Multiple Sooners included in Mel Kiper’s positional top 10 for the 2023 NFL draft
Mel Kiper isn’t as high on the Oklahoma Sooners as others have been this year. However, he does have a few Sooners inside his top ten position rankings for 2023 (ESPN+).
Brayden Willis is an interesting one. He’s a great blocker and moves well for a guy his size. I’m not sure how much draft buzz he’ll get, but NFL teams that value the running game should be all over him in the later rounds. As a receiver, he’s having a career year. He’s second in receptions and yards and leads Oklahoma with five touchdown receptions.
His ability to do it all as a tight end will make him draftable, but the question is where he’ll go. He’s shown a diverse skill set to be an every-down tight end in the NFL. His run blocking will get him drafted, but it’s the receiving ability that will determine how high he’ll get selected.
Anton Harrison came in as the No. 8 offensive tackle on the list. He’s putting together another strong season for the Sooners. He’s allowed just one sack this season.
Michael Turk came in at No. 10 among Kiper’s top 10 kickers and punters in the 2023 NFL draft. He’s been a weapon all season long in the punting game, and in 2022, he’s also shown some ability to run fakes as the holder. Turk has been great at flipping field position and he’s not allowing returners opportunities. Only 8 of his 40 punts have been returned on the season, and he’s allowing just 1.6 yards per return, good for fourth in the nation among punters with at least 30 kicks. He’s tied for fifth in the nation in hangtime at 4.14 seconds among punters with at least 30 attempts.
While Marvin Mims has been good this season, his exclusion outside of Kiper’s top 10 wide receivers for the 2023 NFL draft isn’t all that surprising. Wide receiver is annually the deepest position in the draft, and there are a lot of really good draft-eligible receivers for 2023. Mims has some work to do to put himself in a position to be a top-100 pick in 2023.
Eric Gray, however, has no business being behind ten running backs. Gray’s speed and ability to find running lanes alone should have him high enough on draft rankings. No, he isn’t Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, but he’s a very good running back. Also left out of the top 10 was Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn. It’s not as deep of a position group as wide receiver, but running back provides a lot of options in the draft.
Gray may not have the prototypical size or production for a player in his third college season, but he’s displaying this season that he has a chance to be a playmaker at the next level. Currently on pace for nearly 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns, Gray is having a career year for the Sooners. Let’s see if he can change his draft stock over the final four weeks of the season.
Running backs aren’t as highly valued as they have been in the past. Three running backs have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in the last three years: Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. When Gray’s name is called in April, it won’t be until day two or three.
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