Welp, it's that time again. After taking off two weeks due to what seemed like good QB play, it should now be apparent again to everyone that we need a QB in the 2027 draft. With that being said, I'd like us to open up discussion about who you all would like to see us draft in 2027. Tbh, noone thus far has been overly impressive in college football, with most notable names either regressing towards the middle of the season (Chambliss) or having not progressed enough (Manning). Aside from last week, Austin Simmons hasn't looked great either. That being said, give me your takes on the current status of the 2027 NFL draft class!

I'm all about watching Skill Position Guys, for Dynasty Football and just a love of the draft. These are some of the deeper guys that I have liked so far beyond the top grouping. I also am looking for anyone you recommend me to watch.

Chase Sowell, WR, Penn State - Ideal frame with length. Taut and stringy build. Sowell is a different mover out there. He's very fast with burst and really composed with great body control. His vertical push is absurd and he shocks DBs instantly. He really pulls at a defense fast and flips DBs on to heels. He picks up the ball well in the air and is great at tracking the ball in. The sky is the limit for Sowell right now in my eyes, he's so gifted that he could fly up to being a top WR with more route polish. I had a similar feeling with Stribling last year, seeing the pieces there to build on. And I'm higher right now on Sowell.

Kendrick Raphael, RB, SMU - He runs a bit too upright but man is he fearless the way he attacks traffic and just ping-pongs off of contact on the way. An old school bruiser back for sure. Despite his physicality he floats on his feet and moves laterally and forward at a smooth and linear pace. I don't know if he has the long speed to make it though, once he hits the second level and tries to pull away he can't gain distance from anyone. But he'd be a model of efficiency maximizing every touch.

Keyjuan Brown, RB, Louisville - Short, squat, thick, Brown is built like Travis Henry but has sneaky great burst in his legs. His center of gravity is so low he can plant and cut easily and has absurd balance. He's tough to knock down and will happily bounce and roll off of contact. He has a good feel for working to the outside at the second level. He's going to frustrate defenses when he disappears into traffic and emerges fiercely on the opposite end punishing tacklers. He only really has two gears and his second isn't enough for breakaway runs in the NFL.

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to catch your breath after an eventful Week 6. Arch Manning cost Texas the game as the No. 1 Longhorns were toppled in the Red River Rivalry. Oregon sorely missed Dante Moore in a turnover-plagued defeat to UCLA. Kentucky won in OT on a two-point conversion again, this time stunning LSU. Indiana narrowly avoided a shock from Nebraska. LaNorris Sellers showed signs of life, accounting for five touchdowns in an upset of Florida. Oh, and Georgia hung on to beat Alabama in controversial fashion.

I’m still working my way through the tape from the weekend, but I have some early observations about everything that unfolded over the course of a chaotic couple of days.

(I don't think Twitter embeds come through in Reddit posts, so if you want to see the relevant clips, you can find them here: https://draftseasonneverends.substack.com/p/week-6-stock-watch-marsh-surges-manning )

Stock up

Andrew Marshall, CB, Nebraska

If you are wondering what happened to Charlie Becker, Marshall had a lot to do with his quiet afternoon. Becker finished with 3 catches for 52 yards. It was his first game without a touchdown this season. Marshall is an Idaho transfer who has thrived at Nebraska, now in his second season with the Cornhuskers. He has good size at 6’0”, 195 lbs. He is definitely on my radar now and I could see him being a riser throughout this draft process.

Nick Marsh, WR, Indiana

On the other side of the formation was often Marsh. Unfortunately for Nebraska, they only had one Andrew Marshall. Marsh dominated the Cornhuskers, showing excellent toughness and concentration to make plays over the middle. His run-after-catch ability at 6’3”, 210 pounds is wildly impressive. He was already my WR4, but he is entering the conversation to be a top-15 prospect in this class.

