Five college prospects who could interest the Eagles in the 2023 NFL Draft

During the college football season each year, as long as you're watching the games, we point out five players each week to keep an eye on who make logical sense for the Eagles in the following year's draft. We usually publish these on Saturdays, but there are a bunch of decent bowl games on today.

Chase Brown, RB, Illinois (5'11, 205): (22) Mississippi Stats vs. Illinois, 12:00 p.m.

Brown has topped 1000 yards in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, he is fourth in the nation with 1643 rushing yards, and needs 85 yards in Illinois' bowl game today to vault himself to No. 1 in the country. Of course, he has also had an insane workload to get there, carrying 328 (!) times this season in 12 games, or 27.3 times per game. He also has 27 receptions for 240 yards and 3 TDs. A highlight reel:

Brown has good speed, and is a willing participant in pass pro. His extreme number of touches this season creates an interesting debate. On the one hand, he has shown that he can be a durable back despite a high workload. On the other hand, he already has a lot of mileage on him before he has even entered the NFL.

We profiled Brown's twin brother Sydney earlier this season, who plays safety for the Illini and has 6 INTs this year.

Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State (6'0, 180): (22) Mississippi Stats vs. Illinois, 12:00 p.m.

Forbes is ball-hawking corner with 14 INTs last three seasons for Mississippi State, six of which he has returned for touchdowns. He is also a willing tackler in run support, despite possessing a very skinny frame. His confidence jumps off the screen:

He actually reminds me a little bit of Darius Slay when he was coming out of MSU.

P.J. Mustipher, DT, Penn State (6'4, 318): (11) Penn State vs. (8) Utah

Mustipher is a big, athletic run-stuffing DT who is probably heavier than his listed weight of 318 pounds. As noted below, Mustipher suffered a serious knee injury (it was an ACL tear) in October of 2021.

Mustipher returned to action for the start of Penn State's 2022, and played in every game.

How many run-stuffing DTs will the Eagles want to employ in 2023? Currently they have 34-year old Linval Joseph and Jordan Davis. Assuming Joseph is on a "pick me up midseason" plan for the rest of his career, the Eagles could use another young, big body in the middle of the line, and Mustipher can probably be had on Day 3, with some upside being further removed from his injury.

Braeden Daniels, OL, Utah (6'4, 297): (11) Penn State vs. (8) Utah

The Eagles love them some versatile offensive linemen, and Daniels has 18 career starts at LG, 13 at LT, and 11 at RT, per his bio on Utah's website. He doesn't have ideal size (at OG or OT, really), but could develop into a valuable backup at multiple positions. Likely Day 3 guy.

Cameron Rising, QB, Utah (6'2, 218): (11) Penn State vs. (8) Utah

Rising isn't going to impress anyone with his arm strength, but he is a scrappy playmaker who doesn't often put the ball in harm's way, as evidenced by his 45:12 TD:INT ratio the last two seasons. He actually reminds me a little of Gardner Minshew as a passer (and literally his face), but with some running ability.

Over the last two Eagles losses, we have seen the run game suffer because the Minshew doesn't make plays with his legs. My guess is that the Eagles will seek a backup who can continue to run effective zone read and RPO concepts if Hurts goes down. Rising is a more of a late Day 3 developmental No. 3 QB who can perhaps grow into a backup role.