NFL Draft: Three Rising Prospects After Championship Week

As we enter the end of the college football season and into the bowl season, who are the NFL Draft prospects that saw their draft stock rise after championship week?

Chris Spooner | Dec 9, 2021

NFL Draft: Three Rising Prospects After Championship Week

As we enter the end of the college football season and into the bowl season, who are the NFL Draft prospects that saw their draft stock rise after championship week?

We've reached the effective end of the college football regular season. It feels a little surreal to say that – it feels like just yesterday we were all getting hyped for the start of another season and a return to normalcy. Now we're getting hyped for the college football postseason: bowl games galore and the College Football Playoff.

After years of fans vocal online about the selection committee having a grudge against non-power five schools, Cincinnati has finally broken through. After a stellar season last year, and an undefeated campaign this year, the Bearcats finished the season in the coveted #4 spot and will get a chance to compete for a National Championship.

Some of the fanfare of a Group of Five school finally making the College Football Playoff was muted by a crazy week of coaching changes that will profoundly affect the college landscape going forward. As for the players on the field, a few had performances that may profoundly impact their 2022 NFL Draft stock. Let's see who should be moving up draft boards after Championship Week.

Jameson Williams - WR, Alabama

BRYCE YOUNG

JAMESON WILLIAMS

W O Wpic.twitter.com/HdnkAG2ikm
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 4, 2021

At this point, it's likely a two-man race for the top of the 2022 NFL Draft wide receiver class. Arkansas' Treylon Burks and Alabama's Jameson Williams seem to have separated themselves from the rest of the class. Each player is likely to be a high first-round draft pick, but which one has the upper hand for the top spot in the class?

If Championship Week was any indication, Williams might ultimately come out on top. With Arkansas failing to make the championship, Williams got the chance to make one last impression on scouts and put some distance between himself and the competition. Williams made the most of the opportunity and then some.

With his Heisman Trophy-nominated quarterback, Bryce Young, delivering strike after strike, Williams torched the Georgia defense. A defense that most had considered the best unit in the nation to this point – by a wide margin. Williams didn't just have a good day - he had a great day against the best competition he's seen all year. A performance like that stands out in scouts' minds and is going to be revisited when the conversations inevitably come up between him and Burks.

For his part, Williams put up 184 yards and two touchdowns on only seven receptions. Williams proved once again that he is a threat to blow the top off the defense on any given play. He's a big play waiting to happen. He's technically sound and does a great job mixing releases to get initial separation, then keeping and extending that separation to make his quarterback's job easy.

Aidan Hutchinson - EDGE, Michigan

Iowa: “We’ll use RBs to chip and help block Aidan Hutchinson”

Hutchinson: “Challenge accepted.” pic.twitter.com/MaK6wDnyBx
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 7, 2021

Rising up draft boards is about more than just what shows up in a box score. It's easy to see who is and isn't productive, but that's only a fragment of the story. Such is the case with the next player "rising" up boards for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Rising is in quotes here because, for Michigan EDGE Adrian Hutchinson, it's not so much about rising as it is establishing his stance within the class. If it wasn't clear before Championship Week that Hutchinson was one of the two best EDGE rushers in the 2022 NFL Draft class, his performance on Saturday – and maybe more importantly the accolades that followed – certainly cemented that fact.

From just looking at the box score, Hutchinson had a fairly pedestrian game in the Big Ten Championship – at least by the standards he's set this season. Hutchinson came away with the win, and four tackles, a sack, and two quarterback hurries along the way. What might be more important is what followed that performance. Hutchinson was named the MVP of the Big Ten Championship game. A couple of days later, Hutchinson became the only defensive player named as a 2021 Heisman Trophy finalist.

When looking at what separates Hutchinson from a prospect like Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux, those accolades are going to weigh heavily on some scouts' minds. On the field, Hutchinson once again showed scouts that he can win in various ways. He can win with power, and he knows how to use his length to gain leverage. Converting speed to power is perhaps the biggest tool in his arsenal. That versatility will make Hutchinson a top-five pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Jalen Pitre - DB, Baylor

Jalen Pitre came out of freakin nowhere!!!!! pic.twitter.com/icSInwIRcL
— Mike Spencer Hrynyshyn (@MikeHrynyshyn) December 7, 2021

The Baylor Bears – and much of the Big 12 – are often overlooked on the national stage. If it isn't about the Oklahoma Sooners, you rarely hear good things about the conference from the national media. But don't let that convince you that Oklahoma is the only program playing good football or that there aren't plenty of talented NFL Draft prospects within the conference.

One of those talented prospects is Baylor defensive back Jalen Pitre. Pitre has been playing lights out all season and hasn't gotten the recognition he deserves on a national stage. He's been on the cusp of making this list a few times and has been edged out by other players. It's high time that changes.

Pitre did everything you could ask from a defensive back during the Bears' upset of #5 Oklahoma State. He was providing Baylor with sticky coverage and accounted for two passes defended. He was a heat-seeking missile, making plays in the backfield and coming up with two tackles for loss, too. The only thing he didn't do for Baylor was come down with one of the four interceptions they had on the day.

Pitre left it all on the field in the Big 12 Championship. He may not get mentioned in the same breath as some of the top safeties of the 2022 NFL Draft class like Kyle Hamilton, Jaquan Brisker, and Daxton Hill, but Pitre made a name for himself Saturday. It'll be interesting to see where he lands, but his stock should be higher than many may assume.

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