Hey, guys! Instead of posting my updated big board standings and making you guys comb through all of the prospects to see what’s different, I figured I’d just isolate my new player evals in a quick post here on Patreon along with where they rank on the overall board. Of course, if you want to revisit the big board, it’s linked below! Here’s who I added to the board today:
41. CB Cam Smith, South Carolina – Smith is a high-floor cornerback prospect that has great length and long arms. He’s a timing corner that plays with great anticipation and recognition. Smith has a seamless back pedal and adequate closing speed that allows him to hold his own in man coverage situations more so than a pure stride-for-stride speed. I see a polished guy that is NFL ready for Week 1, kind of like Roger McCreary was a season ago.
44. LB Jack Campbell, Iowa – Campbell may be the most complete linebacker in the class. This dude averaged 9.6 tackles per game at Iowa in 2022. He posted a 9.98 Relative Athletic Score, and that athleticism shows up on tape at times when he looks like a human joystick, dropping, reading the quarterback’s eyes, changing direction accordingly. He is a ranger at the middle of the field. He’s decisive, plays with good instincts, and can get to the hole quickly against the run. He navigates traffic against the run well and snuffs out running backs, but can get neutralized because of his weight. His play strength at the point of attack could be better, but all in all, Campbell is one of the few sure bets in a weak linebacker class.
45. CB Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State – Forbes is a pure ballhawk that plays with a good technical skill set, reliable positioning, and the speed to mirror receivers down the field. He’s a heady guy that plays with an awareness that tends to lead to the ball coming his way. He’s a willing tackler, but he does get pushed around a bit because of his frame. He is a historical outlier because of his weight, and it shows up when he’s trying to make impact tackles and when guys get physical with him at the line of scrimmage. I watched the Ole Miss game, but it felt pretty useless after awhile. He plays way off because he’s not built to be a fighter at the line, and Ole Miss was content to dink and dunk without testing his hip turn and deep speed. The Alabama tape shows much more of his ability to mirror receivers. He has the speed to go stride for stride with anyone – it’s just the size. If he was 200 pounds, he’d be talked about among the top corners in this class.
64. WR Marvin Mims Jr., Oklahoma – Mims figures to fit into that slot role like a lot of the other smaller wide receivers in this class, but he’s going to be a great value for someone on Day 2 that may miss out on Josh Downs or Zay Flowers. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if some teams were higher on him than either of those guys. He’s a big play waiting to happen, and his stuff was a ton of fun to watch. Mims is a speedy guy that ran a 4.38 40 at the Scouting Combine. He has solid acceleration and burst to kick into that gear when he finds an opening to do so. He’s got an elite make-a-man-miss quality to him. I don’t love the drops, but he’s a gadgety guy that can be used across the formation to create mismatches and be the team’s deep threat…a valuable skill set for the modern NFL.
67. WR AT Perry, Wake Forest – Perry looks like the quintessential old school receiver. He’s big and tall, runs some polished routes, plays with some excellent straight line speed, and can go up and box out a cornerback to make the catch. If this were the 1990s, he might be a Hall of Fame receiver. He’s a strong, complete receiving prospect that might not have the most jukey quality to him, but he’s got potential to be a steady option, particularly in the red zone.
75. CB Clark Phillips III, Utah – There is something to latch onto with Phillips, for sure. He’s a polished, experienced, and smart cornerback that is scrappy as hell. But, WOOF at that Scouting Combine performance. There is an element of athleticism that is missing from his game, and his scrappy-ness can lead to penalties. He’s short for the position, too. Phillips played outside at Utah, and I like him more as an overall football player than a boundary corner in the NFL, but he may need to learn how to play the slot (or maybe even free safety) to have a long career at the next level.
85. EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State – I’ll be up front from the jump here…I’m not sure what the hype surrounding this guy is about. He doesn’t look like a first rounder to me at all. If you’re drafting FAU, it’s for the frame, traits, potential, and that’s about it. I don’t see a finished product on the field, and…well, actually, I don’t see much to latch onto. I watched him take on Baylor, Texas, and TCU, and my takeaways were pretty lackluster. He seemed to coast a bit too much for my liking, over pursuing on a couple of plays, and looking a little lethargic in pursuit of other plays from the back side. I didn’t find him to be particularly quick off the snap, which is what he’s apparently known for? I didn’t know anything about him before I watched him. There were just too many times that he flat out lost against his blocker, and he failed to shake them after initial contact. He doesn’t appear to have a diverse pass rush skill set either. He does flash some good bend, and I noticed a nice dip move to get under and around the right tackle in the Baylor game. Flashes of a talented pass rusher are there, but in my opinion, you’re drafting him for his frame and athleticism..hoping you can turn him into a more well-rounded edge rusher.
155. WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia – You’d look at the measurables for BFW and wonder why this guy isn’t a first round prospect. He’s 6’4” 221 pounds, and he ran a 4.38 40 at the Scouting Combine. BFW’s Relative Athletic Score is 9.96. It’s ridiculous. But, like many a prospect – it takes actually watching a few games to see where the disconnect is. For me, I didn’t necessarily see the athletic traits come across in game action. There were times I felt like he just flat out wasn’t running all that hard…definitely not consistently putting in 4.38 40 effort. He definitely has upside if you can harness more of the Combine numbers into production, and he does have a role in NFL offenses as a guy that can just run really fast really straight and battle big defensive backs for 50/50 balls. There’s some real value here, but I’d want to dig into why the guy at the Combine doesn’t seem to consistently show up on the tape before I’d feel confident in projecting him into a starting role.
Check out how these guys stack up on my full 2023 NFL Draft Big Board, and keep an ear to the ground for more updates here on Patreon!