Ole Miss Football: Updated List of the Top Rebels Departing for NFL
This week’s College Football National Championship game signals the official end of the 2022-23 college football season. That also means it is officially draft season and we will be talking non-stop about the NFL draft and who the top draft prospects are until April. Here we will list the top Ole Miss football prospects that have declared for the NFL draft and what that means for Ole Miss football going into 2023.
Johnathon Mingo, WR
The second leading receiver for the Rebels this past season was the latest to announce that he is taking his talents to the big leagues. Mingo had 51 catches for 861 yards this past season along with five touchdowns. He racked up 1,758 yards and 12 touchdowns total in his Ole Miss career.
Malik Heath, WR
The other half of the Rebel’s dynamic duo at wideout, Heath was the Rebels leading receiver in 2022 hauling in 60 catches with 971 yards and 5 touchdowns as well.
The departure of Heath and Mingo will leave a large hole in the Rebel’s receiving corps as the third-best receiver in Jordan Watkins accounted for about half of Mingo’s production with a total of 449 yards.
Zach Evans, RB
Although the emergence of the talented freshman Judkins may have stolen a bit of shine from running back Zach Evans, he still produced like a top back in the country. Evans carried the ball 144 times for 936 yards this year, hitting at 6.5 yards per carry.
That mark was as good as any of the other top backs in the country. He also punched in 9 total touchdowns for the Rebels. He may likely be one of the top five running backs taken in the 2023 draft.
Although Judkins has proven capable to carry the load alone, the departure of Evans can’t be overstated as he ran for just shy of 1,000 yards in one of the nation’s best rushing attacks.
Nick Broeker, OL
The wide receiver position won’t be the only position that is taking a hit for Ole Miss football, as Broeker is one of a few starting offensive linemen that will be moving on.
Broeker announced on Twitter last week that he will be foregoing his last year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Broeker was awarded an All-American by many publications this past season and was probably the Rebel’s best offensive lineman.
Mason Brooks, OL
Brooks is another key piece on the Ole Miss offensive line that will be heading to the NFL draft. Brooks spent his first four years at Western Kentucky before transferring to play for the Ole Miss football team and helping anchor an offensive line that produced 3,336 team rushing yards and 33 touchdowns for the Rebels in 2022.