The NFL Draft is less than 50 days away now after the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis wrapped up earlier this week.

Auburn had six players attend the NFL Combine — edge rushers Derick Hall and Eku Leota, defensive lineman Colby Wooden, linebacker Owen Pappoe, running back Tank Bigsby and kicker Anders Carlson — as they prepare for what they hope to be fruitful careers in the league. While this year’s draft season is still in full swing, it’s never too early to look ahead.

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Several of Auburn’s NFL Draft hopefuls were asked a simple question last week in Indianapolis: Who’s next? In other words, which of their former teammates still on the Plains do they believe are in for a big year in 2023—and who might be taking the stage at next year’s NFL Combine.

Here’s who they identified:

OWEN PAPPOE: Wesley Steiner, senior linebacker.

“He’s going to surprise a lot of people,” Pappoe said. “Athletically, he’s a freak. He has all the measurables. He’s a really smart guy. He’s going to be out there commanding the defense, so I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

Steiner, a former four-star recruit who signed with Auburn in 2020, has appeared in 34 games over the last three seasons while making six starts and totaling 70 tackles. Five of those starts at linebacker came last fall, when he finished with a career-best 46 tackles but failed to record a tackle for loss and saw his playing time diminish late in the season.

Pappoe said Steiner, who has worked behind him for much of the last three years, really opened his eyes last season. It’s when Pappoe said he realized the 6-foot, 239-pounder could be the next standout at the position for Auburn.

“Just seeing the things he did in practice, he shows flashes of it every day,” Pappoe said. “Even in the games, he had a huge play against LSU in the red zone, just coming down, making a big hit. I think he’s going to be the guy next year, for sure.”

COLBY WOODEN: Marcus Harris, senior defensive lineman; D.J. James, senior cornerback; Nehemiah Pritchett, senior cornerback; Jarquez Hunter, junior running back.

Wooden didn’t hesitate to rattle off a handful of players he expects to be at the NFL Combine next season, and his selections make sense. James and Pritchett could very well have been at this year’s scouting event had they declared for the NFL Draft, but both of the Tigers’ top cornerbacks opted to return for their senior seasons instead. Hunter, who has been an effective running back in each of his first two seasons at Auburn, will step into the lead role this year as a junior and further prove his all-around ability as a featured back. Harris, meanwhile, has been a two-year starter at defensive tackle since transferring from Kansas before the 2021 season.

“They got my boy Marcus Harris,” Wooden said. “They got D.J., they got Nehemiah. They got a bunch of people — Jarquez. It just depends on where you want to go.”

Since Wooden made his living on the defensive line at Auburn, let’s focus on what he had to say about Harris, whom he played alongside in the trenches the last two years when Harris totaled 57 tackles, 12.5 for a loss and four sacks, along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

“Marcus is a hard worker,” Wooden said. “He’ll come in early and stay after. He’s going to bust his tail, and he’s going to do what it takes to get prepared for the next level.”

TANK BIGSBY: Jarquez Hunter, junior running back; Damari Alston, sophomore running back; T.J. Finley, redshirt junior quarterback; Camden Brown, sophomore wide receiver.

“Y’all sleeping on Jarquez Hunter,” Bigsby said. “He’s a great running back. Damari Alston, he’s a great running back too. They’re going to be great, those guys. T.J. Finley, he’s a great quarterback when he gets the right opportunity. He’s going to step up and do what he has to do. We’ve got Camden at receiver. We got a lot of guys that don’t be spoken of, but those guys are going to come out.”

Bigsby went on to explain why he’s confident Finley has what it takes to make it to the next level despite having a somewhat tumultuous career to this point. Finley started five games as a freshman at LSU in 2020 before transferring to Auburn, where he played behind Bo Nix for much of the 2021 season but took over late in the year after Nix’s season-ending ankle injury. Finley then earned the starting job for the Tigers during fall camp last year and started the first three games of the season before a shoulder injury derailed his campaign. He appeared in only one more game the rest of the year and spent some time away from the team in November as Robby Ashford cemented himself as QB1 last season.

In three years on the field, the 6-foot-7, 260-pound Finley has completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,199 yards, a dozen touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He’s competing for the starting job again this spring as first-year head coach Hugh Freeze closely evaluates the position heading into the fall.

“He keeps God first,” Bigsby said of Finley. “He’s a very calm guy. You know, in situations, he never trips. All the adversity he’s been through, he keeps going. He keeps fighting. He’s looking for more. I can relate to guys like that. He’s great. He’s going to be great. He’ll be fine. He’s just going to get around the right guys, and I feel like he is now. The right coaches are in, and he’s going to do what he has to do.”

As for Hunter, it’s no surprise Bigsby has high praise for his former backfield mate. Hunter has rushed for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first two years—with another three touchdowns receiving—and has averaged 6.5 yards per carry at Auburn.

“I feel like he’s going to shock the world,” Bigsby said. “I feel like he’s going to have a great year, outstanding year. He’s going to definitely be one of those backs at Auburn that’s remembered. He’s a great guy. He carried himself well. I think he’ll have a great year.”

ANDERS CARLSON: Alex McPherson, redshirt freshman kicker.

Carlson spent five years as Auburn’s starting kicker and as part of a kicking dynasty on the Plains with his older brother, Daniel, who is an All-Pro kicker with the Las Vegas Raiders. Now Carlson is handing the reins of the kicking game over to another younger brother of an NFL kicker: Alex McPherson, whose older brother Evan is with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The younger McPherson was the No. 1 kicker in the 2022 class and worked behind Carlson for much of last season before taking over kicking duties in November following an arm injury that sidelined Carlson for the remainder of the year. McPherson was 6-of-7 on field goal attempts in three games, with a long of 51 yards.

“He’s going to have a great career,” Carlson said. “He’s a great dude, good golfer too. So, he’s got a great career ahead of him. Great leg, very consistent. It was good to see him; he put on some weight too, so I think he’s finally ready for some college football. I was telling some people, I’m excited to see the legacy he creates over the next three or four — whatever he does, it’s going to be special.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.