Anthony Wilson
The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books and the football world has already moved on to the 2025 cycle. CBS Sports NFL Draft expert Ryan Wilson has already released his first 2025 Mock Draftand his colleagues participated in similar exercises as they began to build their big board for next year.
Of course, this also sets the stage for the teams that NFL Draft experts will be watching most on Saturdays this fall. College football championships aren’t won or lost based on how many NFL Draft picks you have on your roster, but bringing together this kind of talent is a starting point for getting into the title race discussion.
It should come as no surprise, then, that some of the teams we’ve highlighted below are those likely to compete for conference titles and spots in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff bracket. That’s not the case for every team, but certainly for those that have the most players being recognized as the top pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
Ohio State
Notable perspectives: CB Denzel Burke, EDGE JT Tuimoloau, WR Emeka Egbuka, EDGE Jack Sawyer, RB Quinshon Judkins, DL Tyleik Williams, OL Donovan Jackson, RB TreVeyon Henderson
As we wrote in NFL Draft Winners and Losers Over the weekend, Ohio State had a 2024 NFL Draft that split two ways. For one, four picks marked a drop in production after having at least six players drafted every year since 2016. The Buckeyes were nowhere near their usual status as one of the most prolific producers of draft picks, and you might consider what a difficult year. But the other side of that is the handful of players who could have turned pro in 2024 but chose to return to Columbus and lead what will be one of the most talented teams in the sport. If these players had turned pro, we would have seen Ohio State flirt with double-digit picks, but instead, they will be poised to make 2025 a banner year for the Buckeyes in the draft.
Michigan
Notable perspectives: CB Will Johnson, DL Mason Graham, TE Colston Loveland, DL Kenneth Grant, EDGE Derrick Moore, RB Donovan Edwards, DB Rod Moore
After leading all schools in picks this year, it appears the Wolverines will again send key pieces from last season’s national championship to the early rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. Graham could have been the top defensive lineman drafted had he been available in the 2024 Draft, and the combination of him and Grant will only continue to draw attention to his ability to excel at the next level. Unlike rival Ohio State, this group’s recruiting profiles aren’t necessarily at the top of the sport — although most were four-star prospects — but the player development in Ann Arbor was able to fill that gap so the Wolverines are winning. on the field and competing player to player for NFL Draft picks.
Georgia
Notable perspectives: QB Carson Beck, DB Malaki Starks, EDGE Mykel Williams, OL Earnest Greene, LB Smael Mondon, DL Nazir Stackhouse, OL Tate Ratledge, WR Dom Lovett
I know it will be a shock to see Georgia carrying a lot of NFL Draft picks on the roster, but we are once again looking at a Bulldogs team that could flirt with double-digit picks in 2025. And the balance of this group is great, with at least least one notable NFL Draft prospect from each position group. Because of the way Kirby Smart recruits, there’s rarely an obvious weakness on Georgia’s roster, but that kind of balance of talent helps clarify why experts seem pretty certain the Bulldogs will begin the season as the No. 1 team in the country at 2024. Beck, Starks and Williams could be the first players to hold their positions in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they will be joined by Georgia’s annual collection of offensive linemen and defenders who seem to be drafted every season.
Texas
Notable perspectives: OL Kelvin Banks, QB Quinn Ewers, WR Isaiah Bond, EDGE Trey Moore, EDGE Alfred Collins, OL DJ Campbell
This is where we see Steve Sarkisian’s roster building pay off. Banks and Campbell were the highest-rated players in their 2022 recruiting class, and those efforts were part of a larger effort during their prime years to establish dominance on both lines of scrimmage. Bond and Moore, in turn, were rescued through the transfer portal to help address immediate needs. This mix of high school recruiting and player development with smart portal additions is the recipe for success in the modern game, and Sark is doing it as well as anyone in the country.
Texas A&M
Notable perspectives: EDGE Nic Scourton, DL Shemar Turner, OL Reuben Fatheree, WR Noah Thomas, QB Conner Weigman
Mike Elko inherited a Texas A&M program that has been recruiting at a high level while falling short of expectations on the field, so it’s not like talent is an issue for the Aggies. The key here is that while they have seen some transfer portal departures for top recruits since Jimbo Fisher’s coaching change, Elko and his staff have also accessed the portal to select NFL-caliber talent to restock the shelves. Scourton was one of the big wins in the portal, and pairing him with Turner will make the Texas A&M defensive front a must-see for any NFL scout. Fatheree and Thomas are physically gifted and have a chance to move up in the draft this fall, as does Weigman, who has shown high-end talent but has struggled to stay healthy.
