has an NFL-ready repertoire of pass-rush moves to keep blockers guessing. Teams look to add players who can be designated pass-rushers right away later in the draft, and scouts have said the fifth or sixth round could be a landing spot for Oben -- but with his ability to get pressure on passers, it shouldn't come as a surprise if he's picked even earlier on Day 3.
Muench's Week 7 highlight that is sending him back to the tape
North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray intercepts Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke
Gray makes this look easy, letting Van Dyke's eyes take him to the ball as he gets to depth before plucking it out of the air.
UNC's Cedric Gray picks off Tyler Van Dyke, then Drake Maye finds Devontez Walker for their third pitch-and-catch touchdown.
He is constantly making plays; Gray has picked off three passes and forced four fumbles over his past 20 games. He's a rangy run defender who led all Power 5 players in solo tackles in 2022, but what he brings on passing downs is the biggest reason I have a Day 2 grade on him. Gray can clearly make plays in underneath zone, he matches up well with backs and tight ends, he has the range to spy quarterbacks, and he even flashes as a pass-rusher.
Kiper's three things to watch in Week 8
Can I do two of these from the same game? Because there will be multiple first-round picks in Penn State-Ohio State. OK, let's start in the trenches.
You should know about Nittany Lions left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, a likely top-10 pick in April's draft, by now. He hasn't allowed a single pressure in pass protection this season, and he dominates in the run game, too. He's going to be asked to block Ohio State's Tuimoloau, whose 13.2% pressure rate ranks 22nd in the FBS. Tuimoloau will need to get in the face of quarterback Drew Allar to affect the game, which is not easy against Fashanu. Scouts will be watching this one closely, as Tuimoloau is considered a fringe first-rounder right now.
Penn State's Kalen King, my second-ranked cornerback in the 2024 class, hasn't really been tested this season. He has been credited with allowing three catches for 49 yards as the nearest defender in coverage, and those have come on nine attempts. That should end next Saturday. King had his worst game of the 2022 season against Ohio State last October, allowing four catches and 93 yards on six attempts, with the bulk of those going against top wideout Harrison, who had 10 catches for 185 yards in that game. Can King slow down Harrison and the Buckeyes? Harrison has a five-inch height advantage on King, but King is feisty. I can't wait to see how they compete against each other.
BYU had a tough day at TCU on Saturday, losing 44-11, but I'm already looking ahead to Week 8 and the matchup between left tackle Kingsley Suamataia and Texas Tech edge rusher Steve Linton -- both of whom previously played at different schools. Suamataia, an Oregon transfer, and Linton, a Syracuse transfer, are in my top six at their respective positions ahead of next year's draft. Suamataia has nearly 100 pounds on Linton, but Linton could use his speed to disrupt the Cougars' offense. He has three sacks and two forced fumbles this season.
Let's empty the notebooks ...
Miller:
• USC quarterback Caleb Williams played his worst college game on Saturday, with three interceptions in the first half and a QBR of just 55.7 (his lowest by far). One Pac-12 coach who watched the game tape said, "Notre Dame has the guys to match up one-on-one [in the secondary] and good pass-rushers."
The key is how Williams responds. Will he bounce back against Utah? This is a great scouting opportunity to see him face adversity for the first time in his career.
• On Saturday, an area scout texted me, "Where are all the running backs?" Indeed, when you look around college football, there just aren't many draft-eligible backs turning heads. Notre Dame's Estime is an NFL starter, but the class lacks excitement. Could we be seeing the effects of the position being devalued in the NFL? Are high school playmakers shifting to wide receiver? Think about how many 220-plus-pound wideouts there are now? It's a trend worth watching.
Reid:
• Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was highly debated coming into the season because, for the first time in his career, he had managed to stay fully healthy for an entire season in 2022. In a pivotal Pac-12 matchup against Oregon, he finished 22-of-37 with 302 passing yards and four touchdown passes. Outside of durability, the biggest question about his game was how he would respond when a top defense forced him off his spots in the pocket. I thought he passed the test, as Penix displayed pocket mobility -- but it was his toughness and deep accuracy that really impressed.
When could he get drafted? The most common answer I've heard from scouts is the third and fourth round, but that was also before Saturday's showdown, and Penix is climbing boards. Upcoming matchups against USC, Utah and Oregon State could be huge for his draft stock.
• If you're a team that needs wide receiver help, you're in luck. The strength of the 2024 wideout class was on full display Saturday. It isn't just Harrison, too. Florida State's Coleman and Washington's Odunze showed why they are likely top-20 picks. Malik Nabers (LSU) and Franklin (Oregon) both found the end zone. As many as seven or eight WRs could be packed inside the top 40 next April.