NFL Draft guide to bowl season: The best pro prospect to watch at every position

For fans of the holidays and NFL scouts, alike, it really is the best time of the year.

The 46 bowl games this winter provide talent evaluators and college football fans with quite the smorgasbord of tasty matchups. And, of course, this year is different from the past, with the introduction of the College Football Playoff, providing the country’s best 12 teams with a true path to a national title.

[NFL Mock Draft: Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, to go 1-2?]

Even the most passionate college football fans might find themselves overwhelmed by this many bowl games, however. So, we’ve waded through the gauntlet to identify the top NFL prospect at each position to help focus your own scouting, avoiding the players who have already announced their intentions to either opt out of the bowl game to begin their preparation for the draft, or those electing to return to college football next year.

Sanders, of course, needs little introduction for most college football fans. He and his father, “Coach Prime,” have helped Colorado go from bottom-feeder to bully in just two years, with the quarterback winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year this season. Sanders is poised and precise from the pocket, leading the country with a sparkling 74.2% completion rate and the Big 12 in both passing yards (3,926) and touchdowns (35) against just seven interceptions. BYU is an intriguing final matchup for Sanders in the Alamo Bowl, as the Cougars quietly rank among the stingiest pass defenses in the country, allowing just 187 yards and 0.9 touchdowns through the air per game.

Projected NFL Draft Grade: 1st round

How to watch him: Alamo Bowl vs. BYU, Saturday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Because of the punishment inherent to the position, top-tier running backs frequently opt out of bowl games, but this year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up has plenty to play for with the Broncos in the playoffs. It is almost as hard to describe Jeanty without venturing into hyperbole as it is to tackle him. The back-to-back Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year, he’s scampered for 4,665 yards and 50 touchdowns in three seasons at Boise State, showing off the vision, contact-balance and breakaway speed that has earned him comparisons from scouts to New Orleans Saints’ All-Pro Alvin Kamara.

Projected NFL Draft Grade: 1st round

How to watch him: CFP quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl vs TBD, Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Four Buckeye receivers have been selected in the first round of the past three drafts, and Egbuka is a solid bet to continue that streak. A savvy route-runner who excels out of the slot, Egbuka is one of the few pro-ready receivers in this class, showing excellent body control, vision and courage through traffic, and reliable hands. He lacks the eye-popping size and speed of some of this year’s other top receivers, so he may not win the workout portion of the pre-draft process. But he projects as an immediate and long-time NFL starter. 

Projected NFL Draft Grade: 1st-2nd round

How to watch him: CFB First Round Playoff at home vs. Tennessee, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

Warren is among a trio of tight ends to crack the first round in my updated mock draft, but the only one playing in a bowl game this winter. It isn’t often that tight ends are so productive that they are in the Heisman Trophy conversation, but Warren was, finishing seventh in voting after leading the playoff-bound Nittany Lions in virtually every receiving category. His 88 catches are nearly 50 more than Penn State’s next receiver (wideout Harrison Wallace III). Warren isn’t the most fleet-of-foot, but he possesses pillow-soft hands and excellent body control to beat out defenders on contested throws. He’s also beastly after the catch, showing balance and toughness to slip tackles.

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