Rising Stock: Ten Gamecocks who could become 2023 NFL Draft picks

When it comes to South Carolina and the 2022 NFL Draft, there is really only one thing that's for certain: the Gamecocks are going to get a player drafted for the fifth consecutive year.

The last time the Gamecocks did not have a player drafted was 2017, and before that it had been since 2001. An end to their current streak is not in jeopardy as defensive end Kingsley Enagbare is a lock to get drafted. That could be as high as the late second, or he may drop to the fourth round.

Either way, South Carolina is going to have one player drafted, but Enagbare may wind up being the lone draftee. Running backs Kevin Harris and ZaQuandre Martin and tight end Nick Muse are draft hopefuls for late-round selections, but they are not expected to be taken.

If Enagbare does indeed stand alone by the time the draft concludes on Saturday, then South Carolina will match the 2008 and 2018 NFL Drafts in which the Gamecocks had just one player selected in each (Cory Boyd in the seventh round in 2008; Hayden Hurst in the first round in 2018).

Those are the only two drafts this millennium in which South Carolina has not had multiple players selected.

However, that should change during next year's draft. The Gamecocks have a handful of top talents who will get the chance to increase their draft stock in the fall.

After earning second-team AP honors a season ago, Cam Smith returns to man one of the outside cornerback spots for the Gamecocks.

If all goes as expected, Smith will become the next South Carolina DB to follow in the footsteps of Jaycee Horn, Rashad Fenton, D.J. Swearinger, Stephon Gillmore, Chris Culliver, Stoney Woodson, and Captain Munnerlyn as the last seven DBs to get drafted since Johnathan Joseph went in the first round to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2006.

Smith seems destined to become that next man up in South Carolina's quest to keep up with Ohio State, Florida and LSU for the title of "DBU."

If he doesn't become the fifth South Carolina cornerback drafted in the first round (joining Horn, Gillmore, Joseph and Dunta Robinson), Smith is still looking like a virtual certainty that he will get drafted at some point. Again, as long as he develops properly in his fourth year with the program and second with defensive backs coach Torrian Gray.

If not for Smith's clear trajectory as an early-round pick, we would have listed the most obvious – or at least the most intriguing – player first in this space.

Spencer Rattler was at one time the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and was the betting favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. That was heading into the 2021 season. Things changed in a hurry for the Oklahoma transfer.

All of those projections are a thing of the past now. They will certainly loom over him, though, and he has a chance in a new home to buy back some of that stock. If Marcus Satterfield's new pro-style offensive system – which he has taken with him to Columbia after stints in the NFL – is all it's cracked up to be then Rattler could absolutely work his way into become an early-round selection.

It would take a solid season of on-field development and off-field growth in maturity for him to get drafted. And it would take an incredibly strong season in both areas for him to get back into a Round 1-3 range. But it's on the table. He would be just the third South Carolina quarterback to ever get drafted, joining Jeff Grantz (Miami Dolphins in the 17th round 1976) and Todd Ellis (Denver Broncos in the ninth round in 1990).

South Carolina had five tight ends drafted in a nine-year span from 2010-2018, which included the first-rounder Hurst. But that well has dried up of late with the Gamecocks having not gotten a player selected in the last four drafts (counting the 2022 draft, assuming Muse doesn't get picked).

Austin Stogner should change that, as he hits Columbia this summer following a completion of coursework at Oklahoma that will allow his transfer to become official. He missed all of spring ball with the Gamecocks, so there will be some catching up to do to get firsthand experience in a new system with new coaches.

But the former Sooner could see his stock rise in conjunction with Rattler's if the two perform and grow under the new system.

The former five-star Jordan Burch, the No. 2-ranked strongside defensive end out of Columbia's Hammond School in 2020, has a shot at becoming just the second Gamecock defensive end drafted since Jadeveon Clowney was taken first overall in 2014

Burch seems to have the requisite size and skill for a pass-rushing defensive end, and he has some bite and athleticism to him on the edge that makes him look like he could potentially play in space as an edge player at the next level.

Burch and Zacch Pickens are going to be interlinked at South Carolina forever. Burch had a five-star status as a top-20 overall player, top-two defensive end and the "hometown hero" vibe as South Carolina's top-ranked overall player in the 2020 class.

Pickens was the same but even more hyped. He was a five-star ranked No. 9 overall, No. 1 at strongside defensive end and No. 1 in the state in the 2019 class. He finally has his feet under him. Pickens had seen three new defensive line coaches come and go during his first two years in South Carolina (if you include the coach who recruited him and left before Pickens really got to play much under him).

He's finally got some stability, though, with Jimmy Lindsey leading the way. That should bode well for him as he tries to follow in former Gamecock Javon Kinlaw's footsteps as a first-round defensive tackle selection.

– Marshawn Lloyd: You already know how I feel about the third-year running back. His combination of size, elusiveness and toughness is hard to find in a back. Maybe he won't be able to do enough to get drafted with the NFL's tendency to shy away from running backs in the draft except for the truly special ones. But Lloyd is a good candidate right now if he can put it all together.

– Sherrod Greene: The NFL has been transitioning more and more over the last few years of most teams trying to have at least one jack-of-all-trades type of player on its defense. He may not slot perfectly into one position, but he can be moved around like a chess piece. If we are to believe the hype coming out of South Carolina's spring ball, Greene is healthy and ready to contribute in a new role, playing a combination of Mike and Will linebacker and being able to rush off the perimeter.

– Devonni Reed: There's so much value in an NFL safety who has experience being the quarterback of the defense in the center field role at free safety, and there's value in drafting a player who moves a half-step to full-step ahead of everyone else. Anticipation skills at safety are more important than straight-line speed, and Reed has those anticipatory traits that will make him intriguing to teams at next year's draft.

– Eric Douglas: Interior offensive linemen are not valued nearly as highly 1) as much as they should be 2) as much as offensive tackles. But Douglas is returning to lead a veteran offensive line group with a second-year Gamecocks coach manning the position. The chemistry should be there, and that could lead to Douglas showing enough to sneak into the draft.

– Corey Rucker: He certainly has the personality to wow scouts in the interview process, and now that the former prolific Arkansas State receiver is in the toughest conference in college football he will put tape out to coaches with him pitted against top competition.