Top NFL draft prospects, predictions, buzz for college football Week 9

Week 9 of the 2022 college football season brings several top-tier matchups, including Ohio State’s visit to Penn State. Florida also faces Georgia, Oklahoma State makes the trip to Kansas State and Kentucky-Tennessee will feature two of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Which 2023 NFL draft prospects will star?

Ahead of the loaded schedule, NFL draft analysts Todd McShay, Jordan Reid and Matt Miller pick prospects to watch this weekend, along with the one thing they each are keeping an eye on. They also look ahead to April’s draft with a quick peek at what the Detroit Lions might do on Day 1. Then Steve Muench points to a small-school prospect who could get more draft attention with a big performance.

Our experts wrap it all up by making predictions for Week 9 and emptying their notebooks with everything they saw and heard this week.

Jump to:
Prospects to know | What to watch
Lions’ options | Small-schooler
Big predictions for Week 9
Emptying the notebook

Plant your flag: Who is your guy to watch this weekend?

McShay: Max Duggan, QB, TCU (at West Virginia). There’s a ton of depth in the 2023 quarterback class, and outside of Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, Duggan is the fastest riser of the bunch. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Duggan is a highly competitive dual-threat QB with excellent arm strength. His deep-ball accuracy and decision-making have really improved this season, too. He’s completing 69% of his throws and has thrown 19 TD passes to just one interception. Look for Duggan (my QB8) and the Horned Frogs’ offense to shred a West Virginia defense that ranks 117th nationally in points allowed per game (33.7) and 95th in yards allowed per game (405.9).

Miller: Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State (vs. Ohio State). He has been a shutdown performer this season with 11 pass breakups and 20 tackles despite opposing offenses largely staying away from him. Porter is my CB1, and I love his length and physicality. Now we’ll see a lot of the 6-foot-2, 198-pound corner against Ohio State receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr., providing a legitimate test against big-time pro talent. I will also, of course, have an eye on C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr., Dawand Jones and Olumuyiwa Fashanu. Great matchup for scouting.

Reid: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia (vs. Florida). After starting the final four games of the regular season in 2021, Jones took over the left tackle duties full-time this year. He is still obviously relatively new to the position (11 starts) but has looked the part. With a stout lower half, he still has plenty of room to fill out his 6-foot-4, 310-pound frame, and he is an easy mover in pass protection.

Scouts really like how Jones has steadily improved in each game. In 219 pass-blocking snaps this season, he has allowed only a single pressure and no sacks. An area scout told me last week that Jones is «the type player that continues to get better, and there’s no chance he gets outside of the top 50 because of his tools.» This matchup with Florida edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. — who joins Jones as a potential midround pick — will be a good test.

---

What is the one thing you’re watching this weekend?

Reid: One of the best prospect vs. prospect matchups of Week 9 is Syracuse offensive tackle Matthew Bergeron lining up against Notre Dame edge rusher Isaiah Foskey. It’s yet another big opportunity for Bergeron after seeing Clemson’s ferocious defensive line last weekend. Already receiving buzz in the top 100, the 6-foot-5, 322-pounder now has a chance to continue to improve his stock while facing Foskey, a potential first-round pick fresh off a three-sack performance against UNLV.

At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Foskey is versatile, displays great urgency out of the starting blocks and has the ability to close on the quarterback. He has 6.0 sacks this season, but Bergeron hasn’t allowed one yet this year.

Miller: I’m all over the quarterbacks this weekend and cannot wait to see Tennessee’s Hooker face off against Kentucky’s Will Levis in what should be a shootout between two of the top five quarterbacks in the 2023 draft class. Hooker (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) looks like a Heisman candidate with 18 touchdowns to just one interception while running a vertical tempo offensive scheme that is electric and full of big plays. And Levis (6-foot-3, 232 pounds) has been solid, throwing for 13 TDs — but turnovers (five interceptions) plague his tape. Can Levis play mistake-free and upset the undefeated Volunteers?

