The College Football Playoff is the pinnacle of the college football season, but it’s also the brightest stage for 2023 NFL Draft prospects to shine. Ahead of the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, the two semifinals of the CFP, which prospects have the most to gain as they attempt to guide their team to a College Football National Championship appearance?
10 2023 NFL Draft Prospects With the Most To Gain in the College Football Playoff
Max Duggan, QB, TCU
Show me the analyst who had Max Duggan on their preseason Heisman Trophy watchlist and I’ll show you a liar. The TCU quarterback has taken the college football world by storm this season, helping the Horned Frogs to a place in the College Football Playoff.
His performance in the Big 12 Championship Game will go down as one of the most gritty in recent college football history. Yet, Duggan is still considered a Day 3/PFA prospect in the 2023 Draft.
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Will beating Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl vault him up draft boards? No. However, he has the opportunity to showcase his skill set against one of the best defenses in all of college football. Overcoming a unit that has allowed just nine touchdowns and 5.8 yards per attempt to the passing game would be a major feather in his cap.
Most importantly, demonstrating a more calm and level-headed approach in the pocket on the highest stage could sell a team on using a Day 3 pick on the TCU quarterback.
Warren McClendon, OT, Georgia
Broderick Jones is receiving substantial hype and first-round attention in the 2023 NFL Draft class, and rightly so. Teammate Warren McClendon hasn’t received the same level of attention but is a genuine and worthy prospect to watch out for in the College Football Playoff.
Facing Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, McClendon will have a tough matchup with an Ohio State defensive front led by redshirt freshman J.T. Tuimoloau which will give him the opportunity to flash his mettle.
While he might not be the biggest offensive tackle in the class at 6’4″ and 300 pounds, McClendon routinely utilizes his natural leverage advantage while playing with low pad level. Furthermore, he’s strong, athletic, and displays technical excellence.
The Georgia offensive tackle has improved on some punch timing issues from his scouting report in the previous cycle, and with an impressive performance in the Peach Bowl, he should start to hear some more noise around his name.
Cornelius Johnson, WR, Michigan
Everyone knows that Blake Corum has been the heartbeat of the Michigan offense this season. In his absence, Donovan Edwards will shoulder the load against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, and the true sophomore has shown he’s more than capable of continuing in Corum’s explosive ways.
However, it’s unlikely that Michigan can solely lean on the ground game in their College Football Playoff matchup. Enter Cornelius Johnson.
Johnson leads the Wolverines with six receiving touchdowns, averaging 15.6 yards per attempt this season, in part thanks to a monster day against Ohio State. When his name is called, the 6’3″, 208-pound WR answers the bell.
Naturally, his size causes issues for opposing coverages. Yet, he’s an explosive athlete with excellent acceleration and straight line speed who is also a savvy route-runner. A matchup against 5’9″ Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, a fellow 2023 NFL Draft prospect, will certainly be something to key in on.
Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State
The trench battle in the Peach Bowl is going to be key for Ohio State to stand any chance of toppling the number one team in the nation, Georgia.
The Bulldogs’ defensive front boasts one of the best players in the entire 2023 NFL Draft class, Jalen Carter, amongst a host of talented players. One of the men tasked with keeping Carter in check will be Ohio State center Luke Wypler, an ascending prospect in his own right.
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Wypler will be particularly important against a Georgia defense that has allowed just five rushing touchdowns this fall, with the top-ranked rushing defense in the nation.
The Buckeyes are at their best when they can get their ground game rolling, and Wypler has been a key component of that with his physicality and the athleticism to work out to the second level. If he can use his shorter, stout frame to nullify Carter’s interior influence, the Ohio State center could be a big winner in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
Kelee Ringo started the season as the consensus CB1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. However, the likes of Christian Gonzalez and Joey Porter Jr. have overtaken him in the eyes of some analysts.
The Georgia cornerback’s matchup against an Ohio State offense that contains the potential WR1 of the next draft cycle — Marvin Harrison Jr. — in the College Football Playoff gives him the opportunity to prove he belongs right at the top of the class. Ringo is a true athletic freak whose speed from his 6’2″, 200+ pounds frame is mind-blowing.
Zach Harrison, EDGE, Ohio State
Zach Harrison has never quite lived up to his high school promise at the college football level, but it would be a fool who discounts him as a genuine 2023 NFL Draft prospect.
The hyper-athletic 6’6″, 268 pounds edge prospect has had the most statistically successful season of his Ohio State career, putting his explosiveness, power, and length to good use during the Buckeyes’ run to the College Football Playoff. Having success against a Georgia o-line that has allowed just 0.54 sacks per game would help pad his draft résumé.
Mark Perry, S, TCU
TCU safety Mark Perry is arguably one of the most underrated 2023 NFL Draft prospects on display during the College Football Playoff. Perhaps it’s because of a lack of perceived production this season.
Look beyond the numbers, however, and Perry has the physicality, speed, and ability to play in space that will be crucial to keeping Michigan’s offense in check during the Fiesta Bowl. If TCU beats the Wolverines, and their defense performs as it did against Texas, then expect Perry to start earning more attention in this class.
DJ Turner, CB, Michigan
Michigan is one of just four teams that have allowed single-digit passing touchdowns this season. While pressure up front has been important, the secondary has played their part too.
Cornerback DJ Turner leads the Wolverines with 10 pass breakups this fall, using his speed, fluidity, football intelligence, and ball skills to be impactful in both man and zone coverage. Michigan’s College Football Playoff matchup with TCU, and particularly wide receiver Quentin Johnston, gives Turner primetime potential to boost his draft stock.
Steve Avila, G, TCU
Name a defensive metric, and you’ll likely find Michigan lurking around the top 10. And in most, they’re within the top-five teams in the country. In order for TCU to succeed in the College Football Playoff, the offensive line is going to have to nullify a ferocious backfield assault.
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Key to that will be 2023 NFL Draft center-turned-guard prospect Steve Avila. The 6’4″, 334 pounds interior offensive lineman possesses the qualities required to be a bully in the phone booth, with excellent length and length and power in addition to his sheer size.
C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
This might be viewed as contentious, but Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud has possibly more to gain from the College Football Playoff than any other 2023 NFL Draft prospect. Long considered a position leader in the quarterback class, a stumbling climax to the college football season has seen him fall from grace amongst a number of analysts. Even in our own quarterback rankings, Stroud has slipped behind Alabama’s Bryce Young.
Not many people are giving Ohio State a chance of beating Georgia in the Peach Bowl. Herein lies the opportunity for Stroud. If he were to conjure up a career performance in overcoming the best defense in college football, that would do wonders for his public perception.
There’s no denying that he possesses the size and arm talent that the NFL covets. Demonstrating that he can play with comfort out of structure against a defense like Georgia’s will help an NFL team to find comfort in selecting him at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft.