The 2024 college football season is gloriously underway, and what a Week 1 it was. But before the season really gets going, I'm presenting my "pre" season Top 50 Big Board for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Now, of course, these rankings will be fluid. Incredibly so. But doesn't hurt to provide a big board at the outset of a new year in college football, before we get five months of action.
1. James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
2. Luther Burden, WR, Missouri
3. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
4. Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky
5. Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Pearce arrived on the scene in the SEC in 2023, destroying blocker after blocker with a variety of pass-rush moves en route to his 10-sack, 14.5 tackle for loss season at Tennessee that featured a gargantuan 52 pressures on 246 opportunities to get after the quarterback. Length, burst, flexible lower half, it's all there with Pearce. With some added strength, he can be a No. 1 overall selection at the edge spot.
With Burden I got Amon St. Brown vibes one play, Ja'Marr Chase vibes the next. He had over 1,400 yards as a sophomore in 2023 with a whopping 20 forced missed tackles in the SEC, no easy task.
Johnson is long, fluid, instinctive, press-man corner who can put the clamps on dynamic wideouts. Minimal limitations athletically of course. Walker gave me Dexter Lawrence flashbacks in 2023 at Kentucky. Mauler against the run game and preposterous upfield rush ability at his mammoth size. Speaking of mammoth size, Williams is in a similar mold to 2022 No. 1 overall selection Travon Walker. Thick, stupidly long, and powerful at the point of attack. He could ascend to the top pick on sheer physical upside alone.
6. Travis Hunter, CB, Colorado
7. Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
8. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
9. Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson
10. Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Hunter is a rare cat. And so much of that statement is about his conditioning. There've been ample premier athletes who could've played both ways. Hunter does so, and looks every bit as dynamic in his movements in the fourth quarter than he did on the first drive of the game. And the fact that no one is quite sure which position suits him better at the next level -- receiver or cornerback -- speaks to his brilliance at both spots.
McMillan isn't a tremendously twitched-up separator. He's a menacing boundary receiver with sneaky long speed and an enormous catch radius that makes you feel like he's going to reel in every long ball thrown his direction in traffic. Carter erupts to the football and has plus coverage potential, which is an absolute must at the linebacker spot in today's NFL. Beck has higher-end traits than most pocket passers by way of timing and accuracy, he does need to demonstrate more off-script work in 2024.
11. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
12. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
13. Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
14. Will Campbell, OT, LSU
15. Harold Perkins, LB, LSU
16. Nic Scourton, EDGE, Texas A&M
17. Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
18. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
19. Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan
20. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
Starks is ready to go at safety right now. Could plug him into an NFL defense and he'd make plays in 2024. He has a pro-caliber body, ranges from the deep middle like a class free safety, is a sure tackler, and can match up in the slot. Outstanding ball skills too.
Perkins too looked ready for the NFL right away at the collegiate level, and while his ridiculous efficiency as a freshman regressed in 2023, there is no doubting he's an electric athlete who can play about four of five different positions at the next level. Scourton is an absolute unit at defensive end with plenty of girth to eat on the interior. He moves like he's 245. He's listed at 285. Nimble feet for a big man.
Loveland is the only tight end seemingly with first-round potential. And yes, I'm ready to board the Sanders train. Can't say that I love all the extra baggage that comes with being Deion Sanders' son. On the field, he's an aggressive, accurate thrower with plus arm talent, and seemingly quick processing skills inside the pocket.
21. Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss
22. Abdul Carter, LB/EDGE, Penn State
23. Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama
24. Ashton Gillotte, EDGE, Louisville
25. Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State
26. Tyleik Williams, DL, Ohio State
27. Riley Leonard, QB, Notre Dame
28. Kevin Winston, Jr., S Penn State
29. Landon Jackson, EDGE, Arkansas
30. Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
31. Emery Jones Jr., OT, LSU
32. Quincy Riley, CB, Louisville
The two defenders at the top are chiseled from stone. Or at least their physique looks that way. Umanmielen probably has the best combination of bend and speed-to-power conversion in what looks to be a loaded edge-rusher class, and Carter, every once in a while, looks like Micah Parsons on the field at Penn State. Big, long, ferocious, hyper-athletic, and he can align in a two-point stance and rush the passer from the outside.
Gillotte and Jackson are two enormous, almost oversized for the college game, edge rushers. Gillotte is more burst-based. Jackson utilizes his hands well at the point of attack. Both quality athletes with flexibility at the top of the pass-rushing apex.
33. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
34. Oscar Delp, TE, Georgia
35. Brady Cook, QB, Missouri
36. Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State
37. Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss
38. Wyatt Wilum, OT, West Virginia
39. JT Tuimoloau, EDGE, Ohio State
40. Evan Stewart, WR, Oregon
41. Jabbar Muhammad, CB, Washington
42. Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
43. Tate Ratledge, OT, Georgia
44. Aeneas Peebles, DL, Duke
45. Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State
46. Conner Weigman, QB, Texas A&M
47. Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon
48. Rod Moore, S, Michigan
49. Ajani Cornelius, IOL, Oregon
50. Devin Neal, RB, Kansas
Starting at the top here -- for me, a running back ranked near the Top 32 prospects is an incredible compliment to said running back based on positional value. And Jeanty is the real deal. Powerfully agile, balanced, breakaway speed. He enters the early stages of this season as a premier running back prospect with instant RB1 potential at the NFL level.
Cook is probably the most slept-on quarterback in the country -- not incredibly high volume a season ago but uber-efficient at the intermediate level especially and mostly took care of the football. Back to running back quickly -- Judkins is as talented as Jeanty, I was shocked -- then immediately reminded of NIL money -- that Judkins didn't enter the 2024 draft after another spectacular season at Ole Miss in 2023 when he ran for over 1,100 yards again. Suddenness is the marquee trait he possesses.
Peebles is such a fun specimen rushing from the inside. He registered 33 pressures a season ago on just over 278 pass-rushing snaps at Duke and should continue to demolish backfields after his transfer to Duke. Horton probably could've gone somewhere in the Top 100 in 2024 draft after he added another effective high-volume receiving season at Colorado State in 2023. He's nimble, runs sharp routes at all levels, and tracks it like a center fielder deep. Should be an enormous season for the fifth-year senior. He gave me Jaxon Smith-Njigba vibes on film. No joke.
Moore is one of the seemingly few returnees from Michigan's suffocating, national-title winning defense and has slot versatility with plus ball skills -- six interceptions in his last two seasons. Lastly, do not, and I repeat, do not, sleep on Neal at Kansas. He was electric a season ago, forcing 60 missed tackles on only 203 rushes.
