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One of my favorite risers of the 2023 draft class has been Tennessee wide receiver, Jalin Hyatt.
Hyatt, who could opt to return to the Vols after this season, will likely strike when the iron is hot and declare for next year’s draft, which is understandable given his recent emergence.
His most memorable performance will undoubtedly be his 6-207-5 breakout against Alabama, but Hyatt has had back-to-back 100-yard performances since that game and went for 5-138-2 in Tennessee’s blowout win over Kentucky last week.
Last week’s game against Kentucky featured the return of wide receiver Cedric Tillman, but Tillman saw just four targets in his return, while Hyatt ripped off a 5-138-2 line on six targets, which included a 55-yard touchdown early in the first quarter.
Jalin Hyatt (14) has now broken Tennessee's school record for receiving touchdowns in a season and its the 8th game of the season 🏈https://t.co/9M5nz7u67v
— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 30, 2022
While Hyatt’s first score was impressive, it was his second score -- a 31-yard touchdown -- that set a school record for single-season receiving touchdowns. That record currently stands at 14, but Hyatt still has four regular season games to play, plus a potential SEC championship game followed by bowl season.
It’s safe to say he’s far from done.
Hyatt’s receiving line currently sits at 45-907-14 on 58 targets. His 77.6% catch rate ranks 10th in the nation among receivers with 50 or more targets, while his 514 receiving yards on deep targets leads the nation per PFF.
Boasting one of the more exciting breakout seasons in the nation, Hyatt will be a fun player to track should he declare for next year’s draft. At 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, Hyatt has true track speed and could prove to be one of the fastest receivers in next year’s class. His 3.81 YPRR is good for third in the nation, while his 8.4 YAC/REC is tied for 31st, ranking ahead of several receivers currently viewed as first-round talents.
Note: Stats and information courtesy of PFF.com, CollegeFootballData.com and Sports-Reference.com.
Will Levis, QB (Kentucky)
Passing: 16-of-27 passing, 98 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTS
Rushing: 5 carries, -22 yards, 0 TDs
Speaking of Tennessee’s matchup against Kentucky, Week 9 was a bad week to be Will Levis. Considered by some (not many, but some) as the top quarterback of the 2023 class, Levis led the Wildcats to six points in their blowout loss to Tennessee, failing to throw for 100 yards while tossing three picks and averaging 3.6 YPA.
Levis has turned the ball over 10 times in seven games and is tied for 15th in the nation with eight interceptions on the year. Levis’ 9.0 YPA is good for 12th-best in the nation, but his 8.3 aDOT ranks all the way down at 110th.
Turnovers are something Levis has struggled with throughout his career, as the senior quarterback had 15 turnovers in 13 games last season, and six turnovers in eight games during his time at Penn State.
Levis, in my humble opinion, has some red flags. His turnovers are one of them. Additionally, his days at Penn State were spent behind Sean Clifford, whose post-graduate years will not be spent as a pro football player. This isn’t to say that Levis can’t have a solid NFL career, as we’ve seen quarterbacks succeed in the NFL despite being beaten out by lesser talent in college, but this is something that will stand out to some throughout the entire pre-draft process.
In his defense, Levis also lost NFL-caliber wide receivers after the 2021 season, with Wan’Dale Robinson (104-1342-7) being taken in the second round by the New York Giants and Josh Ali (41-601-1) joining the Falcons as an undrafted rookie free agent. Robinson and Ali were Kentucky’s two-leading receivers last season, and accounted for almost 70% of Levis’ passing yards.
The jury will be out on Levis for the next several months. It’s unlikely we know how the NFL truly feels about him until draft night -- as we saw with players like Sam Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell and Malik Willis in this year’s draft. But being a turnover-prone quarterback with a 98-yard stinker on your senior year resumé is not good.
Eric Gray, RB (Oklahoma)
Rushing: 20 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: 2 receptions, 14 yards, 0 TDs
Oklahoma’s Eric Gray is ranked as the 17th-best running back of the 2023 class per NFL Mock Draft Database. The Sooners’ lead back transferred from Tennessee after the 2020 season but didn’t get a chance to operate as the top back until this season.
