Wednesday was an exciting day for the College Football Playoffs. An all-timer between Texas and Arizona State while Ohio State dog-walked No. 1 Oregon, a game that was over by halftime. With an eye towards the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers season and the start of NFL Draft talk, two prospects stuck out as names fans could be coveting come mock draft time over these next few months.
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo got national love on the big stage in the Sun Devils’ hard-fought double-overtime loss to Texas. In what looked like a Longhorns’ runaway, Skattebo played a key role in the comeback. A low center of gravity, physical runner, he left it all out on the field. Literally, at times, he was reportedly violently sick on the sideline late in the game and required an IV.
The box score is impressive but doesn’t do it justice. 30 carries, 148 yards, and two rushing touchdowns to pair with eight catches and 99 yards through the air. And, oh yeah, he threw for a 42-yard touchdown that served as a fourth-quarter catalyst to storm back.
But the game tape tells the story. Texas came out physical and rarely gave Skattebo easy yards. Even on negative plays, like a failed fourth-and-goal run, he still showed his power, balance, and fight.
Arizona State leaned on him from start to finish. He is the type of tough warrior the Steelers draft. When they needed a play, they put the ball in his hands, and more often than not, he answered the call. That included running sluggos to him for huge completions.
Despite the loss, he was named Offensive MVP of the game.
This wasn’t a one-game fluke. One of the NCAA’s most productive backs, he rushed for more than 1,500 yards and caught another 500 more with 22 total touchdowns. He ran for 262 against Mississippi State, 158 against a solid Utah defense, 147 yards, and three scores versus BYU.
Though I haven’t done a deep dive into his game, there are some Jaylen Warren qualities. Squatty, dense players who refuse to go down. Players with big chips on their shoulders who transferred from smaller schools. Warren from JUCO to Utah State to Oklahoma State, Skattebo from FCS Sacramento State to Arizona State. Neither will wow with their 40-time. Warren ran a 4.55. Skattebo can be expected to fall into the same range.
This isn’t Ashton Jeanty, a sure-fire first-round pick. Skattebo is more likely to be profiled in the mid-rounds, with draftnik Lance Zierlein putting him roughly in the fourth-round range. That’s a sweet spot for Pittsburgh should RB Najee Harris depart in the offseason. Jaylen Warren, a restricted free agent who will be tendered, would bump to 1A in the Steelers’ backfield with someone like Skattebo 1B.
He checks the boxes they look for: powerful, workhorse, productive, and from the Power 5, where they basically draft all their true runners (Dri Archer types the exception who shouldn’t be repeated).
In the encore, Ohio State’s WR Emeka Egbuka has garnered more buzz in early Steelers’ draft chatter. Though Jeremiah Smith dominated the day, a freshman who could honestly play in the NFL right now, Egbuka also helped build a big lead in a runaway victory. He finished the day with five catches, 72 yards, and this first-half score on a dime from QB Will Howard.
Perhaps the biggest knock on him is potential typecast in the slot. Per PFF, he came into the game aligning inside on 271 snaps this season compared to just 56 on the outside. Last year, he played just 71 out wide. But there are a couple of points to consider. In 2022, his most productive year before being overshadowed by Smith and Marvin Harrison Jr., he logged more than 120 outside snaps. He has the listed frame to play out wide at 6-1, 205, and the Steelers showed little concern over those splits when they drafted Michigan’s Roman Wilson, who was smaller and similarly in the slot in college.
Egbuka’s lack of high-end traits and athleticism could push him down what’s expected to be a deep receiver class, making him a possible Day Two candidate even though he’s currently viewed as a late Round One guy.
To be clear. This isn’t saying the Steelers have to draft these guys. I know it’s common, and I’m guilty of it as well, of tuning in around bowl/playoff season, watching a guy have a big game, and penciling him into my first mock draft. It’s a deep and talented running back class with plenty of names we can, should, and will discuss. Wide receiver will have just as many options, and the landscape of draft conversations always shift by the time April’s big weekend rolls around.
This is just to say that these will be two names coming out of the gates hot in early Steelers’ draft talks, takes, and mocks from us and from the draft community at large. There are good reasons to be high on Skattebo and Egbuka, and their names can’t be counted on when the Steelers make their picks four months from now.
