Top 2023 NFL Draft Prospects Who Shouldn't Play in 2022 Bowl Games

Now that the participants for the College Football Playoff and the entire bowl schedule have been announced, college football fans should be gearing up for a fantastic slate of games.

Not every top player who is eligible to play will play in the coming weeks, though. As has become common in recent years, several NFL hopefuls will opt out of their bowl games.

Football is a business, and that's even more apparent in the NIL era of college football. For top draft prospects with little to prove, it makes sense to sit out a bowl game to avoid the risk of injury and prepare for the draft. NFL careers can be short, and no one should fault a player for putting their health and financial future first.

It's not that these players are selfish or don't love the game. The rewards simply don't outweigh the potential risk. With all due respect to the event's organizers, a shot at winning the Gasparilla Bowl isn't worth potentially losing millions of dollars in a draft-day tumble.

With that in mind, we're here to examine some of the top 2023 draft prospects who won't and/or shouldn't participate in bowl games this year. We'll dive into where their draft stock currently stands and why suiting up for (in most cases) a meaningless exhibition wouldn't be logical.

Players are listed in alphabetical order.

Alabama is scheduled to face Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl on December 31. While one last game against a quality opponent could aid draft prospects like quarterback Bryce Young—who is vying to be the first signal-caller off the board—pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. has nothing left to prove.

Anderson is widely regarded as the top overall prospect in the 2023 draft. That's exactly where he lands in the B/R Scouting Department's latest rankings.

With 10 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 24 solo stops and an interception already on his 2022 resume, Anderson isn't going to improve his draft stock with a strong showing against the Wildcats. That doesn't mean Anderson isn't pondering playing one last game with his Crimson Tide teammates, though.

"I haven’t made any decisions yet,” Anderson told reporters. “I’ve just been really focused on this season and continuing to be a good leader and making sure that I’m showing guys the right way of how to do things around here. But it’s a great time here. Playing in Bryant-Denny has been fun, so many memories. I just wanna keep those memories going."

From a business standpoint, suiting up for the Sugar Bowl isn't worth the risk for Anderson. He already has a shot to be the first non-quarterback off the board, if not the No. 1 overall pick next April.

Clemson's Bryan Bresee is the sixth-ranked prospect on the B/R big board and the second-ranked defensive lineman after Georgia's Jalen Carter.

While Carter is set to face TCU for a spot in the national title game, Bresee is set to face Tennessee in the Orange Bowl on December 30. Although that should be a fun matchup to watch, Bresee doesn't have much left to prove.

The 21-year-old returned from last year's ACL injury to appear in nine games this season, logging 2.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and two passes defended. After proving he's healthy enough to play, he should now focus on being healthy enough to pass medical checks at the scouting combine in February.

Bresee is unlikely to supplant Carter as the top D-line prospect in the draft, which puts him in a different position than teammate and pass-rusher Myles Murphy.

Murphy—who was ranked third overall and labeled the "most versatile" pass-rusher by the B/R Scouting Department—has an ever-so-slight chance of supplanting Anderson as the top edge-rusher in the draft. A dominant performance against the Volunteers could at least put Murphy in that conversation.

Meanwhile, Bresee should focus on his continued recovery from the torn ACL.

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson has announced that he won't participate in his team's bowl game. The third-ranked signal-caller on the B/R big board has plenty of physical upside, but he's a one-year starter who struggled with accuracy and consistency this season.

Richardson completed only 53.8 percent of his passes while tossing 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He could have made a good final impression with a clean performance against 14th-ranked Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 17.

That last impression could be important, as Richardson has the physical tools needed to compete with C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young as one of the first quarterbacks off the board in April. On the other hand, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis wouldn't gain much by playing against Iowa in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31.

Levis has shown tremendous accuracy (65.4 percent) and has now been a full-time starter for two seasons season, unlike Richardson. There's little he can gain by facing a seven-win Iowa team at the end of the month.

"I've talked with the coaches and the people I needed to these past couple days. I will be making a decision [on the bowl] soon, but nothing is final," Levis said on Twitter (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk).

The 49th-ranked prospect on the B/R big board, Levis is unlikely to vault himself into the early first-round conversation with one more game, so why play in it?

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer is already slated to be one of the first pass-catchers taken in the 2023 draft.

The 21-year-old caught 67 passes for 809 yards and nine touchdowns this season, which followed an 840-yard, seven-touchdown campaign in 2021. Mayer is already ranked as the No. 7 prospect on the B/R big board, and there's a good chance he goes before any of this year's wide receivers.

Elite tight ends aren't easy to find, which is precisely why the Atlanta Falcons took Kyle Pitts third overall—ahead of wideouts like Ja'Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle—in the 2021 draft.

