Tennessee football’s top 10 NFL Draft prospects for 2023

Five players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft was a pleasant surprise for Tennessee football fans. With that success coming on the heels of Josh Heupel’s first year on the job, excitement is through the roof over not just what the Vols can do this upcoming season but the number of players Heupel may be able to develop for next year’s draft.

Given the fact that there are more graduate seniors in the starting rotation who can’t return next year and the fact that many of them are prominent in the system, there is reason to believe next year’s draft class will be loaded. But who has the best chance to get picked?

This post will break down those players in the best positions to be selected. It does include projected production for 2022 based on Heupel’s systems and their skills, but it also includes their raw potential and likely measurables, which matter to NFL scouts. These are Tennessee football’s top 10 2023 NFL Draft prospects.

6’5″ 321 pounds

One of the first players to take advantage of the COVID eligibility ruling and announce he would come back for an extra senior year, Jerome Carvin has a lot of work to do for NFL scouts. He had the lowest PFF regular season grade last year among any offensive player for the Vols who played 100 snaps at 52.9, and that’s what keeps him down here.

However, Carvin has many selling points. Let’s start with versatility. He has played every position o the line, and while he’s a true left guard, he had to move over to center last year in Cooper Mays’ absence, a position he’s not familiar with. That issue should be resolved this year.

As a result, Carvin could stay locked into a role for Tennessee football while also seeing more development his second year in Josh Heupel’s system. Those two things should be enough for him to take a huge step forward, and combined with his size, stand out to NFL scouts. If that can happen, he’ll be much higher than No. 10 on this list.