College Football Week 0: 2027 NFL Draft storylines to watch
By Jack Brentnall
College football is back, and while Week 0 offers only a limited slate, it still provides the first live look at the 2027 NFL Draft class. A season opener in Dublin and an early ACC clash headline a weekend that carries more evaluation value than the number of games suggests.
Here are five storylines to watch in Week 0.
Spotlight Game - CJ Bailey (QB, NC State) vs Virginia
A prospect taking centre stage in one of the weekend’s biggest matchups.
With a limited Week 0 slate, NC State’s ACC opener against Virginia gives CJ Bailey an early opportunity to put himself at the forefront of the 2027 NFL Draft conversation.
Bailey threw for 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season, but the intrigue surrounding the Wolfpack quarterback is driven as much by his physical ceiling as by the production already on his record.
Bailey has some of the most impressive tools in the upcoming quarterback class. He possesses the arm strength to drive the ball into tight windows and attack every level of the field, while also offering enough mobility to extend plays and create with his legs. He is an aggressive passer who will continue attacking even after making mistakes, and there are flashes of good pre-snap recognition when identifying favourable matchups.
The challenge is putting everything together more consistently. Interior pressure tends to speed him up, his mechanics come apart, and the accuracy goes with them. There are also occasions when he commits too quickly to his pre-snap read rather than reacting to how the defense changes after the snap.
The tools are obvious. Week 0 provides Bailey with an early chance to show that the refinement is beginning to catch up.
The Step Up - Jaden Craig (QB, TCU) vs North Carolina
A prospect facing a significant rise in competition.
Jaden Craig could hardly have picked a more dramatic setting for his introduction to Power Four football. After transferring from Harvard to TCU, the First-Team All-Ivy League quarterback will make his first start against FBS opposition in Dublin, and against a North Carolina defense coached by Bill Belichick.
Craig earned the opportunity after throwing for 2,884 yards and 25 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 2025, but Saturday represents an entirely different challenge.
The jump from ripping it up in the Ivy League to taking down a Power Four defense is considerable, and the neutral-site stage only adds to it.
There are certainly traits that give Craig a chance to make the jump. He has legitimate arm strength, showing the velocity to attack tight windows and drive throws across the field, while his athleticism gives him another way to threaten defenses as a runner. Craig is also willing to attack the middle of the field rather than simply living on safer throws outside the numbers.
How he reacts when things become uncomfortable may be more revealing. Craig can abandon the pocket too quickly rather than climbing and continuing through his progression, while inconsistent accuracy and occasional post-snap processing lapses remain concerns.
A statement performance against a Bill Belichick defense would definitely begin to turn some heads.
Return to Action - Waymond Jordan (RB, USC) vs San Jose State
A prospect returning from injury and looking to get back to his best.
Waymond Jordan was putting together an impressive start to his USC career before an ankle injury abruptly ended his 2025 season. Through six games, Jordan had rushed for 576 yards at 6.5 yards per carry before undergoing tightrope surgery in October. A subsequent cleanup procedure then kept him out for much of spring camp.
Jordan says he is ready to go, but his return against San Jose State will provide the first meaningful indication of how much of his pre-injury form has returned.
That is particularly important given the way Jordan wins. His game is built around light feet, sharp cuts and the ability to react quickly when his initial path closes. He has a good feel for zone concepts, showing the patience to press a run before identifying cutback opportunities, while his lateral agility allows him to make defenders miss once he reaches space.
Those qualities place plenty of importance on the health of that surgically repaired ankle. Jordan isn’t a back who overwhelms defenders with power or wins with elite burst. His ability to create through footwork, vision and change of direction therefore needs to remain intact.
The numbers will matter, but the bigger question this weekend is simply whether Jordan looks like the same runner he was before the injury.
Under the Radar - Melkart Abou-Jaoude (EDGE, North Carolina) vs TCU
A lesser-known prospect with an opportunity to earn more attention.
Melkart Abou-Jaoude isn’t attracting the attention of some of the bigger names in the edge class, but his production warrants a closer look. After making the jump from Delaware, Abou-Jaoude generated 42 pressures and 12 sacks during his first season at the FBS level in 2025.
His production is particularly interesting because Abou-Jaoude doesn’t win through overwhelming athleticism. Instead, he is a technically refined pass rusher with active hands and an understanding of how to construct a rush. He can sequence moves and find counters when his initial plan is stopped. That polish allows him to find ways into the backfield despite lacking an explosive first step or the high-end flexibility to corner around tackles.
He may not possess the physical ceiling that typically generates significant preseason buzz, which makes the specific test in front of him this weekend all the more useful. Abou-Jaoude managed just one pressure against TCU in last season’s opener, and the rematch gives him an immediate chance to show how much the polish and production have grown since.
The Proving Ground - Harvey Dyson III (EDGE, NC State) vs Virginia
A prospect facing one of the toughest individual matchups on his schedule.
Harvey Dyson III’s first game for NC State should provide an immediate indication of what his breakout 2025 season at Tulane means at a higher level.
Dyson started his college career at Texas Tech before transferring to Tulane and putting together his most productive season last year, generating 24 pressures and nine sacks. His move to NC State now puts him on the radar as a potential 2027 NFL Draft prospect, and his Week 0 assignment provides a useful measuring stick.
Virginia left tackle McKale Boley enters his fourth season as a starter and has established himself as an experienced and dependable pass protector. He surrendered only two sacks across 456 pass-blocking snaps last season, giving Dyson the type of individual matchup that can tell evaluators considerably more than many others.
That doesn’t mean Dyson has to win the afternoon outright to come out of it looking better. How consistently he creates pressure, whether he can threaten Boley in different ways and how competitive he stays across the matchup should provide plenty of insight into his game and overall value as a prospect.
Bounce Back -
A prospect looking to respond after a disappointing performance.
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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.