{"id":31646,"date":"2022-06-01T05:47:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T05:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/2023-nfl-draft-12-utah-ties-included-on-mel-kipers-early-big-board-rankings\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T05:47:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T05:47:21","slug":"2023-nfl-draft-12-utah-ties-included-on-mel-kipers-early-big-board-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/2023-nfl-draft-12-utah-ties-included-on-mel-kipers-early-big-board-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NFL draft: 12 Utah ties included on Mel Kiper’s early big board rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If Mel Kiper Jr.’s first big board for next year’s NFL draft is any indication, it could be a very good year for Utah talent in 2023.<\/p>\n

The ESPN NFL draft expert released his early big board and position rankings for next year’s draft on Tuesday – just a month after the end of the 2022 draft – and many ties to the Beehive State appear, including two players who made Kiper’s list of the top 25 talents.<\/p>\n

It’s important to note that not every player on these kinds of lists will end up being in a position to be drafted next year. Many of them are underclassmen, for example, and would have to declare to become draft eligible next year.<\/p>\n

Kiper also noted that the evaluation process is still early – the 2022 college football season is still three months away – and he will get things wrong with some prospects.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn some of these guys, I’m projecting what they could do this season, which means they have a high ceiling but still need to reach it on the field,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Still, Kiper’s big board provides an early evaluation for names to watch in the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

What Utah ties made Mel Kiper’s top 25 prospects list for the 2023 NFL draft?<\/h3>\n\n

Siaki Ika, defensive tackle<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • East High.<\/b><\/li>\n
  • No. 16 overall.<\/b><\/li>\n
  • The Baylor and former LSU defensive lineman will be a junior this season, and he had four sacks from the interior of the line in 2022.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cHe has rare quickness and explosiveness for a 350-pound player. He’s like a piece of granite on the interior of the defensive line; he can’t be moved, \u201dKiper wrote.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Noah Sewell, inside linebacker<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Orem High.<\/b><\/li>\n
    • No. 23 overall.<\/b><\/li>\n
    • Sewell, the younger brother of Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell who is headed into his third season at Oregon, was a five-star prospect coming out of Orem. He had 114 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception last season.<\/li>\n
    • \u201cSewell flies around the field and has sideline-to-sideline range. He tracks quarterbacks well when that’s his assignment of lui, and he can make tackles in space, \u201dKiper wrote.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      What Utah ties made Mel Kiper’s offensive position rankings for the 2023 NFL draft?<\/h3>\n\n

      Quarterback<\/h3>\n
        \n
      • No. 6, BYU and Maple Mountain High’s Jaren Hall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Fullback \/ h-back<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • No. 7, Utah’s Brant Kuithe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Tight end<\/h3>\n
            \n
          • No. 3, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid.<\/li>\n
          • No. 6, Olympus High’s Cameron Latu (plays at Alabama).<\/li>\n
          • No. 10, BYU’s Isaac Rex.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Offensive tackle<\/h3>\n
              \n
            • No. 3, BYU and Herriman High’s Blake Freeland.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Guard<\/h3>\n
                \n
              • No. 4, Utah’s Braeden Daniels.<\/li>\n
              • No. 6, BYU’s Clark Barrington.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                What Utah ties made Mel Kiper’s defensive position rankings for the 2023 NFL draft?<\/h3>\n

                Defensive tackle<\/h3>\n

                No. 3, East High’s Siaki Ika (plays at Baylor).<\/p>\n

                Inside linebacker<\/h3>\n
                  \n
                • No. 1, Orem High’s Noah Sewell (plays at Oregon).<\/li>\n
                • No. 6, Utah’s Mohamoud Diabate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Cornerback<\/h3>\n
                    \n
                  • No. 4, Utah’s Clark Phillips III.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Notable items about Utah ties on Mel Kiper’s big board rankings<\/h3>\n\n
                      \n
                    • Hall, who will be a junior this season, is the first QB in Kiper’s top 10 at the position that sits outside his top 25 overall prospects. <\/li>\n
                    • Hall is also one spot ahead of Stanford’s Tanner McKee, a onetime BYU recruit who served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                        \n
                      • Kiper lists Kuithe as a fullback option, though he plays at tight end for Utah. <\/li>\n
                      • Utah ties make up 30% of the tight end position rankings.<\/li>\n
                      • Diabate joined the Utes as a transfer from Florida this offseason, and his addition gives Utah a state-leading five players in the top 10 position rankings.<\/li>\n
                      • BYU has four players included in Kiper’s position rankings.<\/li>\n
                      • In early 2023 mock drafts from about a month ago, Sewell led the way among Utah ties with the best chance at becoming a first-round draft pick, followed by Phillips.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n