NFL Draft Prospects to Watch Week 9

We’ve got a quarterback week here on the prospects to watch as there are three potential NFL Draft picks that have a lot to prove in week 9 to continue their redemption arcs in college football.

Oregon QB Bo Nix

Oregon QB Bo Nix has shed most of the negative narratives around him from 2019 when he was a true freshman starting for the Auburn Tigers. The physical tools were always there for Nix but for the first three years of his career, he struggled with wild inefficiency and consistency.

Now halfway through year two at Oregon, Nix is on pace for almost 3,500 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Where Nix has greatly improved as a passer is how he handles pressure and takes care of the football.

His career rejuvenation is now going to be tested as the Oregon Ducks head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes and their defense that’s allowing just 9.7 points per game at home. Quarterbacks have been dominated by this Utes defense in Salt Lake City.

For Nix, his matchup against the Utes was one of his worst last season and that matchup was in Oregon. Being able to move the ball with any sort of consistency is going to be a tall task and arguably Nix’ toughest battle he’s had to face since opening the 2022 season against Georgia.

Tennessee QB Joe Milton

“You wanna see me throw this ball over them there mountains?” Joe Milton asks as twitter fans “ooh” and “aah” at his cannon for an arm. Milton’s been in college football longer than Bo Nix, even though it feels as though Nix has been there longer than anybody.

There was an insane amount of hype surrounding Milton heading into the 2023 season. With what Hendon Hooker was able to accomplish in this offense, the expectation was that Milton was more physically gifted as a passer and runner and would be a Heisman candidate this season.

That hasn’t happened at all to this point as Milton has struggled to capture the offensive efficiency and explosive ability that Hooker was able to accomplish. Part of that is more on the surrounding cast than Milton himself as long gone are Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt, but Milton has also struggled to develop the way that was expected.

For me, I was never bought in on Milton. I generally don’t buy that a player who hasn’t WOWed in five years is suddenly going to put it all together in year six and I still haven’t bought in on that. However, Milton has shown promise in some areas as a potential day two or three NFL draft pick. 

With a tough Kentucky defense coming up, it’s likely that this Volunteers run game is going to have their fair share of struggles so Milton stepping up and actually elevating the talent around him would help his draft stock considerably.

Florida QB Graham Mertz 

If you don’t know me, I host Locked On Gators. That means that back when Graham Mertz committed to the Florida Gators out of the transfer portal from Wisconsin - I very publicly said that it was an underwhelming add. Mertz spent four years in Wisconsin, three as a starter, and he was very unproductive.

We knew Mertz would be better in Gainesville than he was in Wisconsin, even if the only reason was that he wasn’t operating in a 1905 offense anymore before the forward pass was introduced. However I don’t think anybody, even the Mertz believers in Gainesville, expected this type of performance from him.

Mertz had never thrown for 300 yards in a single game at Wisconsin, he threw for 333 in his Florida debut and threw for 423 in his last game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. That South Carolina game also saw a 10-point comeback win in the fourth quarter that was mostly behind the arm of Mertz.

He’s still physically limited as he doesn’t have a plus arm and possesses average athleticism at best, but he’s been exceeding expectations on the field every step of the way. For me, the area where Mertz has improved the most is his ability to make plays with his legs. He hasn’t been picking up explosive gains or anything close to that, but he’s extended plays with his legs and helped to create opportunities as a passer.

Against this Georgia defense, Mertz will face his toughest test of the season in a rivalry game. I don’t know if Mertz will ever be a starter-quality quarterback at the NFL level, but he’s gone from someone that will be looking for an NFL tryout to a player that could be a backup QB with an occasional spot-start.