There isn't another tight end competing to knock Mayer out of the top spot, so there's little reason for him to participate in the Gator Bowl against South Carolina on Dec. 30. If a team is considering a pass-catcher and is struggling to pick between Mayer and a wideout, one more strong performance isn't likely to tilt the decision.

However, an injury could cause Mayer to tumble. Just look at Alabama's Jameson Williams, who suffered a torn ACL in last year's National Championship Game. While Williams was still a first-round pick, he wound up being the fourth receiver off the board. He also has yet to make his first NFL reception.

Mayer isn't playing for a national title, so the stakes are much lower for his bowl game.

Jameson Williams' injury in last year's National Championship Game should serve as a cautionary tale for potential first-round receiver prospects. That is precisely why Wake Forest's A.T. Perry should avoid the Gasparilla Bowl against Missouri on December 22.

Perry, the 25th-ranked prospect and fourth-ranked receiver on the B/R big board, could hear his name called on the opening night of the draft. However, that's far less likely to happen if he suffers an injury against the Tigers.

What can Perry really gain by competing against a six-win Missouri team in a bowl game that few will watch? The 23-year-old has already put four seasons' worth of catches on tape, although he appeared in only three games as a freshman.

Perry's best season came last year, when he finished with 1,293 yards and 15 touchdowns on 71 receptions. He had another strong season this year, though, catching 70 passes for 980 yards and 11 scores.

NFL scouts already have an idea of what Perry can be at the next level. One more game isn't going to change that perception. Perry isn't likely to be the first receiver off the board, either, so he should just sit this one out.

Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has already announced that he won't participate in the Rose Bowl against Utah on Jan. 2.

"After careful thought, I have decided to forego our bowl game and declare for the 2023 NFL draft," Porter said in a statement. "From one dream to the next, I am excited to continue this next chapter."

That's a wise decision on Porter's part. He's the fifth-ranked prospect on the B/R big board, and he already projects as the top defensive back in the 2023 class.

South Carolina's Cam Smith is the next-ranked DB on the B/R board, coming in at No. 17.

Porter has put together a strong resume over the past three years (and three games as a freshman in 2023), and he had a career-high 11 passes defended this season. There's no reason to risk injury, or perhaps a bad performance, against the Utes.

Considered the best man-cover corner in the draft by the B/R Scouting Department, Porter has already cemented his status as a potential top-10 pick.

Given the comparatively short playing careers of NFL running backs not named Frank Gore, why would any potential first-round ball-carrier want to participate in a non-playoff bowl game? The short answer is that they shouldn't.

This holds true for Texas running back Bijan Robinson, who is slated to face 12th-ranked Washington on December 29 in the Alamo Bowl. As a business decision, Robinson should skip this one.

The 20-year-old has already put himself in the early-first-round conversation with his hard running and dual-threat ability. This season alone, he logged 258 carries for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns while catching 19 passes for 314 yards and two scores.

That's a lot of wear and tear on the proverbial tires of a back who will likely be a bell cow in the NFL. Robinson has no incentive to see another touch this season.

The Longhorns standout is already considered a blue-chip prospect—he's ranked fourth overall by the B/R Scouting Department—and has nowhere to go but down in the running back hierarchy. Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs is the next-highest-rated RB on the B/R board, coming in at No. 15.

As a running back, Robinson's primary goals should be getting drafted as highly as possible and getting a huge second NFL contract since many backs don't see a third big payday. Suiting up against Washington will do nothing to help him accomplish those goals.

Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an outlier on this list because the Buckeyes are in the College Football Playoff. If they can manage to upset Georgia in the Peach Bowl, they'll be playing for a national title.

That's a tough opportunity to pass on, but Smith-Njigba has already decided that he won't play. That is a logical decision, as Smith-Njigba has already missed most of the season with a hamstring issue.

"I want to be out there competing with my brothers more than anything," Smith-Njigba told ESPN's Pete Thamel. "The decision to turn pro was made after I was unable to come back on multiple occasions during the season and the doctors determined I would be unable to participate in the playoffs."

While Buckeyes fans would love to see Smith-Njigba get healthy enough to face Georgia, his focus needs to be on the draft.

While Quentin Johnston of TCU and USC's Jordan Addison are likely competing to be the first receiver off the board—and in Johnston's case, for a national title—Smith-Njigba may be locked-in as a mid-first-round prospect.

The 22nd-ranked prospect on the B/R board, Smith-Njigba has a lot more to gain by clearing medicals than by rushing back to face the Bulldogs. His 2021 resume (1,606 yards, 9 TDs) speaks volumes. Medical checks at the scouting combine will as well, and that's where Smith-Njigba's focus should lie.

Stats via Sports Reference.