January 09, 2023

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

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

DE Dylan Horton (98) had a breakout season for TCU.

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. The college football season will conclude Monday night with National Championship Game, between Georgia and TCU.

During the season, we profiled six Georgia players, and three TCU players. If you'd like to catch up on them, you may do so by clicking on the following names:

Georgia

TCU

And what the hell... Let's profile five additional players from these teams:

Dylan Horton, DE, TCU (6'4, 275)

Horton entered the 2022 season without much production through his first four seasons with New Mexico and TCU, but he stood out enough behind the scenes to land at No. 16 on Bruce Feldman's "freaks" list this past summer:

The new Horned Frogs staff loved what it saw from Horton this spring, and pro scouts really like him, too. Horton was good last year with nine TFLs and four sacks, but expect him to be a lot better in 2022. At 6-4, 279, Horton, a high school safety who also excelled in basketball and as a high jumper, vertical-jumped 38 inches and broad-jumped 10-0. He also clocked a 4.55 40 and has power-cleaned 400 and squatted 700 pounds.

He was indeed a lot better in 2022, notching 10.5 sacks, and four batted passes. He had a monster game against Michigan in the college football playoff, with four sacks, as well as two sacks in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Oh my Dylan Horton 👀 pic.twitter.com/PJsCXyvT1N
— Joe Broback (@joebroback) November 13, 2022

Horton is an explosive pass rusher at 275 pounds, and will likely be a Day 2 guy.

Tre'vius Hodges-Tomlinson, CB, TCU (5'9, 180)

Hodges-Tomlinson is the nephew of another former Horned Frog, LaDainian Tomlinson. Like his uncle, Hodges-Tomlinson is a really good football player. You can see his polish when playing a wide variety of techniques, and he has the speed and athleticism to stick to receivers like glue. He'll also hit.

If he were three inches taller, he'd be a slam dunk first-round pick, but at 5'9" most teams will view him as a slot corner only, even if he mostly plays outside for TCU. The Eagles have Avonte Maddox, who has developed into a very good slot corner, but he has been unable to stay healthy.

If Hodges-Tomlinson is available in Round 2, I do think the Eagles would have interest, but they would have to feel like he could play some on the outside, or possibly even at safety, where he played in high school.

Josh Newton, CB, TCU (6'0, 195)

Hodges-Tomlinson isn't the only corner who will be drafted into the NFL. Newton is also a good player who had 3 INTs and 12 pass breakups in 2022 after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe.

Lowest completion rates allowed in coverage this season:

🐸 Josh Newton: 34.3% (2nd)
🐸 Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson: 34.7% (3rd)

ONLY duo to rank inside the top 20 this year pic.twitter.com/aVh2CU1dOZ
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 8, 2023

Newton has good speed, and some inside-outside versatility.

Tykee Smith, S, Georgia (5'10, 198)

Smith is a Philly product who originally enrolled at West Virginia but transferred to Georgia, where he plays the star (safety / slot / linebacker hybrid) position in the Bulldogs' defense. Big hitter with instincts:

The Eagles traded for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who played the star position at Florida. It feels like they would like to load up on players with safety / slot corner versatility, and Smith is in that mold.

Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia (6'1, 210)

McIntosh has a low number of carries over his college career, because he has played in a backfield that has included D'Andre Swift, Zamir White, and James Cook. His numbers:

Kenny McIntosh	Rush	Yards	YPC	TD
2019	25	174	7.0	2
2020	47	251	5.3	1
2021	58	328	5.7	3
2022	141	779	5.5	10

In my opinion that's a positive, as he'll have a lot of tread on the tires entering the NFL. McIntosh's real appeal, however, is as a receiver, as he has 75 career receptions:

Kenny McIntosh	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
2019	1	3	3.0	0
2020	10	111	11.1	0
2021	22	242	11.0	2
2022	42	506	12.0	2

McIntosh is a tall back, at 6'1, 210. He has good balance, and while he's not a bruising runner he'll break his share of tackles. He also has some homerun threat in him. Reminds me a little of Kenyan Drake.

It's hard to know if McIntosh can be a guy who can carry the load for a team since he has never done it, but he should at least be a good committee back in the NFL.