At least one future New York Jet may have been among Friday’s CFP stars
New Year’s Eve featured the two semifinal contests of the College Football Playoff. Alabama defeated Cincinnati by a score of 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl while Georgia defeated Michigan by a score of 34-11 in the Orange Bowl. Alabama and Georgia will meet in the National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 10.
The two games featured some standout performances from a handful of prospects who could hear their names called by the New York Jets in the NFL draft this spring. Here is a roundup of how the top prospects at the Jets’ positions of need performed.
Alabama
OT Evan Neal
A potential top-five pick in this year’s draft, Alabama left tackle Evan Neal had plenty of viewers fixated upon his No. 73 jersey on the left side of the Crimson Tide’s offensive line. He delivered under the spotlight.
Neal earned a 75.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for his Cotton Bowl performance, including a 71.2 grade in the run game and a 76.4 grade in the passing game. It was the highest overall grade accumulated by any of the game’s 10 starting offensive linemen.
The junior allowed two pressures (no sacks) over 34 snaps in pass protection while spearheading a Tide rushing attack that amassed 309 yards.
Alabama rushed for 12.4 yards per carry when attacking the left edge, their best average in any particular direction. They picked up three rushers for 10+ yards in that direction, also their best total of any direction.
As good of an introduction to Evan Neal as I can think #Jets pic.twitter.com/InY1OJOCHE
— Sam (@samcrnic) January 1, 2022
Neal has also played right tackle and left guard in his collegiate career.
At the moment, Neal is unanimously considered a top-10 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Some mocks have him going first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
WR Jameson Williams
Jameson Williams led the game with seven catches, picking up 62 yards and four first downs. He has caught 75 passes for 1,507 yards and 15 touchdowns in 14 games for Alabama this year after transferring over from Ohio State. Williams is generally considered a mid-first-round prospect.
BIG PLAY On 3rd & 16, Bryce Young 20-yd pass to Jameson Williams#Bearcats 6 #RollTide 17 Q3 pic.twitter.com/TV52FmHl2b
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) December 31, 2021
S Jordan Battle
A high-second/low-first round prospect, Alabama safety Jordan Battle didn’t have the greatest game in coverage as he allowed two catches for a team-high 39 yards on a day where the Cincinnati offense was completely stagnant. Battle allowed first-down grabs for 11 and 28 yards.
However, Battle finished plays very effectively as he made seven tackles and missed none.
Battle has 81 tackles and three interceptions this season. Two of those picks were returned for touchdowns.
Cincinnati
CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner
Projected mid-to-high first-round cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was dominant for the Bearcats despite the blowout loss.
Over 34 coverage snaps, he was targeted four times and allowed three catches for only 14 yards and one first down. Gardner’s 74.1 coverage grade at PFF was the highest of the game by any defender on either team.
Sauce Gardner lays the BOOM on Jameson Williams 💥 pic.twitter.com/NLp1uQkaIN
— PFF (@PFF) December 31, 2021
Gardner concludes his 2021 season allowing 20 catches on 40 targets for 131 yards (3.3 per target), zero touchdowns, and three interceptions – a passer rating of 26.1. Gardner never allowed a touchdown over his three years with Cincinnati, a career spanning 33 games, 138 targets, and 1,124 coverage snaps.
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Georgia
LB Nakobe Dean
Bulldogs linebacker Nakobe Dean was mostly considered a late-first-round pick prior to the Orange Bowl, but after his dominant performance against Michigan, his stock is quickly rising.
Dean had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble in a highlight-filled outing. In coverage, Dean allowed two of four passes thrown his way to be completed for negative-2 yards and no first downs.
Man Nakobe Dean is smart. Watch him call out the reduced split and orbit motion to his teammates before getting the sack. pic.twitter.com/GxPFqOmBbd
— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) January 1, 2022
Dean has 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, two interceptions, and four passes defended this year.
Michigan
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is in a duel with Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux for the title of the draft’s No. 1 prospect.
Hutchinson lost a lot of ground in that debate with his Orange Bowl performance.