LSU
Notable perspectives: OL Will Campbell, LB Harold Perkins, OT Emery Jones, QB Garrett Nussmeier, WR Kyren Lacy
LSU could challenge Ohio State, Michigan and Georgia for first-round pick count, thanks in part to two elite tackles in Campbell and Jones, as well as one of the fastest football players (at any position) in the draft. in Perkins. The conversation around Perkins has much more to do with how best to utilize his talent and tools. While he has been defense-driven throughout his career, any NFL team would relish the trouble of figuring out what to do with such a talented player. And while Nussmeier may not win the Heisman Trophy, he could see a Jayden Daniels-like rise up the draft boards once scouts finally see his arm talent in action against quality opponents this fall.
Colorado
Notable perspectives: QB Shedeur Sanders, CB Travis Hunter, WR Jimmy Horn Jr.
Colorado may find itself alongside programs like Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan in having multiple first-round picks, but the Buffaloes don’t have the depth of future pros that you’ll find at other schools on this list that project more in the later rounds. Sanders is pegged as the No. 1 overall pick in Ryan Wilson’s 2025 Mock Draft, with Hunter coming in just behind him at No. 2. Having difference-makers like this at the top of the lineup gives Colorado a chance to win every Saturday, but there aren’t many obvious NFL Draft types for Day 3. To balance it out, we included a player who could fit that profile – Horn – as a wide receiver who could climb the ranks with his play on the field this fall. Horn is also a special teams threat with legitimate lane speed, and as the offense pivots with coaching staff changes, there could be a place for him to emerge.
Penn State
Notable perspectives: LB Abdul Carter, EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton, RB Nick Singleton, DB Kevin Winston, QB Drew Allar
The NFL Draft is another place where we’ve seen Penn State’s consistent talent level pay off, with multiple early-round picks in nearly every season in recent years. Carter and Dennis-Sutton are projected to be next in line, but what will be interesting to watch is whether Allar joins the quarterbacks at the top of the draft class by the end of the season. Allar came out of high school with a first-round NFL Draft projection and comparisons to Josh Allen thanks to his size (6-foot-5, 241 pounds) and tools. But Penn State’s passing attack wasn’t as lethal as what, say, fellow 2025 NFL Draft class quarterback Quinn Ewers can do to Texas’ skill players. The 2024 season with a new offensive coordinator marks a great opportunity for Allar to return and deliver a game that will have evaluators returning him to the first-round conversation.
Notre Dame
Notable perspectives: CB Benjamin Morrison, DL Howard Cross, TE Mitchell Evans, QB Riley Leonard, DB Xavier Watts
Morrison and Watts have appeared to be among the best at their positions the past two years, so the fact that they are still in college football is great news for Notre Dame in 2024 and extremely disappointing for their opponents. They are joined in this group by a surefire pick on the defensive line, Cross, and an extremely intriguing quarterback, Leonard, who arrives from Duke through the transfer portal. Leonard is an extremely talented athlete who started late as a football player, and although his stats rarely surprise you, his playing ability is undeniable. If he can step up in Notre Dame’s offense this year, he could be another player to see a late rise in the draft discussion.
old lady
Notable perspectives: EDGE Princely Umanmielen, DL Walter Nolen, QB Jaxson Dart, WR Tre Harris, WR Juice Wells
Lane Kiffin was one of the first to claim the title of “Portal King,” and this group certainly highlights how Ole Miss used modern roster-building tools to stock up on future NFL talent. All five of these players have been added to the portal at one point or another, with Umanmielen (Florida), Nolen (Texas A&M) and Wells (South Carolina) being the most recent examples of Kiffin and his staff purchasing opponent lineups to find their new holders. Umanmielen and Nolen appear certain to be considered in the early round, while Dart and the wide receivers could be later selections, but this is a program that is all-in for 2024 and will therefore be among the top producers of NFL Draft picks in 2025.
