College Football: Replacements for every first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

24. Maryland football replacement for Deonte Banks (Giants): Ja’quan Sheppard

Even with Maryland consistently producing and bringing in more talent of late than the Terps have traditionally, finding someone to step in for a first-round cornerback is not something the roster was prepared to do after losing Deonte Banks. But that’s why it was an absolute win for the Terrapins to be able to land Cincinnati transfer Ja’quan Sheppard in the portal who, though a different style of player than Banks, should be Maryland’s top corner in 2023.

Sheppard was an all-conference player in 2022 with the Bearcats and now comes to Maryland looking to build on that furthere. He’s a big, physical player on the outside who shouldn’t struggle with Big Ten competion. Most importantly, though, the Terrapins secondary is still flush with talent around Sheppard, thus putting less pressure on him and allowing him to transition smoothly.

25. Utah football replacement for Dalton Kincaid (Bills): Thomas Yassmin

Interestingly enough, Dalton Kincaid actually wasn’t supposed to be Utah’s top tight end a year ago. He was working in-tandem with Brant Kuithe, but Kuithe was injured and missed substantial time for the Utes. Now he’s returning and figures to be the top tight end again. But instead of just mentioning him — which you should with his previous production and skills as one of the better pass-ctaching tight ends in the country — we’ll look at who steps in as TE2.

That will surely be Thomas Yassmin, who filled in for Kuithe after the injury last season. Though it was Kincaid who ended up with the lion’s share of the work, Yassmin quietly had a nice season with six touchdowns on the year. He should be a nice secondary option while Kuithe, in truth, steps in as the star of the passing offense now that he’s healthy and with Kincaid gone.