College Football Week 7: 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch
By Jack Brentnall
Week 7 is packed full of mouthwatering college football matchups and with that there will plenty of NFL Draft prospects to keep an eye on.
This week we’ve got a bumper edition of this column, with eight prospects you need to watch this weekend.
Derrick Harmon - IDL, Oregon (6-5, 310, rs-Junior)
The Ohio State-Oregon matchup is full of NFL talent on both sides of the ball and could well warrant an article of its own. Harmon is one of those names to watch closely.
The former Michigan State defensive tackle transferred to Oregon in the offseason and has hit the ground running with the Ducks. His ability to generate disruption as a pass rusher has been particularly impressive. Harmon has amassed 25 pressures, which ranks third in the nation and is comfortably the most of any interior linemen.
There is a lot to like about Harmon when projecting to the NFL. He has good size, but also possesses the movement skills and short area quickness of a much lighter player, allowing him to consistently challenge opponents laterally.
This weekend’s test against Ohio State will be comfortably his toughest of the season so far. The Buckeyes’ interior offensive line has been outstanding this season, allowing a single sack between them. A big game for Harmon will only serve to further elevate his draft stock.
Walter Nolen - IDL, Ole Miss (6-3, 305, Junior)
Coming into the season there was a lot of discussion surrounding Nolen and whether he could finally live up to the hype he received coming out of high school. Through six weeks the answer to that question has been a resounding yes.
Nolen was the No. 2 prospect in the country in 2022. He earned offers from all of the blue blood programs in college football, eventually committing to Texas A&M. During his time with the Aggies, Nolen showed flashes of potential but consistency eluded him and he transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2024 season.
The move seems to have worked wonders. Through six games he has 16 pressures, which is as many as he had during the entire 2023 season. He has also provided an impressive 15 defensive stops. Nolen was particularly impressive last weekend against South Carolina, finishing with six pressures, including two sacks.
There’s never been any question about whether Nolen has NFL tools – after all, he was the No. 2 recruit in his class for a reason. He now just needs to show scouts that he can sustain this early season promise over the course of a full season. This weekend’s test against an LSU offensive line that has not allowed a sack this season will be a big test.
Will Campbell - OT, LSU (6-6, 323, Junior)
There is a lot of buzz about the quality of this year’s offensive tackle class, and Campbell is a popular name in the OT1 debate. The true junior has been the Tigers’ starting left tackle since his freshman season and has earned a reputation as a reliable run blocker and pass protector.
He has delivered on expectation so far this season too. Through five games, Campbell has allowed just three pressures on 218 pass blocking snaps. That equates to a pressure rate of just 0.7%.
Campbell ticks a lot of boxes from an NFL perspective. At 6’6” and 323 lbs he has good size, which he pairs with some quick feet that stand him in good stead as both a pass protector and run blocker. He also shows good power and anchor strength.
The one big question with Campbell is his length. He has short arms and does struggle when faces with big-bodied long-armed rushers. Jared Verse gave him real trouble in the two games between LSU and Florida State in 2022 and 2023.
That’s what makes this weekend’s matchup with Ole Miss so interesting. Campbell will be tasked with containing Princely Umanmielen and Jared Ivey, two in-form edges who boast good size and length. This will be a big test for Campbell and one scouts will watch closely.
Danny Stutsman - LB, Oklahoma (6-4, 243, Senior)
This weekend sees the return of the Red River Rivalry which for the first time will be an SEC game. As always, there are plenty of NFL players on both Texas’ and Oklahoma’s rosters, but the one player I’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on is Stutsman.
After a strong 2023 campaign that saw him earn First Team All-Big 12 honours, plenty of people were expecting Stutsman to declare for the NFL Draft. He decided against it and returned to Norman with the hope of boosting his stock further.
It is safe to say that through six weeks the results have been a little mixed. Stutsman has made plenty of big plays and leads the Sooners with 22 defensive stops, but he has struggled to find consistency. That is evidenced by his 17.6% missed tackle rate, which is the highest of his career to date. His ball production has also dried up, with no sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions or pass breakups.
This weekend’s game against Texas is going to be a really tough test for Stutsman. Steve Sarkisian’s offense is full of the sort of misdirection and motion that gets linebackers’ heads spinning. A good game here would really help his draft stock and be a big statement to the scouts in attendance.
