NFLMocks’ 5 for 5: 2023 NFL Draft Sleepers, NFL MVP Favorites, and More!

Headline #5: Sleepers in the 2023 NFL Draft

•No. 1: Grayson McCall, QB, Coastal Carolina

Many know the “sexy” names from the 2023 NFL Draft class, but one quarterback that I don’t see mentioned much is Grayson McCall.

McCall performed exceptionally well in Coastal Carolina’s program-altering 2021 season. He completed passes at a high clip (73%), took care of the ball by only turning it over three times, and added 31 total touchdowns to boot.

McCall has no experience running certain NFL sets, so it’s really hard to evaluate him solely off of tape. The Senior Bowl, Pro Day, and NFL Combine portion of the NFL Draft process will be what makes McCall a legit target for teams.

•No. 2: Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College

Similar to McCall, Zay Flowers is an exciting prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft. He oftentimes gets lost in the shuffle due to bigger names at bigger schools. Flowers hopes to be the next middle-round wide receiver who blossoms into a star on Sundays.

Flowers averages over 15 yards per catch throughout his four-year career with BC. In four games so far in 2022, Flowers has recorded 330 receiving yards and three touchdowns while catching passes from quarterback Phil Jurkovec.

Flowers moves like an NFL vet at wide receiver and has been clocked at 22.5 mph during his time with the Eagles. He’s shown this year that he’s capable of running a diverse route tree by using his insane change of direction ability to get free from his defender.

Flowers is a superstar and hopefully, NFL scouts have an eye on him. If not, he’s going to make them all look silly for letting him drop in the 2023 NFL Draft. One of “my guys” from this class.

•No. 3: Keeanu Benton, DL, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Badgers are a hotbed for NFL talent in the trenches. The Watt brothers, Ryan Ramcyzk, and Travis Frederick are just a few examples of high NFL Draft picks over the past decade.

Keeanu Benton hopes to be the next Badger to follow in the footsteps of those first-round picks. Benton being a nose tackle won’t help his chances of being a day one pick, but it shouldn’t matter if you ask me.

Benton is a large human being listed at 6’4” and weighing somewhere around 320 pounds. Impressively, Benton can play bigger than that but also is agile enough to play like a defensive lineman with a much smaller stature. This versatility is why teams must look closer than the position he plays.

Benton should be able to line up anywhere on the interior of the defensive line, but if he sticks as a pure nose tackle, he has the potential to be among the best in the NFL quickly. Odds are, Benton comes off the board early on day two, but he is worthy of consideration for franchises picking in the back half of day one.

•No. 4: John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota

The Minnesota Gophers deploy one of the strongest rushing attacks in the country. Running back Mohamed Ibrahim deserves his fair share of credit, but an unheralded star on the offensive line is a key cog to the machine.

John Michael Schmitz, the Gophers starting center, has as much experience as anyone at the position. He’s started for four seasons now and is the rare center prospect that justifies a pick in the first two days of the NFL Draft.

He moves well, uses his strength to gain leverage on his matchup, and creates space in the run game that you could fly a plane through. Schmitz is a day-one starter in the NFL, and even though he’s an older prospect, this shouldn’t dissuade teams from taking him and plugging him in at center immediately.

•No. 5: Devon Witherspoon, DB, Illinois

The Fighting Illini has a few NFL-caliber players on the roster, but the best of the bunch is Devon Witherspoon. He’s an uber-talented defensive back that primarily plays as a cover corner in the Illinois defense and is never shy to lay down the hammer on a ball carrier.

His style of play is exciting to watch, making him one of the most fun tapes for me to date. Witherspoon has a few things that need to be cleaned up if he wants to come off the board in the first couple of rounds, which can all be traced back to his late start in football.

Witherspoon didn’t play a single organized football game until his junior year of high school, showing that he’s just now scratching the surface of his potential. Right now, Witherspoon is still considered a sleeper, but my gut says he will be high on draft boards by the time the 2023 NFL Draft comes around.