Broncos: Top NFL Draft prospects fans must follow in 2023

We are just a few weeks away from the start of the regular season. Despite it being early, it's never really early enough to start researching and keeping an eye on college football prospects. There is no saying where the Denver Broncos will be at the end of the season and when it comes time for the NFL Draft.

One of the most concerning positions for the Broncos heading into the 2022 season will be middle linebacker. It seems the team really lacks depth at this position, and even talent. This could have the team looking to draft one in the 2023 draft. Let us take a look at some college football middle linebacker prospects that Broncos fans should follow.

NFL Draft prospects Broncos fans must watch

Trenton Simpson – Clemson Tigers

Simpson is currently heading into his junior season and is looking to continue his success after having a solid first two seasons in college. In his first two seasons, Simpsons accumulated 110 tackles, 10 sacks, forced a fumble, and three pass breakups.

Simpson is insanely athletic and is considered to be one of the best at his position in college football. He stands at 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 225 pounds. In fact, some of his high school testing numbers like the 40-yard dash and vertical jump were in the same vicinity as 80th and 90th percentile NFL players. To have measurables like that in high school is insane.

You could class Simpson as a “do it all linebacker” as he also has found great success as a blitzer. According to PFF, in 2021 Simpson was lined up in the slot 225 times, 207 times in the box, and 117 times along the line of scrimmage.

Simpson shows play similarities to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Fred Warner. Simpson, Koramoah, and Warner are listed as linebackers but have the athleticism to move around and cover like a safety. This would be an extremely intriguing prospect for the Broncos, considering they've had issues covering Travis Kelce and other tight ends for years.

#Clemson LB/S Trenton Simpson does it all for their defense. Assisting in the run game, short area zone coverages plus the ability to chase down the football.

All three are on display on consecutive plays.

pic.twitter.com/meOyBKjrk1

— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) July 30, 2022

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Noah Sewell – Oregon Ducks

Sewell, the younger brother of Detroit Lions offensive lineman Penei Sewell, is entering his third season with the Oregon Ducks.

Sewell racked up tons of awards as a freshman. He was named to the Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference first team, AP Pac-12 All-Conference first team, and the PFF all-Pac-12 second team. He was also a Butkus Award Semifinalist as well as two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

Sewell continued to be an absolute tackling machine in his second season. Like his freshman season. Sewell was named to even more first teams.

Sewell seems to shed blocks like it's nothing and bulldoze ball carriers. PFF gave him a grade of 88.6 regarding his pass-rushing abilities. Regarding his coverage abilities, he needs a bit of work. PFF gave him a grade of 59.0, as he does seem to find himself missing tackles in the open field. Despite the issues with open field tackling, Sewell's ceiling still remains high.

Heading into the upcoming season, the Broncos are fine regarding pass rushers. However, if Sewell can clean up his tackling issues and stay on his current path of success with blitzing, he could find himself somewhere on the Broncos' pre-draft board. If he fixes his sloppy areas, there is a good chance he could go top-15 in the 2023 Draft and the Broncos may not get a shot at him (assuming the Broncos pull off a winning season, of course.)