10 SEC stars who might get drafted higher than you expect

The NFL Draft is just a few weeks away, and the prospects can’t do much to improve their stock. The NFL Combine is long gone, and Pro Days have come and gone as well. We know the measurements, and we understand the flash. There are certain players who jump off the page, and there are others who we have to trust the tape. Every year, there are some players who have built enough of a profile in these pre-draft metrics that push them to new heights.

And often, those players come from the SEC. They are a conference of insane athletes and incredible size. If football doesn’t work out, there’s definitely a future professional wrestling company that can be built on the backs of these men. 

This season, the SEC isn’t considered as dominant in the draft. The number-one overall pick is coming from Indiana, a surprise Big Ten school that made it to the College Football Championship Game. Fansided’s latest mock draft has one SEC player in the top 10, and it’s Georgia offensive lineman Monroe Freeling. Others aren’t getting the hype we’re used to seeing. However, like they do every year, they will go higher than we expect. 

1. Ty Simpson, QB
Alabama Crimson Tide
Consensus Mock Draft: Late first round

We’re calling it now that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is going to go uncomfortably high in the draft this season. Remember all the hype around J.J. McCarthy during his draft year, where seemingly out of nowhere, he went from a second round to a consensus top-10 pick in the final few weeks of the draft’s lead-up? While McCarthy is not what teams want now, we see a similar rise in popularity for Simpson. 

When Dante Moore returned to the Oregon Ducks, it threw the top of the draft out of order. Now, instead of top top quarterbacks and a bevy of trade options, the Las Vegas Raiders will take Fernando Mendoza, and the rest of the league has to move on after that. Simpson is the next best option. 

Will he last until the end of the first round? We just don’t see it working out that way. We could see a QB-needy team making a huge move and taking him in the top 10. We saw last year a team take a chance on a QB talent when the Giants took Jaxson Dart. That worked out, and we can see a team talking themselves into Simpson because of it. There are too many teams with upsetting quarterbacks currently in the room with no real direction at the most important position in sports for everyone to leave this talent on the table.

2. Caleb Banks, DL
Florida Gators
Consensus Mock Draft: Late first round

This one might be the biggest risk on this list. Caleb Banks could have one medical record released that drops him to the second round, but we currently believe his situation will be resolved before it matters. After an injury-riddled season, Banks was hurt during combine workouts and will be out until the summer.

It doesn’t matter when the player is this good. Yes, the most important ability is availability, but he will be available when it counts. There are few players who can do what Banks has done in college. He’s 6’6 and 330 lbs. and still had a 40-yard dash around five seconds. He’s all ability right now, and a coach will salivate at the possibilities. And that's why someone is going to talk themselves into Banks way higher than they should.

Can he turn his ability into sacks and pressures at the next level? It’s hardly a guarantee, but he has traits that can’t be taught. General managers and head coaches will take chances with first-round picks when they think the upside is an All-Pro player. That’s what we’re looking at here with Banks. He could be one of the best at his position for a long time if he stays healthy.

3. KC Concepcion, WR
Texas A&M Aggies
Consensus mock draft: Late first round

There are players who seem to make perfect sense for one specific team in the draft, but it hardly works out where that player falls perfectly to that team. It’s happened before, like when Micah Parsons fell to the Dallas Cowboys, but it rarely happens in the 20s. Everyone is expecting KC Concepcion to catch balls from Josh Allen, but will all the talk about this being a guarantee cause another team to jump up and take him earlier?

This isn’t a great wide receiver draft. The top prospect is Carnell Tate, and he’s not even the best wide receiver on Ohio State. A running back is likely going to go before any wide receiver goes off the board is not something we expected before the season. There are really only three wide receivers who are definitely ahead of Concepcion. It’s rare that only three receivers would go in the first round.

KC Concepcion could pair very well with late-career DJ Moore, and we honestly think the Bills might trade up to get him. As insane as that sounds now, they are bringing him in for a second visit this week, and they may be falling in love with their next wide receiver. 

4. Cashius Howell, EDGE
Texas A&M Aggies
Consensus mock draft: Early second round

It’s rare today to find a true three-down edge rusher. They aren’t exactly unicorns, but there are enough specialists in the league who struggle either in pass rushing or against the run that have head coaches considering their options. The team that drafts Cashius Howell will have no such decision to make. He is great against the run, and he can get to the quarterback. This is exactly what teams want, and it could push Howell much higher in the draft than he’s projected.

Some mock drafts have Howell slipping into the first round, but he could go even higher than that. Will one of the teams picking in the 20s take Howell, who has an interesting skill set and stat line? He put up 41 pressures and 12 sacks for the Aggies in 2025. His pass-rushing analytics were off the charts. He probably deserved more sacks. 

This is a player who can get past offensive tackles with rip moves, and he can anticipate the run and tackle with the best linebackers in the game. He does so much well that we’re surprised he’s so low, but he might talk himself into a higher pick after the interview stage of this process. 

5. Josiah Trotter, LB
Missouri Tigers
Consensus mock draft: Late second round

A legacy always does well in the NFL Draft. Not only does Josiah Trotter come with a famous last name, but he plays the same position as his superstar dad. Trotter left West Virginia to become a star at Missouri, and now he’s considered one of the best downhill linebacker prospects in the draft. He can stuff the run at a top level, and he has elite instincts for his age.

That’s another reason why we think that Trotter is going to go earlier than the end of the second round. He plays with a certain tenacity that scares opposing offensive weapons without going over the line. He’s missing a little bit of speed, but his ability to predict where the play is going often helps in that aspect.