McShay: Yeah, that game will be fun, and I’ll also be watching Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt. Volunteers coach Josh Heupel told me a few weeks ago that he is the most explosive wideout on the roster, and if he could just improve his consistency, he has a chance to be a special player. Over the past three games, Hyatt has 17 catches for 444 yards (26.1 yards per reception) and nine scores. He had just 21 catches last season and wasn’t really on scouts’ radar, but he’s now one of the most intriguing offensive skill prospects in the country. If the 6-foot, 180-pound receiver elects to enter the 2023 draft, he might be working his way into Day 2 consideration.

Kentucky has good length and coverage discipline, and Mark Stoops is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. Tennessee was able to exploit Alabama two weeks ago by generating one-on-one matchups for Hyatt against safety DeMarcco Hellams. How will the Wildcats’ defense approach the matchup?

---

Detroit is currently projected to pick at Nos. 1 and 14, per ESPN’s Football Power Index. How could the Lions ace the draft if things fall that way?

Reid: I think it’s finally time for the Lions to invest in a young quarterback. The team’s rushing attack is among the best in the league (5.3 yards per carry, fourth), but the offense needs a pass-game spark. We know what Jared Goff brings at this point, and I even thought Detroit might have used the No. 2 overall pick in April to take a signal-caller rather than Aidan Hutchinson. Now all signs point toward the Lions going that way.

With their second first-rounder, they should look at the defensive line or secondary. Jeff Okudah has returned to form after an injury-riddled first few seasons, but there isn’t much promise elsewhere in the secondary. Penn State’s Porter or South Carolina’s Cam Smith makes sense.

Miller: I agree that the Lions have to draft a quarterback if they land a top-five pick. But what’s more important is choosing the right passer. Is Alabama’s Bryce Young big enough or strong enough to handle the winters of the NFC North? Can Ohio State’s Stroud rise beyond the Ohio State scheme and become a franchise quarterback? And is Kentucky’s Levis just all tools, or can he be a franchise starter?

And then shoring up the defensive line would be my focus with deep edge rusher and defensive tackle classes. A player like Bryan Bresee (Clemson) would be a plug-and-play addition.

---

Which small-school prospect has a key matchup on deck?

Muench: Jordan Lewis, OLB, Southern (at Jackson State). ESPN’s «College GameDay» is headed to Jackson State for a showdown between the top two teams in the SWAC, and Southern’s Lewis will be a player to watch. He is an explosive edge rusher who had 10.5 sacks in five games in the spring of 2021. But he’s also rangy against the run and versatile enough to play off the ball, which is important because he’s lean (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), and he’ll need to play there in the NFL. Jackson State’s size up front should provide a good challenge on running downs, but Lewis’ burst, foot speed and bend will give him the advantage on passing downs.

---

What’s the Week 9 prediction you feel great about?

Miller: Illinois running back Chase Brown will continue his fantastic season as the nation’s leading rusher with a 200-yard game against Nebraska. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior running back has been unstoppable this year with 1,059 yards at 5.5 per carry. He has topped 100 rushing yards in all seven games this season, but he will take it to another level against the Cornhuskers. Brown — who is elite at making defenders miss with both agility and power — has made himself money this season as a prospect and is currently my RB3 as a Round 3 prospect.

McShay: I’m definitely with you on Brown, Matt — he’s in for a big game. But I’ll instead say Kentucky will hold Hooker and Tennessee’s offense to their lowest scoring total of the season, meaning fewer than the 34 that the Vols scored against Pitt in mid-September. The Wildcats are tied for ninth-best scoring defense (16.4 points against per game) and rank 14th in yards allowed (295.4 per game).

This roster is littered with top defensive draft prospects, including outside linebacker DeAndre Square, cornerback Keidron Smith and inside linebacker Jacquez Jones. And the exceptional length of the Kentucky corners, including Smith, will be key in rerouting the Volunteers’ top pass-catchers. I expect Stoops to have a great defensive plan, and this veteran defense has been the most disciplined group I’ve studied all season.

Reid: Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn will have more than 200 all-purpose yards against Oklahoma State. With 744 rushing yards this season, he’s a quick-footed and electric runner, but he has also become more involved in the passing game over the past few weeks. The Cowboys are allowing 303.6 passing yards per game, so Vaughn could receive plenty of game-breaking opportunities there. At 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds, the junior is small in stature but has a huge presence whenever he touches the ball. I’ve heard some comparisons to Tarik Cohen, and Vaughn is looking like an early-Day 3 pick.

