Gridiron Heroics partners with Draft Scout to give each school’s Top 5 NFL Draft prospects in the Pac 12. Welcome to a list of the Washington 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 PAC12 seniors, the class of 2023. Since we don’t know yet which underclassmen will declare? We’ll reconfigure the rankings when that it all official, so be sure to revisit us.
Our PAC12 Draft prospect series will run soon and will run for the next week, with three schools running per day in alphabetical order. A master conference list of the Big 12’s Top 20 NFL draft prospects will wrap things up afterwards. Please check the team links below frequently so you can check out the other schools’ top prospects as the week progresses.
PAC12 TOP 20 PROSPECTS: Overall PAC12 Top Prospect List
PAC12 PROSPECTS: Arizona | Arizona State | California | Colorado | | Oregon | Oregon State | Stanford | UCLA | USC | Utah | Washington | Washington State
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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 Washington 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 officially clear the declaration deadline yet, though when they do? We’ll update the lists below.
Washington TOP 5 NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS
NO. 1 PROSPECT
NAME: Jaxson Kirkland (OT)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 2nd-3rd round
CAREER STATISTICS: He was USA All-America Second Team (2022), USA All-America Third Team (2022) All-PAC 12 First Team (2022,2021), Captain of the Team (2022).
THE TRUTH: Injuries plagued his draft status last year when he was expected to go in the first round. He still has all the great skills to match any outside pass rusher on the edge. Kirkland is very athletic, and has great size to play in the NFL. Coming off injury he played both left tackle and left guard this year. I believe with more rehab he will be a ten year plus starter on the end of a good offensive line.
NO. 2 PROSPECT
NAME: Henry Bainivalu (OG)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 5th-6th round
CAREER STATISTICS: All-PAC 12 Honorable Mention (2022), Pro Football Network All-Pac-12 Second Team (2022).
THE TRUTH: Was very good on the inside of the offensive line while at Washington in both run blocking and pass blocking. He has both great arm length and size to stone wall any defender on this inside. He lacks overall foot quickness that he can over come with great technique. He will be a starter halfway through the year on some teams roster.
NO. 3 PROSPECT
NAME: Jordan Perryman (CB)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th round
CAREER STATISTICS: In his 4 year career at UC-Davis and Washington Perryman has 40 tackles with 20 of them being solo. He also has 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass deflection.
THE TRUTH: Has NFL size and athletic ability. Did not really jump off the screen on tape or in the stat sheet. Will have a great chance making a team if he does well on special teams and has the ability to learn behind seasoned guys.
NO. 4 PROSPECT
NAME: Peyton Henry (K)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th round
CAREER STATISTICS: In his 5 year kicking career at Washington Henry has a 80.2% field goal made percentage with a long of 50 yards. He is almost automatic from 39 and in only missing 6 field goals total from that distance or shorter in 5 years.
THE TRUTH: He is almost perfect from 40 and in. He does need to get more consistent in those “NFL” field goal kicks which is 40-55. He is over 50% from there, but needs to improve that in camps to make a roster. He has the leg to make longer kicks, just has not been given the opportunities. I think the pro day will be huge for him to show off his attributes.
NO. 5 PROSPECT
NAME: Alex Cook (SS)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: High Priority Free Agent
CAREER STATISTICS: In his 4 year career he had 134 tackles with 91 of them being solo. He does have an interception and a pass deflection as well.
THE TRUTH: He was a voted captain by his teammates and plays with a full motor. He has the ability to cover in zone coverage and does have good recovery speed. The cons are his ability in one on one coverage he lacks speed. Cook does make up for that with taking good angles to the ball carrier after the catch. Needs to get that foot speed up and production numbers in coverage to make a squad.
