NFL Draft: Prospects on the Rise this Week 12/1/21

As we head into the heart of draft season, who are the prospects that have seen their NFL Draft stock rise? Click here to read more.

Chris Spooner | Dec 1, 2021

NFL Draft: Prospects on the Rise this Week

As we head into the heart of draft season, who are the prospects that have seen their NFL Draft stock rise? Click here to read more

This week, everything was on the line. Conference titles. Bragging rights. Pride. This is the week where campus legends are made. Rivalry Week brings out the best in college football, and this year was no exception.

This year, Rivalry Week also brought out the chaos — in more ways than one! The College Football Playoff got a potentially massive shake-up this week with the Michigan Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh finally conquering their white whale, so to speak, and upsetting the Ohio State Buckeyes. This means prospects are going to be on the rise for the NFL Draft.

The biggest knock on Harbaugh over the years has been his inability to beat the team down south. Not only does the loss have the potential to knock their rivals out of the College Football Playoff picture, but it could also potentially vault Michigan into the picture if things break right for them. Getting that monkey off his back has to feel good. While his NFL Draft stock is a thing of the past, Harbaugh’s stock has to be on the rise after the big win.

While Harbaugh may not have any NFL Draft stock left in him, one of his players provided Michigan with a huge performance on the big stage and potentially cemented himself as not only the top player at his position but possibly the top player in the entire 2022 NFL Draft class. So, without further adieu, let’s see whose stock rose this week!

Breece Hall - RB, Iowa State

Any time you can set an NCAA record, you know you’re doing something right. When you break a record that had stood for more than 50 years? Well, you’re doing something special. That’s exactly what Cyclones running back Breece Hall did for Iowa State in what may have been his final game wearing the red and gold.

Hall took a handoff in the second quarter to the house for a 39-yard run. Breaking long runs for touchdowns is nothing new for Hall. What was new was the record he set with his gallop. Hall extended his touchdown streak to 24 straight games, breaking a record that stood for 51 years with that touchdown.

Hall wasn’t content to stop there, however. Hall put two more touchdowns on the board to give himself an even 20 rushing touchdowns on the season, his second consecutive season eclipsing the 20 TD mark. Not content with being a two-down back, Hall also flashed the receiving skills, adding two receptions and another touchdown.

There have been a lot of great running back performances this season, and Hall has seemingly faded into the background with the emergence of guys like Kenneth Walker from Michigan State. Hall showed up in a big way this week and showed fans and NFL scouts alike that he deserves to be in the conversation for the top running back in the 2022 NFL Draft class. Hall may not be the first off the board, but he’s got the talent to be a high-quality starter for years.

Aidan Hutchinson - EDGE, Michigan

It had been a decade since the Michigan Wolverines beat their long-time rival, Ohio State. It’s arguably the best rivalry in all of college football, yet it hadn’t been much of a rivalry recently. No one player is solely responsible for a complete team victory like the one Michigan pulled off on Saturday, but Aidan Hutchinson came about as close as you can get.

Hutchinson cemented himself as one of the best prospects at the EDGE position and in the entirety of the 2022 NFL Draft class with his performance against the Buckeyes. It didn’t matter who was lined up across from Hutchinson. He was beating his man and wreaking havoc on C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes offense. The box score for Hutchinson is already impressive, and it only tells part of the story.

Hutchinson helped Michigan get their first victory over Ohio State since 2011 with seven tackles on the day, and three sacks, with an additional quarterback hurry to boot. That line is impressive, but Hutchinson was even more destructive than the stats show. The talented senior was in the backfield all day, winning on seemingly every play and establishing his dominance.

What’s more impressive is that much of Hutchinson’s production came against one of the better linemen in the country in Ohio State tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. This was the kind of performance Hutchinson needed to really establish himself in the conversation with Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux as the best EDGE rusher in the country. More than a few NFL Draft analysts out there think it’s Hutchinson, not Thibodeaux, who could be the first EDGE selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, and games like Saturday show why.

Trey McBride - TE, Colorado State

Tight end is often an overlooked position when it comes to NFL Draft hype. It takes a back seat to almost every other position on the field, except in cases like last year when there’s a truly exceptional talent like Kyle Pitts.

There’s no Pitts in this year’s class, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that there isn’t a bevy of talent at the position. It’s a senior-dominated position, as evidenced by the staggering amount of talent at the position invited to the Senior Bowl this coming February in Mobile, Alabama. The Senior Bowl annually produces some of the biggest names in the NFL Draft, and it will provide a stage for some of this talent to separate itself from the rest.

One such tight end, Colorado State’s Trey McBride, got a jump start on separating himself from the competition with his performance on Saturday. While most people were focused on the duo of Carson Strong and Romeo Doubs for the Nevada Wolf Pack, it was McBride who stole the show and the headlines.

McBride walked away from Rivalry Week with six receptions and 113 yards. What’s more impressive is what McBride did on the ground. The ground game isn’t typically one that tight ends get first-hand experience in, but McBride got a carry on Saturday, and he made the most of it, to the tune of 69 yards and a touchdown.

McBride will compete with the likes of Charlie Kolar, Isaiah Likely, and another Nevada Wolf Pack product, Cole Turner. McBride may not be the first tight end of the board when the 2022 NFL Draft rolls around, but his performance on Saturday shows that he has position versatility, and he’ll have a chance in Mobile to show that he should at least be in the conversation.

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