Muench: Kentucky’s Levis will throw for 300-plus yards against Tennessee. He hasn’t thrown for more than even 230 yards in any of the three SEC games he has played this year, but Levis is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country, and Ohio is the only FBS team giving up more passing yards per game than the Volunteers. He should get enough passing attempts and make enough plays to make a difference. But also look for Kentucky to feed running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. in an effort to control the clock and keep the explosive Tennessee offense on the sideline as much as possible.

---

Emptying the notebook: Everything we heard this week

Reid: Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba was reportedly on a pitch count (approximately 20 plays) against Iowa last week, so it will be interesting to see just how much his playing time increases against Penn State. Prior to last week, he missed four of the Buckeyes’ past five games with a hamstring injury, but the junior wideout could be in store for a breakout performance — if he sees a big jump in snaps.

Miller: I’ve mentioned him a few times in recent weeks, but NFL scouts think Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu is the real deal. The 6-foot-6, 321-pound offensive tackle will see Zach Harrison and Ohio State’s defensive line this weekend, so this will be a good gauge for his draft stock. Fashanu has yet to allow a sack over two seasons, and he has given up only one pressure over 282 career pass-block snaps. It’s still early to declare him a surefire first-round prospect, but he’s trending in that direction.

But Fashanu isn’t the only tackle worth watching in that game. Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr. is my top-ranked player at the position, and NFL scouts have repeatedly told me he could be a top-10 pick thanks to his agility, balance and poise in pass protection. The Buckeyes’ right tackle, Dawand Jones, is also a legitimate prospect with awesome run game power and length at 6-foot-8 and 360 pounds. Neither has surrendered a single sack this season.

McShay: I wanted to cover Stanford-UCLA primarily to get my first live looks at quarterbacks Tanner McKee and Dorian Thompson-Robinson this season. Talk about a contrast in styles! McKee is a 6-foot-6 throwback pocket passer with a strong arm, good presence in the pocket and fast eyes through progressions, but he lacks mobility. DTR, on the other hand, is sudden and quick at the position, and the 6-foot-1 signal-caller has sharpened his tools as a pocket passer. Last week against Oregon, he struggled to effectively drive the ball downfield and appeared flustered at times when his initial read was taken away, but he has completed 72.6% of his passes over the past three games (all against ranked opponents).

Both are Day 3 prospects at this point. McKee carries the higher grade right now — I have him in the fourth round, and one scout I spoke with has him higher — but Thompson-Robinson’s stock is definitely rising.

Reid: Kansas State edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah has 6.5 sacks this season, showcasing a great bend off the edge. The up-tempo Oklahoma State offense will test him in many ways, though, and I’d like to see improvement in his strength against the run. It’s easy to envision the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder as a designated pass-rusher early in his pro career, and I currently have a third-round grade on him.

Miller: This seems to happen every draft cycle — when a top prospect gets his game nitpicked — but multiple NFL scouts have said they’ve been a bit disappointed by Alabama star edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.’s tape this season. One scout noted that Anderson — my No. 1 prospect in the class — hasn’t refined his pass-rush moves and doesn’t have the size to beat NFL offensive tackles without more-developed moves (he’s listed at 243 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame). Another questioned Anderson’s lack of production early this season, notably against Texas.

I’m not endorsing this perception, but it’s still important to note. Maybe the NFL isn’t seeing Anderson as the no-brainer No. 1 player in this class that most of us do. Anderson does have six sacks, 33 pressures and 14 tackles for loss through eight games this year, and his pass-rush tools, power, quickness and instincts are all elite in my book.

McShay: Three other players I’m excited to see live this weekend …

• UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet (fourth-round grade) is a big 220-pound downhill runner who has made 31 defenders miss this season and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

• UCLA receiver Jake Bobo (fifth-round grade and rising) has elite size at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He has good agility for his size and is surprisingly proficient after the catch. He has 32 catches for 486 yards and six TDs.

• Stanford receiver Elijah Higgins (fourth-round grade) is another big receiver at 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds, and he displays good route-running skills and strong hands. He has 30 catches for 369 yards and a TD through seven games this season.