ESPN's final NFL Draft grades, evaluations for Tennessee's top-five prospects

NFL Draft day is finally here. For a handful of Tennessee football players, that means the next step in their careers will be decided over the next three days in Kansas City, starting with tonight’s first round set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and NFL Network.

Offensvie tackle Darnell Wright is expected to be a first-round pick and quarterback Hendon Hooker could end up in the first round as well. Then there’s wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman and edge-rusher Byron Young, who could all hear their names called as early as Friday, when the second and third rounds are conducted, starting at 7 p.m. ET. Rounds 4-7 will begin at Noon ET on Saturday.

Here is where ESPN’s Scout Inc. has Tennessee’s top five NFL Draft prospects ranked, including the final evaluation from Scout Inc. for each prospect:

ESPN’s Scout Inc. Grading Scale

Prospects with a 90-100 grade are considered “rare” while grades 80-89 are labeled “outstanding.” Grades 70-79 are “solid prospects” and grades 60-69 are “good prospects.” Grades 50-59 are “adequate prospects” and grades 21-49 are “borderline draft prospects.” Grades between 11-20 are “free agent prospects” and 10 or lower are considered “not a legitimate prospect.”

90 — Darnell Wright, Offensive Tackle

Overall Rank: 18 | Position Rank: 4

ESPN’s Scout Inc.: “Wright has a truly elite combination of height, weight and straight-line speed. He also showed exceptional lower-body explosion. But he has smaller-than-average arm length and hand span. In pass pro, his footwork and balance showed significant improvement in 2022, and he shows the ability to mirror-and-slide and keep pass-rushers in front of him when he’s playing with urgency. He also rarely gives ground to power rushers. As a run-blocker, Wright is a much better gap blocker than zone blocker. He has a massive frame and excellent overall strength as a drive blocker when he latches on with balance. He fires out with good quickness and shows the ability to reach the second level and dominate linebackers once he gets into their pads. Wright projects best as a right tackle but also would have no trouble kicking inside to guard.”

86 — Hendon Hooker, Quarterback

Overall Rank: 33 | Position Rank: 5

ESPN’s Scout Inc.: “Hooker is an elusive quarterback with good agility and good — but not elite — top-end speed. He has a smooth and compact delivery and shows the ability to change arm angles when necessary. Hooker’s accuracy on all three levels is good, but he excels throwing the ball vertically. He throws a beautiful deep ball and was more consistent driving the ball vertically with velocity in 2022. The biggest knock is that he’s inconsistent with his timing and ball placement on anticipatory throws. He excelled at beating the blitz in 2022, however, struggled when opposing defenses pressured him with four-or-fewer rushers. Hooker is a legitimate running threat with high-level agility and above-average speed. He shows quickness to elude defenders and the toughness, strength and competitiveness to break tackles. An area of his game that needs to improve is his willingness to move off his initial drop spot and extend the play with his eyes downfield, rather than immediately becoming a running back.”

83 — Jalin Hyatt, Wide Receiver 

Overall Rank: 49 | Position Rank: 7

ESPN’s Scout Inc.: “Hyatt is an explosive playmaker with the burst to quickly eat up cushions and the second gear to get behind the coverage. He’s not an ankle breaker, and he’s not going to break many tackles, but his speed makes him a threat after the catch. Hyatt gets open due in large part to his ability to run away from man coverage. That said, he’s not a polished route runner at this point. He’s a hands catcher who shows the ability to pluck the ball out of the air. Hyatt needs to get stronger and grow as a route runner, but he has the talent to push for a No. 3 role as a rookie.”

80 — Cedric Tillman, Wide Receiver 

Overall Rank: 59 | Position Rank: 8

ESPN’s Scout Inc.: “Tillman is a tall wide receiver with longer arms and big hands. He has leaping ability and lower-body explosion, particularly on jump balls. This physical receiver has impressive route-running savvy, a big catch radius and strong hands. He does an excellent job tracking the deep ball and using his length to win on 50-50 opportunities. Tillman has a natural feel for contorting his body, timing his jumps and shielding defenders. He lacks ideal elusiveness and initial acceleration but does gain a decent amount of yards after the catch by making one quick move and then dragging defensive backs for extra yards.”

76 — Byron Young, Defensive End

Overall Rank: 76 | Position Rank: 8

ESPN’s Scout Inc.: “Young has an explosive first step, active hands, quick feet, solid bend and outstanding closing burst to the quarterback. He’s slippery as a pass-rusher and quick to redirect. The next steps in his development are mastering countermoves and becoming more purposeful with his pass-rush plan. Against the run, Young is a quick penetrator with good change-of-direction skills. He’s not nearly as effective when asked to set a hard edge and then disengage. That part of his game must improve. He had outstanding results in the vertical jump (38 inches) and broad jump (11 feet 1) at the NFL combine, which shows his lower-body explosiveness.”