London Vol
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Often you can evaluate a team’s progression by the number of players they have drafted and in what round. So let us compare who was drafted from Tennessee in 2022 and what my projections are for the 2023 draft, and you will see what an amazing job Josh Heupel and his coaching team have done.
In 2022 the Vols had five players drafted, they were:
Alontae Taylor in the 2nd round
Velus Jones in the 3rd round
Matthew Butler in the 5th round
Cade Mays in the 6th round
Theo Jackson in the 6th round
and that was quite a good year, as in some years Tennessee have had zero players drafted. Now look at my projections for 2023.
Hendon Hooker 1st Round – Every week Hooker climbs the board and is now seen as one of the top 4 in a Quarterback heavy class. He has the advantage that in today NFL a mobile Quarterback is seen as preferable to that of a static Pro Style Quarterback. The knock on him will be that he is a product of the system.
Jalin Hyatt 1st Round – This guy has exploded on the national stage in the last three weeks and is literally shooting up the draft rankings. As long as his production does not decrease with the return of Cedric Tillman, he is about to make a pile of money.
Darnell Wright 1st Round – He is a borderline 1st or 2nd round pick, but I will go for the former because of him shutting down Will Anderson (a generational pass rusher) in the classic Alabama game. What a great move by the coaches to put him back in his preferred slot at Right Tackle.
Cedric Tillman 2nd Round - I know he is probably our best receiver but I think he will slip to the 2nd round because of the lack of playing time and the fact he will not post an extra fast 40.
GoBigOmari 2nd Round – He could go higher especially if this magical season continues, giving Thomas more national exposure. He is the heart and soul of the D Line.
Byron Young 3rd Round – If this is where he gets drafted, then it will be the steel of the draft. I have been a fan of Byron even before this season, but my only knock on him is that in some games he does go missing and then in others he is unstoppable. 3 ½ sacks is ‘small beer’ this season for one so talented so he needs a statistical big finish to the season.
Jerome Carvin 5th Round – One of the unsung heroes of an ‘under the radar’ very good Offensive Line.
I think day 3 picks will include Jeremy Banks (great energy), Princeton Fant (adaptable in the Deebo Samuel, Cordarrelle Patterson roles) and maybe Trevon Flowers (he will need to step up for the rest of the season otherwise he will probably fall short thus going into UFA like Nigel Warrior did).
If I am even close to the above, then what confirmation that would be that we have made such progress in such little time.
GO VOLS
In 2022 the Vols had five players drafted, they were:
Alontae Taylor in the 2nd round
Velus Jones in the 3rd round
Matthew Butler in the 5th round
Cade Mays in the 6th round
Theo Jackson in the 6th round
and that was quite a good year, as in some years Tennessee have had zero players drafted. Now look at my projections for 2023.
Hendon Hooker 1st Round – Every week Hooker climbs the board and is now seen as one of the top 4 in a Quarterback heavy class. He has the advantage that in today NFL a mobile Quarterback is seen as preferable to that of a static Pro Style Quarterback. The knock on him will be that he is a product of the system.
Jalin Hyatt 1st Round – This guy has exploded on the national stage in the last three weeks and is literally shooting up the draft rankings. As long as his production does not decrease with the return of Cedric Tillman, he is about to make a pile of money.
Darnell Wright 1st Round – He is a borderline 1st or 2nd round pick, but I will go for the former because of him shutting down Will Anderson (a generational pass rusher) in the classic Alabama game. What a great move by the coaches to put him back in his preferred slot at Right Tackle.
Cedric Tillman 2nd Round - I know he is probably our best receiver but I think he will slip to the 2nd round because of the lack of playing time and the fact he will not post an extra fast 40.
GoBigOmari 2nd Round – He could go higher especially if this magical season continues, giving Thomas more national exposure. He is the heart and soul of the D Line.
Byron Young 3rd Round – If this is where he gets drafted, then it will be the steel of the draft. I have been a fan of Byron even before this season, but my only knock on him is that in some games he does go missing and then in others he is unstoppable. 3 ½ sacks is ‘small beer’ this season for one so talented so he needs a statistical big finish to the season.
Jerome Carvin 5th Round – One of the unsung heroes of an ‘under the radar’ very good Offensive Line.
I think day 3 picks will include Jeremy Banks (great energy), Princeton Fant (adaptable in the Deebo Samuel, Cordarrelle Patterson roles) and maybe Trevon Flowers (he will need to step up for the rest of the season otherwise he will probably fall short thus going into UFA like Nigel Warrior did).
If I am even close to the above, then what confirmation that would be that we have made such progress in such little time.
GO VOLS
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