Which Ole Miss players could get picked in next year’s NFL Draft?

This past weekend wrapped up the 2023 NFL Draft cycle after seven rounds plus a bevy of undrafted free agent signings. Of course with that it does not take long for everyone to start looking towards which Ole Miss players could go pro in 2024.

The Rebels had 10 total players get their chance to play on Sundays with four selected during the NFL Draft and six others signing with teams as UDFAs.

We here at The Ole Miss Spirit are not immune to wanting to gaze into the crystal ball and try to predict with Ole Miss players could be the ones to watch for next year’s NFL Draft. Some names are easy go-tos in assume they have strong chances to get taken like quarterback Jaxson Dart while others could have a wild card feel to them or when they will go like defensive lineman JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey.

So with that in mind lets take a look at a few Ole Miss name that might pop up on the screen next April and where they might go.

JAXSON DART – EARLY ROUNDS

Maybe that is a bold statement to make four months before Dart throws his first pass of his second season at Ole Miss but it is one that I feel strong in making.

Look, the proof is in the pudding with how Matt Corral took that next step in year two under head coach Lane Kiffin and co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. Corral’s final season at Ole Miss earned him a third-round selection on day two of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Dart is just coming off his second spring at Ole Miss and currently in yet another quarterback battle with Spencer Sanders and maybe Walker Howard — who is to say what happens come August – so it is a little unfair in May to assume how he will do.

But, if Dart has the type of jump from year one to year two even remotely similar to Corral’s then he could get generate the draft buzz for an early round pick. Maybe Dart will not go in the first round but a potential early pick in rounds two or three is entirely possible.

Of course, there is always the chance Dart might not light his prospects no matter how his season goes with a quarterback class highlighted by Southern California’s Caleb Williams and choose to return for one final year at Ole Miss in 2024.

JORDAN WATKINS – MIDDLE ROUNDS

This is one of my first bold picks with Jordan Watkins going in either late on day two or early on day three.

Jonathan Mingo became the latest Ole Miss receiver to head to the NFL, getting drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the second round last Friday. Malik Heath signed an UDFA contract with the Green Bay Packers to send the Rebels top-two leading receivers off to the NFL with chances of playing Sunday.

Watkins can be the next one but it will take a big season and a large leap from his first year at Ole Miss in 2022. He finished last year as the third best receiver behind Heath and Mingo but had only two touchdowns and 449 yards off 40 catches.

Those numbers are nothing to scoff at but with Heath and Mingo gone Watkins is going to be asked to become a leader of the room and try to replace as much of those two’s production as possible.

When, or if, Watkins takes that next step in his game and put ups a career year in his final season at Ole Miss then look for him to work his way up the draft boards and maybe even make a move similar to that of Mingo’s in the final weeks leading up to this year’s draft.

Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins

JARED IVEY – MIDDLE ROUNDS

I see Ivey having the type of season in 2023 that Tavius Robinson had last year and in the process earning himself more money and moving up the draft boards.

Ivey’s 2022 campaign was not a monster one in his first year at Ole Miss but he was a key part of the defense’s disruption up front. He finished in the middle of the pack with 37 tackles to go with 3.5 sacks.

Entering his second season in Oxford and learning a new scheme under first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding it is a recipe for Ivey to find massive success. Moving him out to the end of a four-down defensive line could only enhance Ivey’s skillset and provide better film for the NFL scouts and teams to look at this fall.

A strong season for Ivey could put him in the third to fifth round range, which is where Robinson landed this year, or could even put him in the conversation of an even hire pick.

JJ PEGUES – EARLY ROUNDS

Call me crazy, will not be the first time, but I sense good things for Pegues and his NFL future.

NFL teams love them a dominate nose tackle in the trenches and Pegues has the perfect chance to show that this season.

In his return to Ole Miss and hometown of Oxford last year Pegues became one of the more valuable transfer portal pickups. He did not put up monster numbers as Pegues split time with K.D. Hill at the nose position.

But… Hill is no long here, having signed a UDFA contract with the New York Jets this past weekend. So that means Pegues is the man in the middle of Golding’s new and improved defensive line. No longer splitting time only gives Pegues more opportunities to boost his numbers and time on film.

Look for Pegues to get plenty of draft buzz as the 2023 campaign rolls on and into the offseason before draft prep truly begins.

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