(Donovan Edwards / RB / Michigan)
A new college football season is here! Week zero brought a few good games highlighted by the upset of Georgia Tech over the defending ACC Champion Florida State. Starting this week, all 134 FBS teams are scheduled to be in action with games on every day from Thursday to Labor Day!
This week, SNS will take a look at some of the top offensive prospects who may be available in next April’s NFL Draft.
QB
(Carson Beck / QB / Georgia)
Carson Beck / Georgia
Quinn Ewers / Texas
Shedeur Sanders / Colorado
Jaxson Dart / Ole Miss
Jalen Milroe / Alabama
Cam Ward / Miami, Fl
Grayson McCall / North Carolina State
Riley Leonard / Notre Dame
Dillon Gabriel / Oregon
The 2025 NFL Draft does not figure to have either the depth nor the top end talent of this year’s class that had five QBs drafted in the first eleven picks last April. But that’s not to say that there are not a few potential franchise signal callers available next year. Beck started every game last year leading the Bulldogs to a 13-win season. Beck completed 72% of his passes for 3,941 yards, 24 TDs, and six INTs. He displayed the arm strength, accuracy, leadership, and pocket presence to possibly be the first pick next April. Ewers finally started to meet his hype as the #1 recruit in his class and has the arm strength, athleticism, and playmaking skill to become an NFL franchise QB. Sanders has received a ton of hype and much of it is deserved – he has a great arm and natural leadership skills. But he needs to process coverages quicker and not hold on to the ball so long trying to make a play. Sanders bears close scrutiny this fall. Dart has starting experience at USC and Ole Miss and is a dynamic athlete with the ball in his hands. He has steadily improved over the last two years playing for Lane Kiffin, a proven QB developer. Dart has a great surrounding talent and should be considered a front-runner for this season’s Heisman Trophy. Milroe entered last season as a running threat with questionable passing skill. That is no longer an issue as Milroe developed quickly as the Tide’s QB last year and enters this season eying bigger things. Milroe has the build, arm, athleticism, and moxie to possibly be worth taking in the Top 10 next April. Ward, a transfer from Washington State, withdrew from the 2024 NFL Draft for a chance to lead the Hurricanes this season. Ward is a natural leader with mobility, accuracy, and experience to be developed into a future starting QB in the NFL. McCall, an extremely experienced college QB who has passed for over 10,000 yards at Coastal Carolina, is an unorthodox passer with an odd release. But he is a proven winner who gets a chance to test himself against a higher level of competition in the ACC this year. Leonard was a revelation early last year at Duke, prior to suffering a season-ending injury, who transferred to South Bend to have a chance at the National Championship this year. He offers good size, athleticism, mechanics, and leadership skills to intrigue talent evaluators. Gabriel, the much-traveled QB who has led teams at UCF, Oklahoma, and now Oregon, is an extremely accurate passer with good mobility outside the pocket. He will be surrounded by tremendous talent in Eugene and he should prosper in his last year of college ball.
RB
(Ollie Gordon / RB / Oklahoma State)
Ollie Gordon / Oklahoma State
Devin Neal / Kansas
Quinshon Judkins / Ohio State
TreVeyon Henderson / Ohio State
Nicholas Singleton / Penn State
Kaytron Allen / Penn State
Donovan Edwards / Michigan
Raheim Sanders / South Carolina
Ashton Jeanty / Boise State
Next year’s RB class could provide a quality crop of NFL-ready RBs. These RBs are well-rounded with inside and outside running skill, pass catching and route running ability, and the ability to be true, bell cow NFL RBs. Gordon burst on the scene last year rushing for 1,732 yards last season to lead FBS despite not becoming the starting RB until the fourth game of the season. Gordon combines size, strength, vision, and burst to become a Pro Bowl-level RB in the NFL. Neal may be the best RB (at the college level) ever produced by Kansas – yes, including All-Time great Gale Sayers. Neal rushed for 1,280 yards on a healthy 6.3 YPC average. Neal isn’t the biggest back but he doesn’t shy away from physicality and has the toughness to excel at all facets of the game at the NFL level. Judkins proved to be a dynamic, difference making RB at Ole Miss where he rushed for 1,158 yards in 2023. OSU came calling in the off season and enticed Judkins to move north to Columbus. Judkins is a complete RB whose only constraint may be playing in a time share this season. Speaking of which, Henderson returns to Columbus for another season to take on the challenge to his playing time poised by Judkins. Henderson has displayed elite running and receiving skills during his time at Ohio State but cannot seem to stay healthy. With Judkins and Henderson, OSU should be nearly unstoppable on the ground this season. Penn State, like Ohio State, has a tremendous amount of talent in their backfield. Singleton and Allen are entering their third season together and have become truly complementary backs that can each operate effectively on every down. They combined for more than 1,600 yards last season and are poised to do even better this season. Edwards finally has the opportunity to become the feature back in Ann Arbor with the graduation of Blake Corum. He has a great combination of size, speed, and explosiveness that has been underutilized so far during his career. Edwards is a threat in space and should have his best season yet at Michigan. Sanders is a former 1,000-yard rusher who missed last season with an injury at Arkansas and transferred to South Carolina this last winter. Sanders is a powerful inside runner with surprising agility. If he regains his form, he should be a midround draft pick next spring. Jeanty entered last season as a backup but quickly became the Broncos feature back. He has a fantastic burst through the hole with the ability to get to top speed quickly. Jeanty has limited wear and tear on his body and figures to be one of the best backs in college football again this year.
WR
(Luther Burden / WR / Missouri)
Luther Burden / Missouri
Tetairoa McMillan / Arizona
Emeka Egbuka / Ohio State
Evan Stewart / Oregon
Tez Johnson / Oregon
Tre Harris / Ole Miss
Xavier Restrepo / Miami, Fl
The 2025 WR class looks solid, it just pales in comparison to the 2024 class (Harrison, Nabers, Thomas, Worthy, Legette, Coleman, etc.). There are several WRs who are likely to be first round selections when they come out of college. Burden, a 5-star recruit, is a beast of a WR who caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine TDs in 2023 with more than 700 of those yards after the catch. At 5’11” and nearly 210 pounds, Burden is a tank with the ball in the open field and a likely Top Ten pick next spring. McMillan offers a huge target with a tremendous catch radius that every team covets. He averaged over 100 yards receiving per game last season and caught ten TD passes. Egbuka enters 2024 as his team’s #1 WR for the first time. Injuries limited him last year, and the Buckeye’s offense looks to be potent once again. Egbuka could work his way into the first round next April with a solid season. Stewart and Johnson give Oregon the most dangerous WR tandem in the nation. Stewart, a former 5-star recruit, never quite realized his immense potential at Texas A&M but he has provided intriguing flashes of his explosiveness and upside. Johnson flourished as the #2 WR in Eugene last year (behind Denver’s 2024 fourth round pick, Troy Franklin), going for nearly 1,200 yards receiving and ten TDs. Having Heisman Trophy contender Dillon Gabriel at QB should provide plenty of highlights this fall. Harris is a dark horse candidate to be the first WR drafted next April. He combines size, length, and athleticism that meets the NFL prototype to a “T.” and he will be the featured target in Ole Miss’ high octane attack. Restrepo returns after a breakout season (85 receptions / 1092 yards / 6 TDs) and looks like the best NFL slot receiver prospect entering the 2024 season. He is quick, agile, tough, and possesses sticky hands.
TE
(Colston Loveland / TE / Michigan)
Colston Loveland / Michigan
Luke Lachey / Iowa
Caden Prieskorn / Ole Miss
Mitchell Evans / Notre Dame
Mason Taylor / LSU
The trend in colleges developing quality TE prospects continues with this year’s class. Loveland has quietly built up quite a resume heading into his third season in Ann Arbor and he enters this season as the top receiving option for the defending National Champions. He combines reliable hands with quickness, savvy route running, and power to become a dominating midfield weapon at the NFL level. Lachey missed most of the 2023 season due to injury but returns as the next in line of great Hawkeye TEs. Lachey is a quality blocker with excellent size (6’6” / 253 lbs) and the power to run over DBs in the open field. Prieskorn has ideal length and size to create mismatches down the seam. He will also have the advantage of playing with a talented group of skill position players in Oxford this year. Evans, like Lachey, returns from an injury shortened season with high hopes for a healthy season. Reportedly, Evans is fully healthy from last October’s ACL tear which would provide a sigh of relief…and a dangerous weapon to the Fighting Irish’s offense. Taylor, son of NFL Hall of Famer Jason, has battled nagging injuries throughout his career in Baton Rouge. He combines size and athleticism that is hard to find at the TE position so a healthy season could have Taylor getting first round consideration next spring.
OL
(Kelvin Banks / OT / Texas)
Kelvin Banks / OT-IOL / Texas
Will Campbell / OT / LSU
Tyler Booker / IOL / Alabama
Tate Ratledge / IOL / Georgia
Donovan Jackson / IOL / Ohio State
Aireontae Ersery / OT / Minnesota
The most dominate conference in college football for the better part of three decades has been the SEC. And one consistent factor in the SEC’s domination has been the high quality of offensive line played by the conference members. 2024 figures to be no exception with at least four top flight prospects who should be available next year. Banks is entering his third year as the blindside protector in Austin but many scouts seem to think his future will be inside at guard. Banks has a lot of great film and will use the 2024 season to audition for the same role in the NFL. Campbell has started since his true freshman year and has an ideal combination of measureables, feet, and intelligence to be a perennial Pro Bowl player at the NFL level. Booker has a road grader mentality with the feet and mobility to go along with his natural strength and power. He looks to be an ideal early day two pick next spring. Ratledge is highly experienced in a pro style system and is ready to start from day one in the NFL. He has enough size and length to slide out to ORT, if needed. Jackson has been one of the best linemen in the Big Ten for the last two seasons and looks like a long-term NFL starter. He possesses the size, strength, mobility, and intelligence to be a highly valued second round pick next year. Ersery has emerged as an intriguing prospect with a combination of length, power, and mobility. He is growing with experience and could only be starting to tap his potential. He could be the fastest riser of any offensive line prospect in next year’s draft.
Next week, SNS reveals the SNS 2025 NFL Preseason Defensive Prospect Watchlist!!
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