Gray, who boasts a career rushing line of 453-2519-16, has displayed versatility as both a runner and a receiver and has also caught 82 passes for 717 yards and another five scores. This season, Gray has rushed for 117-796-6 and is well on his way to his first (and probably only) 1,000-yard rushing season of his career. Per PFF, he ranks 20th in the nation in missed tackles forced (39) and is tied for 58th in YCO/ATT (3.45).
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound back has rushed for 100+ yards in five of eight contests and led the Sooners with a 20-101-1 line in last week’s win over Iowa State.
Gray scored on a four-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to officially put the game out of reach, and had a long carry of 15 yards on the afternoon. Barring an impressive combine performance, Gray is shaping up to be a Day 3 pick in next year’s draft, but he’ll bring an interesting resumé as both a runner and pass-catcher.
Josh Downs, WR (North Carolina)
Receiving: 11 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TDs
North Carolina wide receiver missed the first few weeks of the season dealing with an injury but has been on a tear since returning in Week 4 against Notre Dame.
Through six games, Downs is boasting a receiving line of 48-527-7 and has gone for 100+ yards in half of those games. The senior receiver saw a season-high 16 targets in last week’s game against Pittsburgh, racking up 82 yards after the catch while hauling in 11 passes and finishing with two scores.
Downs’ longest play of the day came on a 25-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, but Downs also found paydirt in the third quarter on a 13-yard score.
Drake Maye finds Josh Downs for the North Carolina touchdown! #TarHeels #CollegeFootball
— The College Experience (@TCEonSGPN) October 30, 2022
https://t.co/H60017ZRtN
Currently ranked as the fifth-best receiver of the 2023 class per NFL Mock Draft Database, Downs is a true slot receiver. During his time at North Carolina, he has seen 89.6% of his snaps come from the slot and had a season-high 96.3% slot rate in last week’s win over Pittsburgh.
Downs has a chance to turn into a solid Day 2 pick in next year’s draft, and should immediately fill a slot role for a team in need of a reliable pass-catcher.
Darnell Washington, TE (Georgia)
Receiving: 3 receptions, 47 yards, 0 TDs
We haven’t touched much on through the first nine weeks of the season, but that changes today.
If football players were built in a lab, mad scientists would design tight ends that look like Darnell Washington. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound junior tight end is the No. 2 ranked tight end on NFL Mock Draft Database and has made a name for himself as an explosive playmaker.
To date, Washington ranks third in the nation among tight ends in YPR (17.5) and is 21st in YAC/REC per PFF.
The hulking tight end has caught 19 passes for 332 yards and no touchdowns this season but also faces competition from tight end Brock Bowers, who is eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Washington is third on the Bulldogs in receiving with a line of 19-332-0 but ranks second on the team in YPR behind Bowers -- who again, is also very good.
In Georgia’s Week 9 win over Florida, Washington posted a 3/47 line, with his longest play coming on a 25-yard gain. Washington drew six targets on the day and just missed having a much-bigger performance after dropping a deep pass from Stetson Bennett early in the second quarter. According to an article published by Pro Football Network back in September, PFN’s Ian Cummings notes that Washington can reportedly run a 40-yard dash in the high 4.6 range, which would make him one of the more athletic tight ends in the league if true.
Per the RotoViz Freak Score Calculator, which is a “size-adjusted speed metric that uses height, weight, and speed to project the touchdown scoring potential for NFL prospects,” Washington would grade as one of the “freakiest” tight ends in recent NFL history. Applying a 4.65 forty-time to Washington’s 6-foot-7, 265-pound frame is enough to compare him to the likes of Noah Fant, Logan Thomas, Vance McDonald and Mark Andrews -- four players who are or once were some of the most athletic at the tight end position.
Washington is all but a lock to be in the discussion as the overall TE1 of the 2023 NFL Draft class. While his production numbers aren’t quite comparable to Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer (47-580-6), Mayer and Washington are heavy favorites to be the first two tight ends off the board.
