DRAFT NEWS

NFL college scouts entered the 2025 season eyeing five primary QB prospects to be possible first round draft picks next April - Arch Manning (Texas), Cade Klubnik (Clemson), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Drew Allar (Penn State), and Carson Beck (Miami, Fl) - and after week two, a sixth name has proven he needs to be added to this list - Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson.

As we enter mid-September, major conference games start to dominate the schedule with a pair of SEC games matching up playoff contenders leading the national slate of premium games scheduled for this weekend – Georgia at Tennessee and LSU at Florida. And on Saturday night, the Texas A&M Aggies travel to South Bend to seek revenge for last season’s loss to the Irish.

Texas QB Arch Manning entered last week's Ohio State game the Vegas betting favorite to take home this year's Heisman Trophy and left the game with more questions than answers. But the issue that was staring everyone in the face is that Manning is very inexperienced...

Week one provided four days of intriguing and competitive college football games and week two pales in comparison but that is not to say that there are not some interesting games scheduled for this weekend. The headliner is Michigan paying a visit to Norman, Oklahoma to play the Sooners. This UM-OU game features several high-level NFL prospects that will soon star on Sundays.

This column will be discussing draft eligible players - prospects at least three years out of high school - but anything that happens in the NFL and college football could be discussed here. The goal is to bring you, the reader, a fresh perspective on the development of the next batch of NFL superstars while they are learning the craft in the multi-billion dollar world of collegiate athletics. SNS readers are informed and that makes you a smarter fan and better at fantasy foo

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of the summer and simultaneously the official first weekend of college football where all 136 FBS college football teams are in action! There are several intriguing games on schedule this weekend (through Labor Day!) including, Texas at Ohio State, Alabama at Florida State, LSU at Clemson, and Notre Dame at Miami, Fl.

Admittedly, conducting a 2026 NFL Draft mock draft prior to NFL season beginning, let alone when teams are still in process cutting their roster down to 53 players, is somewhat futile but still a fun exercise to see how next year's draft class stacks up. The QB class could potentially be one of the better classes to enter the league in years with Arch Manning, Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, and Carson Beck projecting as first-round picks next spring.

It is a very rare occurrence that a kicker gets drafted before the third day of the NFL Draft – the last kicker to get drafted on the second day of the draft was Michigan kicker Jake Moody who went to the 49ers with pick #99 in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. No kicker or punter is projected to earn a Top 100 grade next spring although there may be as many as five specialists who earn a draftable grade for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Safety is a position that is often overlooked and undervalued in the NFL. NFL GMs tend to place the highest priority in the NFL Draft on QB, OT, WR, EDGE, IDL, and CB. In other words, positions that either support the QB or positions that directly attempt to stop the QB typically take priority early in a draft for an NFL squad. Saturday selections (rounds 4-7) are generally used on RBs, TEs, IOL, LB, Safeties, Kickers, and Punters. But the 2026 Safety class looks to potential

Last year at this time, the 2025 CB class had three outstanding prospects – Travis Hunter (Colorado), Will Johnson (Michigan), and Benjamin Morrison – that were considered potential Top 10 picks. Injuries suffered by Johnson and Morrison caused them to fall in last April’s draft but all three players remain top prospects. The 2026 CB class looks to have plenty of depth but there are no prospects that rank nearly as high as Hunter, who was drafted second overall by the Jaguars

From the vantage point of mid-August, the 2026 LB class may be one of the better classes to enter the NFL in the last decade with as many as a half dozen off the ball and inside LBs grading out as first-round picks, and that is not including Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss) and Harold Perkins (LSU), who’s best skills are rushing the passer but project as LBs on early run downs in the NFL due to size concerns. Unfortunately for these athletes, the NFL Draft values LBs less than th

The quality of the 2026 defensive tackles and 5Ts (3-4 DE) pales in comparison to the prospects that NFL teams hauled from last year’s draft. There is neither the top end quality nor the depth that characterized the 2025 IDL class. But that does not mean there are not any IDL that look like potential starters or important depth pieces in the NFL next year. There is likely to be two or three IDL who will be selected in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The 2026 Edge Rusher class looks to be on par with last year’s class, if not even slightly better, although there does not figure to be any prospects that are likely to grade out as highly as Penn State’s Abdul Carter (Giants). However, as many as a half dozen prospects could earn first round grades by the time the 2026 NFL Draft rolls around next April and the depth should provide NFL contributors even late on day three and into free agency.

The 2025 NFL Draft provided a deep and talented class of prospects that should provide several long-term NFL starters including Grey Zabel (Seattle), Donovan Jackson (Minnesota), Tyler Booker (Dallas), and Tate Ratledge (Detroit). The potential top center (OC) and guard (OG) prospects available next April may not be quite up to the level of the 2025 class.

The potential top OT prospects look to be similar in quality to last year’s class and should provide NFL teams with several starting caliber OTs next April, including a couple of players projected to be elite blindside protectors in the NFL. The depth at OT should provide teams with potential starters available on days two and three of the draft next spring. This class is stocked with big and long levered OTs who check the boxes from a physical specimen stand point.

The 2025 NFL Draft offered one of the best and deepest groups of TEs to enter the league in memory as Colston Loveland (Chicago) and Tyler Warren (Indianapolis) were selected in the first round and twelve were drafted across seven rounds. The prospective top TEs available for next April’s draft may not offer a single player who grades out as a first-round pick. But several prospects look like eventual NFL starters or at least as quality backup TEs.

The majority of the top WR prospects in college football this season figure to be sophomores who only left high school prior to the 2024 season and are therefore not available this next April. Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Ryan Williams (Alabama), Cam Coleman (Auburn), TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco (Clemson), Ryan Wingo (Texas), and Nick Marsh (Michigan State) are all potential first round picks, but no sooner than the 2027 NFL Draft.

The 2025 RB class is one of the best group of prospects to enter the NFL in the last two decades. Unfortunately, the 2026 class does not look like it has as much elite, top end talent nor the depth of last April’s class. This class is unlikely to offer a Top 10 prospect like Ashton Jeanty, who was selected by Las Vegas with the sixth pick last spring, but there a few prospects who may warrant first round consideration with a quality season this fall.

After a down year for the QB position in the NFL Draft, the prospective top upper classmen signal callers could be a bounce back class that delivers several potential franchise QBs to NFL teams in need next April. Although there is no clear-cut leader in this class, there are several prospects that have the combination of physical tools, mental makeup, and game experience to be drafted first overall next year.