Elic Ayomanor - WR, Stanford (6-2, 210, rs-Sophomore)
When I was working through this wide receiver class in the summer I came away really impressed by Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. At 6‘2” and 210 lbs he has legitimate NFL size, and he pairs this with some impressive movement skills to threaten at all three levels.
He had a hugely impressive outing against Colorado last season, making 13 catches for a school record 294 yards and three touchdowns. In doing so, he gave Travis Hunter one of the toughest tests of his career and looked primed for a breakout year in 2024.
That hasn’t really happened yet. Ayomanor has been steadily productive with an average of six catches for 53 yards per game, but he hasn’t yet shown the kind of dominance he flashed last season.
That makes this weekend’s game against Notre Dame all the more important for him. He will no doubt spend a good amount of time matched up against Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison, a player who has been earning first round hype. Can Ayomanor recapture that dominance he showed last year, or will Morrison get the better of him?
Shedeur Sanders - QB, Colorado (6-2, 215, Senior)
In a class that is lacking an obvious star at quarterback, Shedeur Sanders has a chance to cement himself as QB1. In order to do that though, he will need to show he can hang with good teams.
This weekend he will face off against No. 18 Kansas State, who represent Colorado’s first ranked opponent of the season. Sanders does not have a lot of experience against ranked opposition to this point, but he has lost both such games he has played. A win this weekend would therefore be huge for him.
Sanders might not wow scouts with his tools. His arm and his mobility are both solid, but it would be a stretch to describe either as noteworthy by NFL standards. He does do a lot of things well though, whether that is delivering accurate throws and working the middle field or extending plays outside of structure. This feels like a big opportunity for Sanders to prove himself in what is a wide open race for QB1.
Drew Allar - QB, Penn State (6-5, 235, Junior)
Another quarterback I’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend is Penn State’s Drew Allar. The former five-star recruit seemed to illicit wildly different responses from scouts and draftniks in the summer, but he has been playing some really impressive football of late.
The arrival of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki seems to have worked wonders for Allar and this offense. He has taken real strides in improving his accuracy, something that was a real concern coming into the year. He has also shown much more willingness to push the ball downfield and test defenses, with career highs in yards per attempt (10.7) and average depth of target (10.2).
This isn’t all gimmicky college production either. Allar is comfortable executing the sort of true dropback concepts that translate well to the NFL level. He has a true dropback rate – that is plays with no screens, play action, or RPOs – of 68.8%, putting him ahead of players like Carson Beck, Shedeur Sanders, and Cam Ward.
USC’s pass defense should be a good test for Allar. They have been noticeably tough to move the ball against through recent weeks. Over their last four games they have allowed just 121 passing yards per game. Even if you discount their game against a Michigan team that looks as if they thought the forward pass was still illegal, that number still sits at a very impressive 150 yards. Can Allar get the better of them?
Brandon Johnson - CB, Oregon (5-10, 185, Senior)
The battle between Ohio State’s receiving corps and Oregon’s defensive backs should produce some fireworks. The one matchup within that you need to watch from a 2025 NFL Draft perspective is between Oregon nickel corner Brandon Johnson and Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Johnson is one of a handful of Ducks starters that made the move to Eugene in the offseason. He had spent three years at Duke, twice being named an Honorable Mention All-ACC member. This season he has managed to take his game to another level and he looks like one of the best nickel corners in the Big Ten.
Through five games, Johnson has been targeted 14 times. On those plays he has allowed just five catches for 71 yards, whilst also producing an interception and four pass breakups. He is allowing a passer rating when targeted of just 23.2. For context, the passer rating of a throwaway is 39.6.
This weekend’s clash with the Buckeyes will test that form. He has the unenviable task of containing Emeka Egbuka, who is quietly putting together the best season of what is already an outstanding college career. Egbuka already has 30 catches for 433 yards and five touchdowns, and his 3.83 yards per route run is the best of any Ohio State receiver since Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2021. This should be a fascinating matchup between two in-form players.
JACK BRENTNALL
HEAD OF NFL DRAFT CONTENT
Previously the founder of The Jet Sweep, Jack joined The Touchdown as head of Draft Content in 2024. A Scouting Academy alumnus, Jack has been Covering the NFL Draft since 2020. Follow him on Twitter @Jack_Brentnall.