2022 NFL Draft update: 5 seniors who generated a buzz in Week 3
Each week during the season, On3 teams up with Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy to identify some senior 2022 NFL draft prospects generating buzz in the scouting world.
Here are five who fall into that category for Nagy and the Senior Bowl staff based on their play during Week 3.
Georgia CB Ameer Speed
Week 3 stats: Two tackles in a 40-13 win over South Carolina
Nagy breakdown: “Georgia’s defense is even more impressive live than it is on tape. The staff substitutes in a heavy rotation to keep all the former five-stars fresh, and they all fly around when they get on the field. There is a bunch of early-round NFL talent in the front seven, including potential first-rounders in EDGE Adam Anderson and tackle Jordan Davis, and a player to keep an eye on in the back-end is Speed, a first-year starting cornerback. While there isn’t much tape to go off just yet, Speed has elite physical tools to work with, and he likely will get drafted based off his special teams potential alone.”
South Carolina WR Josh Vann
Week 3 stats: Three catches, 128 yards, one TD in the loss to Georgia
Nagy breakdown: “Another takeaway from our trip to Athens was the emergence of Vann. A friend on the Gamecocks’ staff gave us a heads-up about Vann during pre-game, and Vann made him look smart by averaging 42.7 yards per catch on three catches, including a TD. This was Vann’s second straight 100-yard game. He had five receptions for 116 yards in Week 2 vs. East Carolina after having only 10 catches for 88 yards all of last season. Vann definitely showed intriguing playmaking ability against Georgia, and we will be seeing him play live again next week against Kentucky.”
Colorado State TE Trey McBride
Week 3 stats: Nine catches, 109 yards in a 22-6 win over Toledo
Nagy breakdown: “McBride is the best draft prospect that nobody is talking about. McBride, who leads all of college football (not just tight ends) with 30 catches, had 109 of CSU’s 110 receiving yards last week in an impressive upset win on the road at Toledo. McBride has enough size to be an attached line-of-scrimmage blocker at the next level, but what sticks out most on tape are his hands. There isn’t a tight end prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft that adjusts and catches the ball as naturally as Colorado State’s go-to guy.”
Washington State OL Abraham Lucas
Week 3 stats: Started his 33rd consecutive game at right tackle in a 45-14 loss to USC
Nagy breakdown: “This was a big week for us to see some of our top-graded senior offensive linemen, and they all impressed. Lucas was getting more pre-draft buzz in the media than he is now and that doesn’t make any sense to our staff. Lucas is a big man (listed at 6-foot-7, 319 pounds) and all he does is block his opponent, which he did on junior tape against much-hyped Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux as well as on Saturday against USC’s Drake Jackson. The other three we saw were Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning, Southern Utah’s Braxton Jones and Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann. There’s a good chance all three of these non-Power 5 tackles go in the first three rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft.”
Cincinnati LB Darrian Beavers
Week 3 stats: Nine tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery in a 38-24 win over Indiana
Nagy breakdown: “Our Senior Bowl ‘Stock Up’ player for Week 3 is Beavers. A friend on the coaching staff told us over the summer that Beavers will be their breakout player this year, and he played his best game of the young season on Saturday against a tough Indiana team. Beavers filled the stat sheet and, more important, the tape matched. Our scouts knew going into the year that Beavers had some of the best physical tools of any linebacker in the 2022 draft class, and he’s starting to trigger downhill more consistently. We expect Beavers to be more and more disruptive as the season wears on.”
The 2022 NFL draft will be April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
Jim Nagy has been the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl, the nation’s premier college all-star game, since 2018 after 18 years as an NFL scout. For interesting feedback and information on senior NFL draft prospects throughout the year, follow Jim on Twitter. For information on the Senior Bowl, follow both Jim and the Reese’s Senior Bowl main account.