Auburn football may not have the record it would like to have through six games, but that does not mean the players are not playing at a high level.
CBS Sports revealed its picks for the top 100 players at the midway point of the 2024 college football season and included two Auburn Tigers.
It is no secret that the production of wide receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and defensive end [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] have been vital to Auburn’s success on the field, which is why CBS Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer made sure to include the duo in his midseason ranking.
Lambert-Smith has already shattered last season’s top receiving totals just six games into his Auburn career by hauling in 24 catches for 510 yards and six scores. He has matched [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag]’s 2023 touchdown total and has blown past Fairweather’s yardage total by over 100 yards at the midway point of the season. However, he needs 15 more catches to surpass Fairweather’s 2023 total, which should be an easy accomplishment with six regular season games remaining.
Faulk holds the team lead in sacks this season, recording five for a loss of 32 yards. He trails [autotag]Dorian Mausi[/autotag] and [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] for the team lead in tackles with 27, including 20 solo. Pro Football Focus data shows that Faulk is the most valuable defensive player on Auburn’s roster through six games with a grade of 86.4, with his strong suit being run defense, where he grades at 88.8.
Looking ahead to the rest of Auburn’s schedule, the Tigers will face 10 players from CBS Sports’ rankings including Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams (No. 17), Texas A&M EDGE Nic Scourton (No. 33), and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (No. 100).
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