2022 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch: Alabama vs. Miami
Which 2022 NFL Draft prospects should you keep an eye on when Alabama takes on Miami?
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game features the Alabama Crimson Tide and Miami Hurricanes, and will be played in the home of the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama should win this one going away, as they’re 18.5-point favorites and are 10-0 in neutral site opening games under coach Nick Saban. Because it’s Alabama, there will be a litany of 2022 NFL Draft prospects taking the field, with some of them in more featured roles than they had last year. Miami has a couple 2022 NFL Draft prospects of their own though, with the best one being their starting safety.
Miami S Bubba Bolden
A redshirt junior USC transfer hailing from Las Vegas, Bubba Bolden has a chance to be a first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. This is due to his combination of size (6’3” 204), range, tackling ability and nose for the football. He’s a hulking ballhawk safety that can make form tackles near the line of scrimmage in addition to delivering big downfield hits.
In 2020, Bolden led the Hurricanes in forced fumbles with 4, recorded 6.5 tackles for loss, notched a sack and hauled in an interception. He made the preseason All-ACC team and is on the watch lists for the Bednarik, Thorpe, and Nagurski Awards. While Bolden does have to improve his tackling consistency and coverage skills, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be at worst a day 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Alabama DL Phidarian Mathis
Alabama is littered with 4- and 5-star prospects on both sides of the ball that will likely be picked in the 2022 NFL Draft, and I could have picked any number of them to highlight here. But let’s look at the redshirt senior interior defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis. While Mathis is unlikely to go in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft like some other Alabama defensive tackles before him, the 6’4” 312-pound 3 technique could help bolster a 3-4 team’s defense on day 2 of the draft.
His strength is stuffing the run and he plays with a low pad level that allows him to plug both A gaps with consistency. He uses his hands well, is quick off the snap, and possesses a nifty swim move. Teams trying to run on the Crimson Tide this year will likely have a tough go of it because of Mathis. While he hasn’t shown the ability to get to the quarterback yet, he did record his first sack and a half last season while also making 5 tackles for loss. As a leader of the Alabama defense, Mathis will have a chance to show some improvement and gain lots of exposure ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft if Alabama shines this year and advances to the College Football Playoff.