Dylan Stewart, EDGE, South Carolina

Well maybe we overreacted a bit to the drama in Columbia. South Carolina waltzed into The Swamp and stomped Florida. Stewart returned to action after a one-game suspension and looked sharp. He pulled off an excellent two-handed swipe to record an early sack. He was disruptive all game long, against the run and the pass. Talent wise, I think he might be the No. 4 player on my board. The character concerns after what happened against Alabama are worth monitoring. The pre-draft interviews will be significant for him, but we can go back to mocking him near the top of the draft until we hear otherwise.

Chris Cole, LB, Georgia

Georgia picked up a statement win and Cole had a statement performance. He was absolutely flying around the field, finishing with 8 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and 2 pass breakups. Cole was already in my top 20 prior to this performance, but he is closing the gap on Sammy Brown in my rankings very quickly. If he can continue to be a factor in coverage, we could be looking at a top-10 prospect.

Jamal Roberts, RB, Missouri

Ahmad Hardy was supposed to be the feature back in Missouri this season. Unfortunately, Hardy was shot during the offseason and has still not made his season debut. I have high hopes for him returning and dominating in 2027. Until then, Roberts will keep things rolling. The 6’0”, 215-pound senior recorded his second straight 200-yard rushing performance. He is a physical, downhill runner who has just enough speed to pick up some chunk plays. I don’t know if he will crack the first-round conversation, but I like him a lot on Day 2.

Umari Hatcher, WR, Syracuse

Due to injury and poor play, Syracuse has played four different quarterbacks this season already. The Orange are also 0-3 in ACC play. Despite all of that, Hatcher has been putting on a show. He racked up 8 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown against a solid Virginia defense. That performance came on the heels of a 12-catch, 156-yard, 3-touchdown outing against UConn the week before. Hatcher is a sixth-year senior who missed almost all of 2025 with an injury, but there seems to be enough there for him to make an NFL roster as a Day 3 pick or a priority UDFA.

Xavier Gilliam, DL, Tennessee

We are getting close to the point where we need to talk about Xavier Gilliam in the first round. He caught my attention against Texas earlier this season and shined again facing Arkansas in Week 6. He stuffed the stat sheet with 4 tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a batted pass. It’s hard to ignore how disruptive Gilliam has been throughout the season. The conversation for who should be DT2 behind Will Echoles is wide open right now. Gilliam is firmly in that mix now.

Owen Heinecke, LB, Oklahoma

Only in today’s college football can I type a sentence like this: Heinecke impressed a lot during last year’s draft cycle, including at the Senior Bowl, before returning to Oklahoma. His career started as a lacrosse player at Ohio State, but he has developed into a quality linebacker with a nose for the football. He had a team-high nine tackles, including two for a loss, in OU’s upset of Texas. He is an older prospect, but he looks capable of carving out a role for himself in the NFL. 

Matayo Uiagalelei, EDGE, Oregon

I wasn’t Uiagalelei’s biggest fan over the summer. He was solid against the run and showed some flashes as a pass rusher, but he seemed like he had a long way to go. Even in a loss, he showed that he is progressing how you would like him to be. He had six tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss. That brings him to five sacks on the season. I still have him outside the first round, but solidly a second-rounder in my book right now.

Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville

Let’s wrap up stock up with a monster game from Brown. He showcased his game-breaking speed, ripping off 97-yard and 68-yard touchdown runs in Louisville’s win. He averaged a healthy 4.6 yards per carry on his 15 other carries as well. For teams looking for a back to add to their committee capable of taking one to the house at any moment, Brown will be highly coveted.

Stock down

Arch Manning, QB, Texas

Manning is so frustratingly inconsistent. He had some truly jaw-dropping throws against Oklahoma. Unfortunately, he threw two back-breaking interceptions in the fourth quarter, including a pick-six. The decision-making, processing speed and ability to read coverage are all still not where they need to be. The arm talent and mobility still have him in my top 5 quarterbacks right now, but he is quickly fading towards being a Day 2 prospect.

Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA

This turned out to be a nightmare evening for Iamaleava. He threw two first-half interceptions and suffered a leg injury that kept him out for the second half. The arm talent is clearly there, but the lack of consistency and the constant injury issues are concerning. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like the injury is too serious, so hopefully the redshirt junior can bounce back against Wisconsin.

Bear Alexander, DL, Oregon

From a talent perspective, Alexander is a top-50 player in my book. He has some absolutely dominant reps as both a pass rusher and run defender. He had a solid game against UCLA, but the play he made that went viral featured him twisting Iamaleava’s helmet on the way to the ground and then taking a swing at the quarterback after he was already down. For a player that already had some question marks given how he exited Georgia and USC, this is another troublesome moment. He comes across as a selfish player who often fails to make the best choice for his team. He was lucky not to be ejected.

Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri

It was a bit of a shaky game for Simmons. He still flashes his incredible arm talent, fitting in a couple of impressive Cover 2 hole shots. However, he continues to struggle under pressure and when forced out of structure. It’s something he can absolutely overcome, but I think he needs another year in college before he can make the jump to the NFL.

Jadan Baugh, RB, Florida

For the second straight game, it was hard to find the man who had earned Heisman and RB1 buzz through the first four games of the season. Baugh had 15 yards at halftime and finished with just 59 on 15 carries. Some of it can be chalked up to a lackluster showing from the offensive line, but Baugh has seemingly ground to a halt as well. He needs to find his groove again to keep himself in the first-round conversation.

Dylan Raiola, QB, Oregon

Fans jumped the gun with Raiola when he carved up USC in place of an injured Dante Moore. The quarterback controversy in Oregon lasted all of three quarters. Raiola struggled mightily, finishing 6-of-18 for 43 yards and 2 interceptions. He was pulled in the fourth quarter. Raiola was always more of a 2028 draft prospect to me, but this was definitely not a great sign for how he will be viewed heading into next year.

Washington’s secondary

I liked what I saw from Washington’s secondary in its loss to USC the week before. They made a few big tackles for loss and picked off Jayden Maiava. Against Iowa, things went off the rails quickly. The Hawkeyes had receivers running wide open on multiple occasions, leading to two of the easiest touchdowns you will ever see. They also missed tackles left and right, leading to huge chunk plays in the running game. No one seemed to understand their assignments and they played well below expectations all night.

Unless you either do a lengthy 5+ round mock or go into written detail on why you are making the picks, please post your mocks in this Mock Draft Monday thread. Use this thread to post your own mocks or anything from around the web you find discussion-worthy.

Please be respectful of other users’ mocks! Saying things like “this is awful” or a pick is “stupid” adds nothing to the conversation; try and focus on constructive feedback instead!

Cornerbacks have an equally short lifespan as running backs, no? So why is it ok for a bad team to select a cornerback high in the draft? And if it is okay, shouldn’t the argument about “wasting a running backs early seasons on a bad team” be thrown out the window?

I build a draft sim, and its 2027 class runs on a consensus board pulled from 10 public sources: the Tankathon, Drafttek, Sporting News, PFF, CBS and Fanspeak big boards, plus mocks from Tankathon, FantasyPros, WalterFootball and CBS. I froze a copy on Sept 5, the day before Week 1, and re-ran it this weekend. Six weeks in, here's what moved and what didn't.

Ranks are the talent consensus unless I say "mock." A * means I added my own adjustment on top of the sources for an injury or suspension. Everything else is the sources moving on their own.

QB room (Sept 5 → Oct 11)

• Arch Manning 3 → 4. Still the #1 pick in the mocks. 19/31 for 260 and 3 TD against Oklahoma, but two fourth-quarter picks, one a pick-six, in the 27-24 loss. Kiper and Reid now have him sliding toward Day 2. The boards have barely moved.
• Dante Moore 4 → 9. In concussion protocol since the USC hit on Sept 26. He missed UCLA, Raiola got benched in a 17-15 loss, and Lanning won't commit to Moore playing again this season. The drop is from the sources. I added a medical flag but left his rank alone.
• Trinidad Chambliss 49 → 21. Wasn't in a single mock on Sept 5. Now QB5 on the boards. 20/30 for 213, 3 TD and a rushing TD against Vanderbilt.
• CJ Carr 19 → 18, Julian Sayin 13 → 19. Both keep putting up clean lines (Carr 14/20, 3 TD vs Stanford; Sayin 4 TD vs Maryland), and the boards have them flat or drifting.
• Darian Mensah 39 → 28. 15 TD, 0 INT through five games. He's mock #6 and talent #28, the biggest board-vs-mock gap in the class. I'd been nudging him up; I took that off this week because the boards finally got there on their own.
• Drew Mestemaker 26 → 31. 304 and 2 TD against UCF, and he still slid.
• LaNorris Sellers 46 → 48. Fell to 58 after the fumbles at Kentucky, then 23/35 for 279 and 4 TD at Florida pulled him back.
• Sam Leavitt 83 → 109. Healthy and still starting. The strip-sack in the overtime loss at Kentucky did it. The mocks still have him 31.

Non-QB risers: Samson Okunlola (OT, Miami) 138 → 70. Princewill Umanmielen (EDGE, LSU) 118 → 65. Luke Reynolds (TE, Virginia Tech) 141 → 92. Boubacar Traore (EDGE, Notre Dame) 98 → 67, with a sack and an INT vs Stanford. Bear Alexander (DT, Oregon) 107 → 79. Chris Cole (LB, Georgia) 57 → 41, with 8 tackles, a sack and 2.5 TFL at Alabama. Charlie Becker (WR, Indiana) 21 → 12.

Fallers: Nyck Harbor (WR, South Carolina) 92 → 132. Brice Pollock (CB, Texas Tech) 66 → 106. Rasheem Biles (LB, Texas) 36 → 56. OJ Frederique Jr. (CB, Miami) 65 → 97* with the shoulder. Isaac Brown (RB, Louisville) 75 → 98, though he's climbing again after 235 yards and 2 TD against Florida State.

The Dylan Stewart round trip: 6 → 16 → 8. He punched Alabama's TE, got a one-game SEC suspension plus an indefinite one from Beamer, and had zero sacks at that point. Beamer reinstated him Friday and he got a sack in his first game back at Florida. I pulled my adjustment off him, and he's nearly back where he started.

Not on any board on Sept 5, now top 100: Reed Harris (WR, Arizona State) 60, Kingston Lopa (S, Cal) 71, Devan Thompkins (DT, Alabama) 88

Shape of the consensus top 32: 7 QB (up from 5), 5 OT, 4 EDGE, 4 CB, 3 WR (down from 5), 3 DT, 2 TE, 2 RB, 1 S, 1 LB. The QBs came out of the receiver room.

My take: the mocks and the boards disagree most about the quarterbacks. The mocks still have Manning first overall while the analysts call him a Day 2 guy, and they have Mensah at 6 while the boards say 28. I think the boards are slow on Mensah and too generous on Manning, but I'd like to hear the case for the other side.

I feel like there isn’t much consensus on this QB class so far, so I wanted to see what everyone’s Top 5 QB rankings look like at this point. Who do y’all have as your top QBs?

1. Darian Mensah

2. Dante Moore

3. Austin Simmons

4. Jayden Maiava

5. Julian Sayin

Has been going absolutely bonkers this year as a true freshman. He is a speed demon and has faced solid competetion this year with Orgeon State. Obviously, has at least 2 more years to go but wondering how he looks so far as a prospect, should he transfer to a big time school next year?

