Gridiron Heroics partners with Draft Scout to give each school’s Top 5 NFL Draft prospects in the Big Ten. Welcome to a list of the Purdue Top 5 NFL Draft prospects for 2023, as seen by Draft Scout.
Each week brings us closer and closer to one of the most anticipated days on the sports calendar — the NFL Draft. This year’s draft will be held in Kansas City, Mo. from April 27-29. Starting today? We take a look at the Big Ten seniors, the class of 2023. Since we don’t know yet which underclassmen will declare? We’ll reconfigure the rankings when that happens, so be sure to revisit us.
Our Big Ten Draft prospect series will run beginning Nov. 14 and will run for the next week, with three schools running per day in alphabetical order. A master conference list of the Big Ten’s Top 20 NFL draft prospects will wrap things up on Monday, Nov. 21. Please check the team links below frequently so you can check out the other schools’ top prospects as the week progresses.
BIG TEN TOP 20 PROSPECTS: Overall Big Ten Top Prospect List
BIG TEN EAST PROSPECTS: Indiana | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Ohio State | Penn State | Rutgers
BIG TEN WEST PROSPECTS: Illinois | Iowa | Minnesota| Nebraska | Northwestern| Purdue| Wisconsin
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So, we all know that not every team in the country has five surefire draft picks on it. Some programs do, especially in some of the more elite conferences, but the vast majority don’t have that many top-flight prospects. But, we also know that the definition “top-flight” doesn’t always pan out, and at the same time that strong undrafted free agent everybody forgot? He ends up making an NFL and flourishing.
Below is a look at the Purdue Top 5 Draft Prospects, and how they project in the eyes of Draft Scout. Again, for now, we’ll go strictly with seniors (c/o 2023), as no underclassmen have been allowed to declare earlier yet, though when they do? We’ll update the lists below.
NAME: Charlie Jones (Wide Receiver)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 3rd round
CAREER STATISTICS: Jones, the double transfer from Iowa and Buffalo, in his college career, has 126 receptions for 1,728 yards and 16 TDs. He also has 75 kick returns for a total of 613 yards and one touchdown.
THE TRUTH: Solid kick returner. Bounced around 2 other colleges before finding Purdue. Averaged around 25 yards per return. Could be a solid flex for any team in need of a receiver. Could be a guy to use for slant routes.
NO. 2 PROSPECT
NAME: Aidan O’Connell (Quarterback)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 3rd-4th round
CAREER STATISTICS: O’Connell has a 66.8% completion percentage over his career throwing for over 8,400 yards. Averaging 7.4 yards per completion, O’Connell threw 61 TDs and 28 INTs throughout his college career.
THE TRUTH: Potential to be a solid backup in the NFL. Might be a while before he is a starter in the NFL. The positive is he got better throughout his career so he is constantly progressing. Big Ten has lots of great competitors so he will be looked at with high regard.
NO. 3 PROSPECT
NAME: Cory Trice (Cornerback)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 4th-5th round
CAREER STATISTICS: 91 tackles throughout his career (80 of those tackles were solo). Deflected 11 passes and grabbed 4 INTs while returning one.
THE TRUTH: Big for his position. With Purdue at the top of the Big Ten West Division, more eyes will be on them near the end of the season so the potential to increase stock is still there.
NO. 4 PROSPECT
NAME: Reese Taylor (Cornerback)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th round round
CAREER STATISTICS: Between Indiana and Purdue, Taylor has gotten 96 tackles with 84 of them being solo tackles. Got 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions.
THE TRUTH: He will most likely be picked after Mr. Irrelevant is picked. Unfortunately, looks like he may excel in USFL or XFL.
NO. 5 PROSPECT
NAME: Payne Durham (Tight End)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th round
CAREER STATISTICS: Has 118 receptions for 1,196 yards. Averaging 10.1 yards per reception, Durham has 19 TDs as well.
THE TRUTH: USFL or XFL will most likely be where he ends up. 7th round picks have much difficulty making it in the bigs.
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