While I was tempted to slot Georgia defender Javon Bullard as the next member of "Athens North," Howie Roseman invests another first-round pick in the trenches. Several edge defenders — Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick — are scheduled to become free agents after the 2024 season. Sawyer, the sixth Buckeye in this mock, was the school's highest-ranked recruit in their 2021 class. Although he had only 6.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks as a sophomore, bigger things are in store for Sawyer in 2023.
Porter went to the team that drafted his dad back in 1999 (Pittsburgh) this year, so why not project Trotter to go to the team that selected his dad in 1998 next year? The younger Trotter is coming off a great season and could join Nakobe Dean to fill the hole left up the middle after the departures of T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. He has great instincts and 6-foot, 230-pound size. Trotter had 91 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, 7 pass breakups, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble last year. He does it all.
A former Oregon transfer, James was a pleasant surprise last season. He did a great job limiting big plays and will enter this season with an early-round projection.
Spraggins flashed last fall while we were watching Darnell Wright. If he can have a Wright-type leap over the summer he could make his way into the top-50 conversation.
The Philadelphia Eagles use two tight end sets to put defensive coordinators in a bind. Cade Stover was an outside linebacker for the Buckeyes who moved to tight end. He showed flashes in 2022, and his potential is obvious. With all of the attention toward Ohio State's talented wide receiver group, Stover should have opportunities to get the football thrown his way. Look for Stover to take a major step this season and show scouts he could land in the first round.
It was a relatively down year for Worthy, whose 70.1 receiving grade in 2022 was more than 10 points lower than what he posted in 2021 as a true freshman. Despite seeing 10 more targets this past season, the sophomore recorded 224 fewer receiving yards and four fewer touchdowns than his dominant 2021 year.
He became much more of a downfield receiver this past season, with his average depth of target being 17.6 yards, which ranked seventh highest in the Power Five. That dwarfs his 13.4-yard figure from 2021, which was 69th in the same group. By making him more of a downfield threat, Texas took away one of Worthy's best attributes: his ability after the catch. As a true freshman, Worthy's 526 yards after the catch were the 10th most in the Power Five. He fell to 41st this year with only 324 yards after the catch.
Easy to make the connection here. The 6-0, 180-pound cornerback looks to be the next Georgia defensive standout, and the Eagles have established their interest on that front by upping their tally of Bulldog defenders to five. Investing in a young cornerback might also be good long-term planning for the defending NFC champs given that starters Darius Slay and James Bradberry will be on the wrong side of 30 at the start of the season.
