NFLMocks’ 5 for 5: NFL Draft Stock, Stellar WR Debuts, and More!

The inaugural edition of NFLMocks’ Weekly 5 for 5 is here! Every week we will highlight five topics, and give a top five for each one. This week’s edition centers on 2023 (and 2024) NFL Draft prospects, stellar wide receiver debuts, and much more.

Without further ado, let’s get things started with the biggest surprises from this past weekend.

Headline #1: Biggest Surprises of the Weekend

•No. 1: Multiple Top Ten CFB Teams Go Down

Week 2 of the College Football season was chock-full of surprises. Perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend came when the Appalachian State Mountaineers traveled to College Station and handed Jimbo Fisher a devastating 17-14 loss. The Aggies were ranked No. 6 in the nation entering Saturday, but tumbled down to No. 24 in the newest AP poll.

Another upset of epic proportions came when the Thundering Herd of Marshall went into South Bend and came out victorious in a battle with Notre Dame. Marshall’s ML sat at +1000 before kickoff, making this one of the biggest upsets in years. Marcus Freeman is now 0-3 in his young coaching career; the Fighting Irish will look to get off the schneid this coming weekend against California Golden Bears.

The third and final top ten team that ended their Saturday in defeat is the Baylor Bears. The reigning Big 12 Champions arrived in Salt Lake City as the underdog, so calling it an upset sort of stretches the definition. Nonetheless, the Cougars won a hard-fought double-overtime thriller and used this to climb to No. 12 in the AP Poll, while Baylor fell eight spots to No. 17.

•No. 2: Vikings Throttle the Packers

The Kevin O’Connell era got started with a bang in week one as the Minnesota Vikings demolished their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers. The star of the day was Justin Jefferson, who set a franchise record for the most yards in a single half (158) and continued a torrid start to his still burgeoning career. Now that the former LSU Tiger is in an offensive system from the 21st century, it’s likely that the best is yet to come for both him and his team.

•No. 3: Nebraska Fires Scott Frost

The Nebraska Cornhuskers opened their season overseas against the Northwestern Wildcats. After a promising first half for Scott Frost and Co., the group faltered as the game went on and eventually lost 31-28. Given the circumstances, it was hard to not give them the benefit of doubt.

The following week, Nebraska rebounded at home and beat up on North Dakota, with many hoping this was a “righting of the ship”. Alas, this was not the case. This past Saturday, Nebraska hosted little-known Georgia Southern and this game was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back for Scott Frost’s tenure.

Georgia Southern won the game 45-42, and with no disrespect to the Eagles, this marked one of the most embarrassing losses in program history. A school with the funding and the history of Nebraska should never drop these games. Word of Frost’s dismissal was met with sighs of relief from the Cornhusker faithful. The good thing about rock bottom is that there’s only one way to go from here.

•No. 4: USC, Texas, & The U are BACK?

Nebraska is a blue blood on the college football scene, but unlike the Cornhuskers, three other flagship programs have their arrow pointed the complete opposite way.

USC hired Lincoln Riley this past offseason and in doing so, they also received Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison via the transfer portal. These three wasted no time making their imprint on the program. Riley’s system is firmly in place and Williams and Addison have immediately become the best QB-WR duo in the country. The Trojans are positioned to win the conference in the first year of the Riley era.

Speaking of being in a position to win the conference, things are set up well for the Miami Hurricanes in year one under Mario Cristobal. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is a legitimate pro prospect and the defense features a few guys that will play on Sundays. They have a big game at College Station this weekend, but their playoff hopes likely hinge on the Nov. 19 trip to Clemson.

The Texas Longhorns put up an admirable fight against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Quinn Ewers opened the game at quarterback and looked like a seasoned veteran behind center. Even though Ewers suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game early on, head coach Steve Sarkisian did well to keep the energy up on the sideline. Moral victories don’t count in the record books, but anyone who watched the game could see an edge from Texas that has been lacking for years.

•No. 5: The AFC South Fails to Record a Win

Sheerly based on the fact that the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans squared off in game one of the season, it is stunning that the division failed to record a win in the opening week. The Texans held a 20-3 advantage as the fourth quarter began, but the Colts charged back with 17 unanswered points to force overtime. Ten minutes passed and not a single point had been scored, resulting in the first tie in Texans history and the first for the Colts since their 0-8-1 campaign in 1982.

The Jaguars held a lead late in their game against the Washington Commanders but failed to finish them off. Carson Wentz made some big-time throws and exercised his Week 18 demons from the prior season. There’s reason to be optimistic in Jacksonville, but Week 1 showed why they’re still a ways away before they can be considered legit contenders.

The reigning AFC South Champions hosted rookie head coach Brian Daboll and the New York Football Giants. To the surprise of many, the Giants won the game thanks to a gutsy decision by their first-year coach (more on that later). The Titans fell to 0-1, and even though nobody in the division won a game, they find themselves tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for last place. It’s going to be a weird one in the AFC South in 2022.