LIVE Weekly Discussion Thread for CFB Games & Prospects

1/50 first round QBs won with the team that drafted them. (2%)

7/93 OL won with the team that drafted them. (7.5%)

The winners are:

James Carpenter 2011, No. 25 Seattle Seahawks XLVIII

Nate Solder 2011, No. 17 New England Patriots XLIX, LI

Eric Fisher 2013, No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs LIV

Lane Johnson 2013, No. 4 Philadelphia Eagles LII, LIX

Tristan Wirfs 2020, No. 13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers LV

Charles Cross 2022, No. 9 Seattle Seahawks LX

Grey Zabel 2025, No. 18 Seattle Seahawks LX

Perhaps this stat better illustrates what I found interesting about the stats from my other post.

People put so much weight into drafting a QB high and which QB goes where.

The reality is it’s the rest of the team that wins the Super Bowl too, not just the QB.

Since the rookie pay scale was introduced in 2011 only 5 QBs drafted in this span have won a Super Bowl.

Fun fact, that’s 15 full seasons.

Only two of the five are 1st round picks and only one of the 1st round picks won it with the team that drafted him.

The 5 winners:

\* Russell Wilson — drafted 3/75 in 2012 — Won XLVIII

\* Nick Foles — drafted 3/88 in 2012 — Won LII

\* Patrick Mahomes — drafted 1/10 in 2017 — Won LIV, LVII, and LVIII

\* Sam Darnold — drafted 1/3 in 2018 — Won LX

\* Jalen Hurts — drafted 2/53 in 2020 — Won LIX

Wilson, Mahomes, and Hurts are the only that won the Super Bowl with the team that drafted them (Foles technically did, but only after leaving and coming back so I don’t count him).

Mahomes is the only 1st round pick QB to win the Super Bowl with the team that drafted him in this era.

The rest of the super bowls in this era were won by Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Matthew Stafford.

Source is too much time at work and PFR

Talk about anything you please; draft-related or otherwise!

https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2026/09/25/reed-harris-early-2027-nfl-draft-profile/

The 2027 WR class is incredibly deep, and there have been some prospects who have elevated their stock this season. Arizona State's Reed Harris already has 500 yards and five touchdowns, and has been the Sun Devils' top target, even sharing a WR room with Omarion Miller. I like him a lot as an X-receiver; he has reliable hands and is a good route runner. I wanted to ask what y'all's thoughts on him are as a prospect, and how early you believe he can go in the 2027 NFL Draft.

I consider these guys low-offensive line demand, high performing RBs. Meaning because of their incredible lateral speed and gear changing acceleration, they will get numbers even if the oline isnt made up of all pros. So far Ive looked at Baugh and Lacy and while they are nice, I dont see them in that elite category worth a top 5 pick.

I track a bunch of the public 2027 boards. Of the ones that updated this week, Melvin Siani (OT) climbed the most, 70 to 44 on DraftTek. Omarion Miller (WR) dropped the most, 46 to 60 on Tankathon.

It feels way too early for boards to be moving guys 20+ spots, but maybe that's just me.

Who do you think is rising or falling the most right now?

I really like Deshawn Spears. Kingston Lopa and Keon Sabb also look like they can be that guy based on their play and frames. Anyone I should keep a close eye on? Or should I be looking for linebackers or cornerbacks instead of safeties? My team (the Dolphins) has a major hole (among many, many holes) in finding a standout TE lockdown player.

Have a bold prediction that you want to state proudly but will most likely look very stupid in short time? Have at it! Maybe you’ll nail it and look like a genius in the future

Please don’t downvote a user for a stupid bold prediction; it’s all just for fun!

The Dolphins are one of five 0-4 teams in the NFL, and it appears they will be picking somewhere in the top five, perhaps first overall. Miami signed Malik Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million deal, but he has struggled. I wanted to ask what y'all's thoughts are on what the Dolphins should do. Should they take a QB, go with Jeremiah Smith, or an edge rusher, or trade back with a team looking to move up for a QB?

The Texans currently have the 1st overall pick and they’re in an interesting position where they could trade Stroud and draft a new QB or get a haul for the 1st overall pick from a QB needy team since there are a bunch of college QBs showing they can be the 1st overall pick. With the way college QBs are playing and how the draft order falls the Texans can trade back to pick 3 or 4 and still get smith or Collins. What do you think the Texans should do if they get the 1st overall pick?

