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

14. Georgia football replacement for Broderick Jones (Steelers): Earnest Greene

Make no mistake, Kirby Smart and Georgia have to feel good about the future of the offensive line, even after losing an elite talent and specimen like Broderick Jones. With that said, there has been a competition throughout the spring to determine who will start at left tackle, one that didn’t end in the spring either.

The competitors appear to be junior Austin Blaske and redshirt freshman Earnest Greene. While Blaske obviously has the experience advantage within the program and overall, Greene is by far the higher-rated recruit and better overall talent as he was a Top 50 overall player in the 2022 national recruiting class.

Greene was the starter for the G-Day game in Athens and, while Blaske will still push him, I don’t see a player as talented as Greene being kept on the sidelines, particularly in the transfer portal era.

15. Iowa State football replacement for Will McDonald IV (Jets): Tyler Onyedim

For all of the good that Matt Campbell has done with Iowa State over the years, they still aren’t an elite talent factory, which stands to reason given that the program essentially starts behind the 8-ball in recruiting for a number of reasons.

Having said that, it’s all but sure that the Cyclones aren’t going to be able to replace a player and athlete of McDonald’s caliber with another player on that level. Joey Peteren is the closest to that mold as a traditional end rusher — but he’s also all potential with no real proof. Tyler Onyedim, meanwhile, also has a ton of projection involved as well, but has more versatility.

Based on what we do know, though, I believe that Onyedim is better set up to replace McDonald at Iowa State as an overall difference maker, even if they are different styles of player.