Projecting 2023 NFL Draft Stock of CFB Title Game's Biggest Stars

The 2023 College Football National Championship will feature No. 1 Georgia, looking to repeat as national champions, and No. 3 TCU, which is playing in its first-ever national title game.

Both of these teams feature several stars that will be heavily discussed leading up to April's NFL draft in Kansas City. Let's run through the title game's biggest draft-eligible stars and project where they might land.

For this, we'll use the latest mock drafts from CBS Sports, 247Sports and Walter Football, as well as draft analysis from Pro Football Network and Pro Football Focus.

Author's note: TCU's Kendre Miller and Georgia's Darnell Washington were left off this list, since they are both listed as questionable for Monday's game.

Bennett's college football story is a unique one.

He walked on at Georgia in 2017, then transferred to JUCO Jones County in Mississippi, where he played for the 2018 season. He came back to Athens in 2019, spending that season as Jake Fromm's back-up.

He started five games in 2020 and earned the starting job in 2021 after JT Daniels went down in Week 2 due to injury. The rest is history—Bennett threw for 2,862 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions and gave UGA its first national title in 41 years. His numbers have improved in 2022, throwing for 3,823 yards and 23 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He was a Heisman finalist this season, too.

Although Bennett is one of college football's most recognizable figures and has an incredible story, his NFL future looks unclear. At 5'11", 190 pounds, his size gives him a disadvantage. Here's Pro Football Network's Ian Cummings on Bennett's draft stock:

He grades out as a late Day 3 pick at best and could very well fall into the PFA pool. But there are some redeeming qualities within his report that could help him land a backup role. 

The biggest thing working against Bennett is his middling arm talent. His arm strength isn't a liability, but he, at times, struggles to generate velocity on his throws, and his arm isn't the most elastic, either. He doesn't have the level of arm talent necessary to layer throws into tight windows, and that limits the amount of throws he can make at the next level.

CBS Sports doesn't even list Bennett in its QB rankings, and he's not listed on Walter Football's list of 2023 quarterbacks either. If anything, Bennett can likely land a spot as a backup on an NFL roster. That might be the best-case scenario for him at this point.

Like Bennett, TCU QB Max Duggan has also had a unique journey. When he arrived in Fort Worth in 2019 as a true freshman, he started in 10 games.

Before the 2020 season, he needed unexpected heart surgery, then had emergency surgery two days after because of a blood clot. He still didn't miss a game that season, throwing for 1,795 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions during the pandemic-shortened season. In 2021, he played with a broken foot he suffered in October but finished out the season.

Ahead of the 2022 season, new head coach Sonny Dykes opted for Chandler Morris to start at QB. Duggan came in for an injured Morris in the second half of TCU's season opener against Colorado, and the Horned Frogs have thrived under Duggan. The Heisman runner-up has thrown for a career-high 3,546 yards and 32 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He's rushed for 461 yards and eight touchdowns, too.

Duggan has already stated that after the 2022 season concludes, he'll be entering the 2023 draft. CBS Sports doesn't list Duggan in their 2023 QB rankings, but Walter Football has him as the No. 9 quarterback in the draft. Here's the latter's scouting report for Duggan:

Duggan could be a backup quarterback at the next level. His passing is too inconsistent in terms of accuracy and ball placement. 
[...]
Duggan is a good athlete who presents a real running threat. That makes him very good in the red zone, where he is a tough runner in possession of quickness, agility and strength.
Duggan has drawn rave reviews for his intangibles as being a natural leader, very intelligent, tough, and a super competitor. Team sources agree that Duggan is exceptionally smart and tough.

As with Bennett, Pro Football Network projects Duggan as a borderline prospect that could go late on Day 3 . We'll see if a strong performance against Georgia's vaunted defense changes that at all.

Georgia CB Kelee Ringo
Highest projection: No. 6 overall to the Detroit Lions (CBS Sports, 247Sports)

Lowest: No. 51 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars (Walter Football)

CBS Sports ranks Ringo as the No. 1 overall cornerback in next year's class. Bleacher Report has Ringo as 2023's best in zone coverage corner on its big board. Ringo has 75 total tackles with 15 passes defended and four interceptions in his collegiate career.

Georgia S Tykee Smith

Pro Football Network's Joe Broback projects Smith to go 124th overall to the Carolina Panthers. Smith tore his ACL in October 2021 and has played in just 10 games for Georgia this season because of a shoulder injury. In Pro Football Focus' preseason positional rankings for 2023, Smith was the No. 8 ranked safety.

Georgia S Christopher Smith

Bleacher Reports ranks Smith as the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2023 NFL draft. Although Smith isn't projected anywhere in the first couple of rounds of mocks, he's been a consistent starter at Georgia for the last two seasons. During his Bulldog career, he has 129 total tackles with six interceptions and 10 passes defended.

TCU CB Noah Daniels

CBS ranks Noah Daniels as the No. 11 overall cornerback for 2023. That's pretty impressive, given that the corner has struggled with injuries throughout his career, including missing six games this season. Since joining TCU in 2018, Daniels has 35 total tackles, including 30 solo stops.

Highest projection: No. 11 overall to the Houston Texans (Walter Football)

Lowest projection: No. 13 overall to the Tennessee Titans (PFF)

TCU's Quentin Johnston checks in as Bleacher Report's No. 10 overall prospect in the 2023 NFL draft. The Horned Frogs junior receiver is having a breakout season this year.

He's had a career-high 1,022 receiving yards with six touchdowns and an average of 18.1 yards per reception. In TCU's semifinal win over Michigan, Johnston finished with 163 yards and a 76-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

Here's CBS Sports' scouting report on what makes Johnston such a highly-touted prospect:

Johnston's an above-the-rim playmaker whose athleticism and contested-catch abilities make him WR1 at this point in the proceedings. The Texans drafted their QB of the future first overall, and now they give him an explosive playmaker.

If Johnston has another big outing against Georgia like he did vs. Michigan in the semifinal, there's a good chance his stock could rise even higher.

Highest projection: No. 2 overall to the Chicago Bears (CBS Sports, 247Sports, PFF)

Lowest projection: No. 3 overall to the Seattle Seahawks (Walter Football)

Bulldogs defensive lineman Jalen Carter is the most disruptive player on Georgia's defense, and there's a reason he is projected to be one of the top two or three players in the 2023 draft. Carter has 30 total tackles this season, including three sacks and two forced fumbles. Last season, he finished with 37 total tackles and three sacks.

Carter is Bleacher Report's No. 2 overall prospect for 2023, behind Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. Here's some of Bleacher Report's scouting report on Carter:

Carter was the best player on a defensive line that featured three 2022 first-round picks, including the first overall selection. That's part of the reason why he's been considered a top-five player throughout the 2023 NFL draft process.

Unlike a lot of defensive tackles who have a specialty, the Florida native is about as versatile as they come. He's quick and athletic to make offensive linemen miss as a run defender and has plenty of strength to hold up against and shed one-on-one blocks. As a pass-rusher, he can win with power using a bull rush or push-pull move or around the edges with finesse moves.

Carter going second overall to a Bears' defense that currently ranks dead last in the league in points allowed sounds like a no-brainer.