Over 32 pass-rush snaps, Hutchinson had only one pressure, posting a season-low pressure rate of 3.1%. It was a shockingly out-of-character performance for Hutchinson – his season average is 17.2% and his previous season-low was 9.3%.
Hutchinson for heisman pic.twitter.com/tFQMxwkumn
— The Ox (@OxEquities) January 1, 2022
Hutchinson finishes the season tied for third in the nation in sacks (14.0) and total pressures (74).
EDGE David Ojabo
Hutchinson’s fellow edge rusher, David Ojabo, is considered a mid-to-late first-round prospect. He also struggled in the playoff game, earning zero pressures over 19 pass-rush snaps.
Ojabo had 11.0 sacks and 41 total pressures this year.
S Daxton Hill
Considered a low-first/high-second round prospect, Wolverines safety Daxton Hill was one of the few Michigan defenders to have a competent performance. His overall PFF grade of 71.4 ranked second on the team. Over 37 defensive snaps, Hill had no missed tackles and gave up only one first down reception through the air. He also had one pressure as a blitzer.
Hill picked up 69 tackles, eight passes defended, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions for Michigan this year.
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Might want to replace a couple of those film clips. I didn’t even see Hutchinson in his clip. and the one on evan Neal went for no gain, so hardly an example of his dominant blocking.
Neal and Ham is a must draft for me. I consider both top 10 worthy picks and big huge needs with the injury uncertain status of Bechton and Fant you have to draft a Neal he is a monster tackle
Hey if we take the top safety out of ND and Nakobe Dean…. I bet we can stop a screen pass next year.
With so many quality Edges and OLinemen in this draft, I could envision trade down possibilities if the QB desperate teams below us get antsy (think New Orleans, Washington and Pittsburgh among others). Prioritized positions in R1 and 2 would be Edge, OL, LB, TE, S and WR. Not interested in CBs above those other positions this high.
Entering this season it looked like CB was going to be a necessity in R1 this year (or high priced FA) but with the play of Hall and even the serviceable play of Echols/Carter II it doesn’t feel like they need to force anything there with needs at positions that are weaker/more important like the ones you mentioned. QB support (OL/WR/TE) is key and the LB/S positions are much weaker than CB right now, I would argue. But there are some good CB prospects who will be enticing at their respective spots so we’ll see how it all plays out.
The CB’s have been better than expected but let’s be honest, they have been protected and the defense is about to be the worst in team history. I think a top CB is critical. I think JC Jackson would be worth the money.
For sure it’s definitely still a huge need (while Echols has been okay for where he was drafted and should be good depth he still has been a well below average starter), going to be interesting to see where they rank it on their priority list.
I think the CBs will look even better when we start getting pressure on the QB consistently. I want George Karlaftis with our pick and Tyler Linderbaum with Seattle’s.
I feel if you can manage to draft the best LT and best IOL in this “Strong “ draft for lineman. you should. This is why I would go OT E. Neal followed by OC T. Linderbaum. A HR and its only rd1.
yes PSI! YES!!! I’ve been thinking buy offense – free agent receiver, tight end, and maybe an O line piece, get a CB in FA, and trade down and just load the o-line and defense. With those extra picks the choices could be mind boggling and I still think we’d get 2 blue chippers in the 1st round
I’m haven’t watched much college football this year but Dean looked like a star last night. Very interested if the jets could grab him in a trade down with the first or trade up with the second scenario or maybe he falls to us.
Dean is the clear winner here. The Jets NEED a player like him in the LB group. Yes some of the others would certainly help but they absolutely need a player like Dean. He could lead the defense for a decade…if things fall right. I also love Hutchinson, that was before he shot to the top prospect, but I’m leaning against the DL early. They need “hitch” guys right now which makes me want LB’s CB’s and S’s. I’m not saying don’t add a DL but given the choice, I’d like a LB. Cam Thomas, could be a later pick.
Considering Saleh and Ulbrich’s LB backgrounds and success with developing that position I would think that they will want to grab a piece they can mold this year. Obviously they grabbed the two converted safeties on Day 3 last year but the spot next to Mosley remains a big need and even he isn’t the surest thing anymore. I can see a big move coming at LB for sure.
I agree, I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Mosely.