ESPN's Mel Kiper Lists Five Oklahoma Sooners on His 2023 NFL Draft Big Board

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables might have some real holes to fill next year.

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper has five Sooners on his 2023 Draft Big Board released this week on ESPN.com (requires subscription).

Kiper’s top-rated OU prospect is tight end Brayden Willis, who is ranked No. 4 in the fullbacks/H-backs category. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Willis is a fifth-year senior from Arlington, TX. Willis is having the best year of his career with 22 catches for 320 yards and five touchdown receptions. He’s also thrown a touchdown pass (24 yards to Marcus Major at Nebraska) and has rushed for 18 yards on eight carries as a wildcat quarterback.

Kiper ranks left tackle Anton Harrison at No. 8 among offensive tackles. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Harrison is a third-year junior from Washington, DC. Harrison was a preseason All-American by Pro Football Focus and was honored by PFF for his performance against Kansas, when he didn’t allow a single QB pressure in 51 pass blocking snaps and posted a run block grade of 82.1, earning a spot on PFF’s Team of the Week.

Punter Michael Turk — OU’s only player on the preseason All-Big 12 team — is ranked No. 10 by Kiper among punters. The 6-foot, 221-pound Turk is a sixth-year super senior from Dallas who began his college career at Lafayette before transferring to Arizona State and then Oklahoma. Turk set the OU single-season record last year with a 51.17-yard average on just 35 punts (his volume wasn’t enough to get him ranked in the NCAA statistics, but his average would have ranked second behind Matt Araiza’s 51.19), and this season ranks sixth in the nation with a punting average of 45.8 yards.

Running back Eric Gray “just missed” Kiper’s top 10 in the running backs category. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Gray, a senior from Memphis, is having the best year of his career with 796 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the ground. Gray ranks seventh in the nation with a 6.80 average per carry.

Likewise, wideout Marvin Mims is just outside Kiper’s top 10 wide receivers. Mims, a third-year junior from Frisco, TX, leads the Sooners for the third year in a row with 34 catches for 558 yards and has three receiving TDs. The 5-11, 182-pound Mims has two 100-yard receiving games this season and has seven on the season. Mims also has averaged 12.03 yards per punt return in his career, including a Big 12-best 19.7 this season.

Harrison, Gray and Mims have the option to return to OU next year.