Trotter is built like an old-school middle linebacker. He is ready to run into the pile and wreak havoc. He’ll go right into the middle like a wrecking ball and open up lanes for rushers. He probably needs to find the right fit, but Trotter would be great when the situation makes sense. 

6. Anthony Hill Jr., LB
Texas Longhorns
Consensus mock draft: Mid-second round

Anthony Hill Jr. was someone who was once considered a tweener who could move himself into the first round if everything went right. His talent is endless, which is why he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Teams will prioritize talent like that, even if it’s at a position that isn’t considered premium, like linebacker. Hill can be special, but we haven’t seen that level yet while he was with the Texas Longhorns. 

Many projections have Hill going somewhere in the middle of the second round, which is still a great spot for most players. He expects to be a Day 1 starter there. The real issue is the way his season ended. He missed the final games after a hand injury put his Longhorns career on ice for good. Will NFL teams ignore the injury and take a chance on him late in the first round?

Teams will prioritize upside when they can. Hill has a ton of upside, and he was reliable even if he hasn’t hit his peak yet. Teams like a high floor, and they love a high ceiling. Hill seems to have both, which might convince one of these teams with a Super Bowl-ready roster to add Hill as the final piece of the pie.

7. L.T. Overton, EDGE
Alabama Crimson Tide
Consensus mock draft: Early fourth round

The Alabama Crimson Tide are always producing great EDGE players, but L.T. Overton has seen his stock fall throughout the year. At one point, his physical profile had him considered an early second-round pick. Throughout the process, there have been some holes poked into his game, and his three sacks didn’t help. There’s a lack of consistency in his impact, and that will hurt him at the next level.

However, there are coaches who are going to see him as a physical specimen and want to mold him into greatness. He has fantastic hands and uses his strength to position himself to make a big play. If he just did that all the time, then he might be a first-round pick.

Those players often go higher, especially when they come with a brand name like Alabama. Some claim that his size makes him hard to dictate in terms of positioning on the line at the next level, but he seems like a clear defensive end to us, and one with great upside. His mixture of strength and agility allows him to excel at the next level. Will he put it all together? Someone will give him a chance to prove it to them.

8. Garrett Nussmeier, QB
LSU Tigers
Consensus Mock Draft: Early fourth round

In a weak quarterback draft, teams will go back to their original rankings and look at who they really liked. Garrett Nussmeier was a player that many thought could play his way into first-overall status if Arch Manning didn’t come out. Well, Manning is returning to Texas, but Nussmeier is nowhere near first overall. Right now, he’s somewhere between the third and fourth round. 

Nussmeier isn’t the biggest quarterback in the country, standing at 6’2. He’s not short by any means, but his size isn’t an advantage, either. Still, his numbers are pretty impressive. Last season, he had a 67.4 completion percentage with 12 touchdowns and just five interceptions in nine games. His explosive plays were missing from the arsenal, but he also avoided mistakes. At least now. He clearly played with more caution this year, which might be why his TD numbers were down.

He has the mindset to be a good quarterback, and sometimes, that’s a player’s most important trait. He can jump on routes and look downfield when possible. Teams will see him for what he is: clay. Nussmeier has been trying to be different QBs during his time at LSU, but with the right coaching, he can be a long-term starter in the NFL.

9. Oscar Delp, TE
Georgia Bulldogs
Consensus mock draft: Early fourth round

Tight end is so interesting in this draft. The consensus says we don’t have anyone as good as Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, but Kenyon Sadiq has intrigued teams and could go literally anywhere in the first round, maybe outside the top five. There are a bunch of other tight end prospects, but there’s one that is going to make teams fall in love. Similar to Loveland last year, Oscar Delp comes into the draft with a lack of production his senior year, but don’t let that fool you. This player can be great at the next level. 

Delp is so underrated, ESPN forgot to put him on their tight end rankings. However, during his recruiting cycle, Delp was the top tight end in the 2022 class. He played behind Brock Bowers for two years before taking over as starter, but the offense fundamentally changed.

During the combine, it was found that he had a hairline fracture in his foot, which is something he likely played with all season. There’s a built-in excuse for his lack of production. On top of that, the talent is clear as day, and those types of players get picked on or before Day 2 of the draft. There are multiple tight ends who can move up in the draft, but based on his pedigree and talent, we think Delp gets taken way higher than expected. 

10. Barion Brown, WR
LSU Tigers
Consensus mock draft: Mid-seventh round

Something was really off with Barion Brown as a receiver in 2025. He was originally supposed to grow into a star, but he remained stagnant during the four years in college. He joined LSU last season after a down junior year in Lexington. Brown had 628 yards his freshman season, averaging 12.6 yards per reception. All of those numbers got worse, and he hit a new low in Baton Rouge. 

The Tigers used Brown as a return man, and that worked out well. He returned 15 kickoffs for 445 yards and a 99-yard touchdown to start the game against the Houston Cougars in the Kinder Texas Bowl. 

LSU just didn’t use Brown like he probably expected to be used, but he showed up to work every day and has a skill set that should be interesting to teams. In September, Brown was expected to get taken in one of the middle rounds of the draft, but now, he’s either predicted to be a priority undrafted free agent or a seventh-round pick. We don’t think he jumps back to his September rankings, or anything like that, but we do expect a team to see his return skills and think they can use that while they develop him as a wide receiver. 

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