There are a few teams just five weeks into the NFL season that are anticipating high draft picks already. In college football, these players are playing each week to maintain the status of highly touted talent. Here are the top five players who would be featured on the 2024 NFL Draft’s big board if the season ended today.
5. Jared Verse, ED, Florida State
Jared Verse made an immediate impact on Florida State with his arrival last season as a freshman. He has 49 tackles with 17 for a loss and nine sacks in his first year in college football on the defensive line. With his team poised for a big year this season, Verse’s name is getting even more prevalent. He has 14 tackles with 4.5 tackles for a loss. He also has 2.5 sacks this season as well. He is on pace for 36 tackles with 12 for a loss and 6.5 sacks. On top of his statistics, his quarterback pressures and disruptions have dominated opposing offenses.
2023 Stats: 14 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass defends
4. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, T, Penn State
Olumuyiwa Fashanu has been the most talented offensive lineman in college football this season and throughout his career. The projected first-round pick is in the top 50th percentile at 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds. He is Penn State’s blindside blocker and in 2022, allowed zero sacks in 299 true pass-blocking snaps. He has an average pass-blocking percentage of 99% with a run-block percentage of just 67%. If he can get better in front of Nicholas Singleton, Fashanu could be primed for a big role on an NFL offense.
2022 Stats: 0 sacks in 299 pass-blocking snaps, 3.0% pressure percentage allowed
3. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
Drake Maye is another stereotypical quarterback coming out of North Carolina. The highly-touted Mitch Trubisky and Sam Howell have set the stage for the mediocre success of UNC quarterbacks at the next level. Drake Maye could be the quarterback that breaks that mold heading to the NFL. Last year, North Carolina was a top-25 preseason team that eventually fell out. Regardless, Maye finished with 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions and a 66.2 completion percentage. This season, Maye already has 1,629 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. He is on pace for 4,235 yards but only 21 touchdowns.
2023 Stats: 1,629 passing yards, 174 rushing yards, 12 total touchdowns, 4 interceptions
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
Marvin Harrison Jr. continues to make a living at Ohio State into his junior year of college. He made a name for himself last season finishing with 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns after a mediocre freshman season. Through just five games this year, Harrison Jr. has 25 receptions for 499 yards and four touchdowns. He is on pace for 65 receptions for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harrison Jr will be a playmaker and immediate impact on any team he arrives at in the NFL and that is the reason he finds himself so high on the draft board despite the statistics he puts up.
2023 Stats: 25 receptions, 499 yards, 4 touchdowns
1. Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Caleb Williams continues to lead one of the most prolific offenses in college football. His former receiver Jordan Addison, is now thriving in Minnesota, and Williams will undoubtedly help the likes of Tahj Washington and Zachariah Branch to get there as well. Caleb Williams makes a living both through the air and on the ground which is the majority of what NFL teams look for in a franchise quarterback. Williams has 1,808 yards through the air on 119 completions with 22 touchdowns and an interception. He has a 71.7% completion percentage. He adds 124 yards on the ground and six additional touchdowns. He looks poised to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
2023 Stats: 1,808 passing yards, 124 rushing yards, 28 total touchdowns, 1 interception
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