The Red River Rivalry is at the forefront of our minds, and for good reason. CFB Week 6 started off hot and only got hotter as the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns battled in Dallas. But there was plenty of other action across the college football and NFL Draft landscapes.
NFL Draft Prospect Winners and Losers From CFB Week 6
Winner | Beau Brade, S, Maryland
You better get to know Beau Brade because the Maryland safety is going to be a player on Sundays. As a safety, athleticism and size are important, and he has more than enough of each. But athleticism and size, especially as a split-field or single-high safety, come secondary to the defender’s processing ability.
Maryland SAF Beau Brade is one of my fav prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class because of his coverage chops.
Showcases them here with his route recognition and ball skills. pic.twitter.com/sl7u5lggAH
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) October 7, 2023
Brade has a quick trigger downhill and a great feel for finding the football at the catch point. Brade even decided to get in on the action on special teams. He blew up what could have been a nice opportunity on a punt return, and he was excellent in coverage downfield.
Loser | Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Quinn Ewers looked flustered early against the Oklahoma Sooners. Steve Sarkisian is one of the best offensive architects at any level of football, but Oklahoma head coach Brett Venables is his equal on the other side of the ball. That made for a tough day for a QB looking to improve his draft stock.
MORE: FREE Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
Pressure negated the Longhorns’ passing attack early, and it made Ewers see ghosts. His feet were jumpy, and his decision-making, which has been underwhelming despite his impressive no-INT streak, let him and the Texas offense down in the Red River Rivalry.
His red-zone INT was a catchable ball, but he led Ja’Tavion Sanders directly into danger, and the throw was late because he wasn’t ready to deliver the ball when he needed to. He hesitated slightly, which allowed the safety to close the distance. And multiple times throughout the game, he lost second-level defenders, leading to poor decisions.
But evaluating Ewers’ game against Oklahoma is not so simple. Despite losing his starting center, playing in a tough wind, and constantly being pressured, the QB settled in and played very well after a very ugly start. That mental fortitude will not go unnoticed by NFL front offices.
Winner | Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
It’s impossible to be hyperbolic when it comes to Marvin Harrison Jr. He is that good. His performance against Maryland on a bum ankle was unbelievable. His conversion on 3rd-and-33 perfectly displayed his outrageous ability to track the ball downfield and his innate feel for the sideline.
Winner| Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oklahoma
The Texas Longhorns boast one of the most physically dominating defensive fronts in college football. That defensive front had themselves a day against the Oklahoma offensive line in the run game and as pass rushers, but Dillon Garbiel negated their impact on him as a passer with his legs and left arm.
Gabriel and the Sooners’ passing attack wasn’t explosive, but there wasn’t necessarily any time for that. The Texas DL was getting close to home, but they couldn’t drive the nail in. Gabriel’s quickness and pocket prowess allowed him to escape continuously.
And then there was the legacy drive. Gabriel absolutely diced the Texas secondary with just one minute and 17 seconds left in the game. He went 4 of 4 on the drive, and then, with the pocket imploding into him, Gabriel delivered the death blow to the phrase, “Texas is back.”
Winner | Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
Even on a day when the LSU Tigers’ passing attack took a back seat to the run game, Jayden Daniels decided to steal the show. The “Slim Reaper” with supercharged legs and a penchant for believing he’s Josh Allen has proven one thing over all else in 2023.
He is here to compete his tail off.
Is he too willing to take unnecessary hits? Yes. In fact, he’s too willing to take any kind of hit. But his outrageous lateral agility and vertical explosiveness make him a unique weapon to defend against at the college level. And for the professional game, he’s showing off his quick-game chops along with natural placement on downfield throws.
He creates, and there are few drives where he’s allowed to take his foot off the gas because the LSU defense resembles the old (and the new) Lincoln Riley defenses. In other words, the LSU offense must feel pressure to score seven on every drive.
Loser | Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas
Sanders was a ghost against the Sooners, which shouldn’t be surprising, considering he was already nursing an ankle injury before he was decapitated on the goal line on a slightly wayward pass.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
The Texas TE is one of the best in the college football landscape. His blend of size and athletic ability have made him the most explosive weapon in the Longhorns’ offense early in the 2023 college football season.
Missing an opportunity to showcase that skill against a Brett Venables defense doesn’t necessarily hurt his potential NFL Draft stock, but it does take away from a potential showcase moment in a tough contest. It’s especially hurtful because Gunner Helm had a fantastic day at the office.