Considering the Los Angeles Chargers are a team that we thought would be good but they have looked anything but and Justin Herbert definitely needs more or better weapons on offense so that being said what should the LA Chargers do in this Draft? They definitely need to go receiver

Here is my latest QB power rankings for the college football season and upcoming QB class. What do you think?

CJ Carr is coming off a great game.

Arch Manning hasn't done anything to take him out of the running for the top spot and is probably the best bet to be #1 overall.

Darian Mensah hasn't played anyone yet, but you can't ask for better QB play. Helps when he's throwing to a stud.

I probably should switch Trinidad Chambliss and Mestemaker, but both have had a solid start to the season.

Julian Sayin is lucky to be throwing to Jeremiah Smith.

It's looking more and more like Dante Moore should have came out in last year's draft. He's only falling father and father down the rankings. It's not that he's been playing bad, but hasn't been dominating like you would hope. He needs to get healthy and put up some dominant performances to climb back up the rankings.

Hi everyone - Back with my sleeper players of the week. Discussed a couple of quarterbacks that I think should be more firmly on radars. Thanks as always for reading, and please let me know if you have some players you want me to take a look at! I'll send the substack link, but the entire article is here.

https://theday2guys.substack.com/p/the-day-2-guys-week-5-stock-up-college?r=2mc4kp&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Braden Atkinson, QB, Oregon State Univ. - Sophomore - It’s time to finally talk about Atkinson. He and his freshman wide receiver sensation Jesse Legree are lighting up college football each week with 40+ yard plays weekly. Atkinson has clearly proven almost every single college scout wrong by showing them that he should not have had only 3 division-1 offers (Mercer Univ., Miami Univ. (OH), and Boston College). Atkinson played behind Auburn QB Byrum Brown at Rolesville High School, in Rolesville, NC for one season before being named the starter his sophomore year. Atkinson then committed to Mercer out of high school and started 11 games as a true freshman going 9-2 overall. Atkinson transferred over to Oregon State this season and has gone from someone you’ve barely heard about, to someone that the college football world is expecting big things out of weekly. Atkinson has a smaller stature (listed at 6’ 1” / 208 pounds), but he’s got a wicked arm and has no problem chucking the football all over the yard. He’s got a beautiful release and his accuracy to all fields is really impressive for somebody so young. He does not have the ability to run, but his arm helps make up for his lack of athleticism.

Atkinson leads all of college football in points responsible for (116 - 2 more than Kamario Taylor), and is 26th in completion percentage nationally (69.5%). While everyone is trying to figure out what Kamario Taylor’s plans will be next year, I think it will be really important to see if Oregon State can keep Atkinson and his receiver Jesse Legree together for another year. They are both that good.

Kelby Valsin, WR, Florida Atlantic Univ. - RS Junior - Kelby Valsin is a player that has not been on college football radars until this year. A quiet 3 years at Texas Tech meant a transfer down to Florida Atlantic. The 6’ 2” / 195 pound redshirt-junior out of Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas has flourished in Zach Kittley’s offensive scheme. Kittley, who was the former Texas Tech offensive coordinator helped recruit Kelby to the Owls once he became the head coach in December of 2024.

Kittley’s belief in Valsin’s abilities has paid off for both parties. Valsin has been the X receiver of the offense and has had 40 receptions / 512 yards / 5 touchdowns in 5 games. Valsin has not only produced terrific statistics against poor teams (7 receptions / 126 yards / 3 touchdowns against Texas Southern Univ.), but Valsin had a nice day against the Florida Gators in Week 1 (10 receptions / 92 yards / 1 touchdown). The touchdown against the Gators came early in the fourth quarter against the second-team defense, but he was able to shine despite the blowout loss. Valsin ranks 10th in all of college football in receiving yards and is tied for 4th in the country in receptions (tied with Collin Dixon and Anthony Evans III). Valsin displays fantastic body control and has enough separation linearly to be able to play at the next level as an X receiver. Valsin will have an opportunity to get major playing time either with the Owls, or with a Power 4 school next season. I expect most power 4 schools will be calling his agent after this season.

