NFL Draft Prospects to Watch Week 7

As more meaningful games get underway, teams and fans alike are getting a deeper look at players that will likely be entering their names in the 2024 NFL Draft.

South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler

This weekend is going to be a test of mental toughness as well as just skill as a quarterback for Spencer Rattler. Last season, his game against the Florida Gators was one of his worst - as his offensive line let him down catastrophically and it proved to be the Murphy’s Law game for the entire South Carolina program, anything that can go wrong, did.

Rattler finished that game 18/27 passing with just 138 yards and the only touchdown that South Carolina scored was on a fake punt. So far this season, Rattler has been more up than down and has answered at least some of the questions about his ability to string together multiple solid performances consecutively.

Facing a Gators defense that’s a top 15 passing defense nationally and second in the SEC, it’s time to see if Rattler can shake off the performance from 2022 while also bouncing back from the rough performance he had against Tennessee in his last outing.

Rattler’s likely going to be pressured upwards of 10 times for the fourth time this season, as the Gamecocks are also starting a true freshman at one of their tackle spots - who will be lined u against Princely Umanmielen for a good portion of the game. 

Washington EDGE Bralen Trice

Bralen Trice hasn’t been the one-man wrecking crew that he was last season as a pass-rusher but he’s still a potential top 50 NFL Draft pick. The two main reasons for Trice’s fall-off production-wise have been that teams are dedicating more time to slowing him down with additional blockers and that he’s been asked to drop back in coverage more frequently in 2023 than he was in 2022, giving him less pass-rush opportunities.

He faces one of his toughest tests this weekend as he’ll be going against an Oregon team that features a tackle duo (Ajani Cornelius & Josh Conerly Jr) that has allowed just four pressures this season. Oregon also features a backfield Heisman-candidate QB Bo Nix with a rushing duo of Bucky Irving and Jordan James.

There have been few defenders capable of bringing down Nix for a sack, as he’s been pressured just 15 times on the year and sacked just three of those times. It’s going to be interesting to see the gameplan on both sides.

Will Washington try to send extra rushers after Nix? Will Oregon give Trice his one-on-one opportunities against their elite offensive tackles? Will a likely high-scoring game lead to more pass-rush opportunities for Trice?

Texas A&M IOL Bryce Foster 

Bryce Foster is far from a household name but he has the opportunity to make some progress in that area this weekend against an athletic and aggressive Tennessee Volunteers front. The Vols like to crowd the line of scrimmage and cause havoc in the backfield. 

Most of their damage is on the edge but with Omarr Norman-Lott, Bryson Eason, and Aaron Beasley all being used as viable pass-rushing threats - Foster is going to have his hands full. Norman-Lott seems to have found his rhythm as a pass-rusher on the interior in recent weeks and Beasley is the biggest blitzing threat that the Vols defense has.

For Foster, this game isn’t just about being able to hold his own as a blocker, but he needs to be able to effectively communicate protection calls with the rest of the offense. This whole Aggies offensive line is in for a tough matchup but perhaps no individual has more resting on their shoulders than Bryce Foster.