Neal was one of the top college football prospects who made the decision not to participate in the 2022 NFL Combine, but that was largely because teams already know he’s a top-10 pick in the draft. At 6-7 1/2, 337 pounds, Neal has the size to be an immediate impact offensive tackle in the NFL, and his quickness gives him the potential to be a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle. Michigan’s Taylor Lewan was a similar size (6-7, 309 pounds) and boasted impressive speed at the tackle position.
Ekwonu is not the typical offensive tackle based on his size — 6-4, 310 pounds — but he more than makes up for it with his speed. He ran a 4.93 40 at the combine and showed promising quickness with a 4.73 shuttle and 7.82 3-cone. Because of his combination of speed and size, he is similar to Oklahoma offensive tackle Donald Stephenson. The 6-5, 312-pound lineman ran a 4.94 40 and had a 4.73 shuttle, and was regarded coming out of college as a versatile lineman who would be a standout blocker both in the running and passing game.
Finding a comparison for Hamilton isn’t easy, but his profile is not one that is overly common. At 6-4, 220 pounds, he’s bigger than most safeties, yet doesn’t sacrifice much in terms of speed (4.59 40 time). He was a playmaker in 2021, with three interceptions, two tackles for loss and four passes defended in just seven games. Zierlein compared him to Virginia Tech’s Kam Chancellor, but we’re going with another physical safety in George Iloka, who was 6-4, 225 pounds coming out of the draft. He posted a 4.6 40 with a similar 3-cone (7.03 for Iloka to 6.9 for Hamilton) and shuttle (4.03 for Iloka, 4.32 for Hamilton).
Hutchinson is an athletic defensive end with the potential to play either linebacker or defensive end. He won the Lombardi Award and Ted Hendricks Award, and posted eye-popping agility numbers, including the fastest 3-cone time of defensive end or EDGE prospects, per Stathead. His height, 6-7, adds in an extra wrinkle to comparisons, but we’ve got him compared to the 6-4 Nick Bosa. Bosa was similarly impressive in the weight room (29 bench presses to 28 for Hutchinson) and both offer the flexibility to work in various defenses. The shuttle times (4.15 for Hutchinson, 4.14 for Bosa) and 40 times (4.74 for Hutchinson, 4.79 for Bosa) both highlight a speedy end with the ability to be a force in the pass-rush.
The Sporting News is taking a look at who the top 32 prospects, based on Vinnie Iyer’s top 150 big board, compared among current or former NFL players. These comparisons are not exactly who we are projecting them to turn into, but rather who they were similar to by the numbers.
Included in our comparisons are those from NFL’s Lance Zierlein and RAS Football’s Kent Lee Platte, using the closest score for the latter comparison.