Caden Veltkamp, QB, Florida Atlantic Univ. - RS Senior - Back-to-back Owls. It felt like a disservice to discuss Valsin and not discuss the extremely successful quarterback who is getting Valsin the ball. Veltkamp has been a beloved college fantasy quarterback for a little while now, but it’s time that he gets his due as a prospect. Veltkamp won’t be mistaken for a dual-threat quarterback, but he does have arm talent. Veltkamp is listed at 6’ 5” / 236 pounds and he looks every bit of that on tape. If you go beyond what the stats say (and the stats are good), you can see a quarterback that is going to rise up boards late in the process as more coaches find out about him. The arm is quite live as mentioned before, although sometimes, I feel like he uses a bit too much wrist in his throwing motion instead of doing a normal follow-through. He can absolutely spin the football regardless of my nit-picking.

We just saw Athan Kaliakmanis play his first NFL game for the Washington Commanders, and I think Veltkamp is similar in that he has downfield throwing ability that scouts will love. What makes Veltkamp so intriguing is his 12 TD / 2 Int ratio and the fact that he’s 10th in college football in completion percentage (73%) while also having the 4th most completions. The only quarterback ahead of him in both of those rankings is Ethan Grunkemeyer of Virginia Tech who is having a very, very good season. What Veltkamp is doing is highly impressive, and what he did week 1 against the Florida Gators despite throwing 2 interceptions that game was unique for a non-power 4 starting quarterback (276 yards with a 65% completion percentage). You will be hearing Veltkamp’s name quite often this draft season, and for good reason.

Elijah Melendez, LB, Auburn Univ. - Sophomore - Melendez is a true sophomore linebacker for Auburn who was a four-star recruit with an astounding 39 offers. Melendez has already played a solid amount of football for Auburn despite being a true sophomore. His freshman season, he played in 12 games while starting 1 of them. Melendez had two interceptions his freshman year. Guess who his pick-6 was off of? Mercer QB Braden Atkinson!

Melendez has been an absolute pest on defense for Auburn this year with 43 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 TFL, and 4 PD. Melendez has the size/speed combination that NFL linebackers need to thrive at the next level at 6’ 0” / 240 pounds. Melendez has what appear to be very long arms which will do nothing but help him with shedding blocks and wrapping ball carriers up. Melendez and the Auburn defense have been doing a fantastic job of making plays behind the line of scrimmage this year. The team ranks 15th in the nation with 7.6 tackles for loss per game. Melendez’s arrow is going up.

Looking back at Week 4 players that were highlighted:

Makai Jackson (Liberty WR) - 5 receptions / 90 yards / 0 touchdowns - Another week of dominance for Jackson. He actually LOWERED his yards per catch from 27.1 to 24.7 on the season despite a fantastic game against the Univ. of Delaware. Liberty is now 4-1 thanks in large part to Jackson.

Daeden Hopkins (Missouri DE) - 3 QB pressures - Hopkins did not add to his sack total this week, but he had 3 pressures and played extremely well both rushing the passer and defending a fantastic Florida Gator rushing attack. Hopkins played 49 snaps and was vital in shutting Florida’s red-hot offense down.

Wayne Knight (UCLA RB) - Bye Week

Tre Spivey (Arizona WR) - 3 receptions / 36 yards / 0 touchdowns - Very sad news on this front, as Spivey broke his foot and will be out for the rest of the season. According to Arizona coaches, it is a similar foot injury to what Tetairoa McMillan sustained in 2024. Spivey will most assuredly be back for another college football season with the injury, so look out for him next season as he works his way back from a brutal injury.