Analysis
12/31/22
3 min read
Top 2023 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch in College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff begins Saturday with four premier teams and some of the best players in the country participating — players we could see dominating on Sundays as soon as next year.
NFL teams have regularly used these matchups for player evaluations. They all want to know: who is showing up on the biggest stages?
For example, Travon Walker, while at Georgia, had standout performances in both games of the 2021 College Football Playoff and catapulted himself into being the first pick of the NFL draft. Think about Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase and what they accomplished at LSU.
This year players such as C.J. Stroud and Paris Johnson Jr. of Ohio State, and Jalen Carter of Georgia all have a chance to prove themselves worthy of a top pick.
Several of the players in the College Football Playoff have shown up in our first two mock drafts. You can see them here:
>> Mock Draft 1.0 | Mock Draft 1.1
Georgia is the tournament's top seed, and with good reason; the Bulldogs have seven players on The 33rd Team's Big Board, including three in the top 10 and five in the top 35. Here are the players in this year's CFP semifinal games who made our initial top 100:
Fiesta Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan
TCU Horned Frogs (2 Top-100 Players)
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WR Quentin Johnston (No. 11)
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IOL Steve Avila (No. 74)
Michigan Wolverines (2 Top-100 Players)
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RB Blake Corum (No. 72, will not play because of knee injury)
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EDGE Mike Morris (No. 94)
Peach Bowl: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Ohio State Buckeyes (4 Top-100 Players)
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QB C.J. Stroud (No. 8)
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WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (No. 14, will not play because of ankle injury)
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OT Paris Johnson Jr. (No. 15)
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EDGE Zach Harrison (N0. 69)
Georgia Bulldogs (7 Top-100 Players)
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DT Jalen Carter (No. 1)
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CB Kelee Ringo (No. 9)
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OT Broderick Jones (No. 10)
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EDGE Nolan Smith (No. 29)
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TE Darnell Washington (No. 35)
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S Tykee Smith (No. 67)
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RB Kenny McIntosh (No. 77)
