2023 NFL Draft: Week 11 Stock Report
The playoff rush is here, and teams are putting the pedal to the metal, trying to prove that they belong. We saw some top teams express dominance this week with big wins for Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan. While other teams, like Oregon, flopped.
We are also getting some surprises this year with the emergence of new teams and players onto the scene. Most surprisingly, UConn is bowl eligible for the first time since 2015, and that alone should make Head Coach Jim Mora a Coach of the Year candidate because that program looked dead last season.
Two shocking players taking the football world by storm are UNC’s freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who has to be a Heisman candidate and LSU freshman pass rusher Harold Perkins Jr who single-handedly won that game for his team.
So much good happened this week that it is difficult to find a negative, so here are four of this week’s top stars that had our stocks on a steep incline.
WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee:
If you are looking for a big play threat, Hyatt is your guy. In half of Tennessee’s games this season, Hyatt had at least one catch over 50 yards; that is incredible for how deep into the season we are. He isn’t a very big receiver, but he is exceptional at making contested catches, making him a massive touchdown problem for defenses. Hyatt has five multi-touchdown games in the ten games his team has played.
Pulling off the big play and touchdown stats in the SEC is almost otherworldly because he is doing it against NFL-caliber talent weekly.
On top of that, he is a great route runner with fantastic hands and knows how to get open. Hendon Hooker has gotten all the Heisman this season, and rightfully so, but when you look at the numbers, Hyatt deserves to be sitting right next Hooker in New York.
RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota:
Here's a player who is the definition of consistency, and if Minnesota had a better year, he would no doubt be in the Heisman talks. He has yet to have a game with under 100 rushing yards, and in most cases, he reached that yard marker before halftime. Ibrahim also has multiple touchdowns in six of his team's nine games; these are unheard numbers.
That doesn't mean he is the best running back because there are better ones. He isn't the fastest, the biggest, or the strongest, but for some reason, Ibrahim has been impossible to stop. He is not a spectacular athlete and won't be a combine freak, but he will be a good player at the next level because he knows how to play the game correctly.
Notre Dame Defense:
For a team who was missing their top two linebackers and going up against one of the most difficult offenses to contain, you would have never known it. The Irish front seven was on fire and contained the Navy triple option for most of the game. If it weren’t for Navy losing their starting quarterback in the third quarter, they probably wouldn’t have ended up being close.
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the backup was more of a passing quarterback, which opened up the playbook. With that being said, Notre Dame was definitely up for the challenge of stopping the run game.
Isaiah Foskey only accounted for three tackles, but his impact was felt every play. We also might have seen a star in the making with linebacker Prince Kollie. He showed tremendous football IQ and discipline, as he could read and diagnose the play quickly while still making an impact in the backfield. It was a rollercoaster start of the season for the Irish, but the past few weeks have seen a much more confident defense, which has made a major difference for the team.
DL Dylon Horton, TCU:
TCU is in the midst of a magical season after beating Texas and becoming 10-0. All the attention they have gotten so far has gone to the offense. This game, however, is all about the defense.
The TCU defense held a high-powered Texas offense to 199 total yards and only three points because the Longhorn defense scored their sole touchdown. The tone of this game was set in the trenches, and the catalyst was Horton. He dominated the line of scrimmage from start to finish. He was only credited with five tackles and one sack but just controlled the entire game.
He was a major reason Bijan Robinson had only 29 yards because he affected every play. Horton knew Texas had a young offensive line and took advantage of their inexperience by being the more physical, aggressive, and yet, technical player. Watching that game should have NFL scouts drooling because it showed what a good player he could be and that he can dominate the line of scrimmage.