Who to watch in college football this week … Interesting week on the college football schedule with one game involving top 10 teams facing each other, as well as programs ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th facing quality opposition. For the record, that one game involving top 10 teams is actually in the Big XII as #7 BYU faces #8 Texas Tech, while #2 Indiana plays at Pen State, #3 Texas A&M travels north to play #22 Missouri and #4 Alabama is at home to LSU in a game featuring two of the top QB prospects for the upcoming draft. Here’s a preview of who we’ll be watching in this week’s big games with an eye toward 2026.
FCS showcase event announced … The NFL and NCAA, in collaboration with the American Football Coaches Association, announced late last week that they will be hosting a showcase for FCS draft prospects in junction with the Division I national championship in Nashville early in January. The actual FCS DI title game is slated for January 5th. Around 50 FCS prospects will be invited to participate in the showcase activities. Of course, many of those same players will also be invited to one of the major all-star games and/or the scouting combine, but it will give some players who might otherwise have been overlooked by pro scouts, an extra opportunity to show their stuff. For the record, this year’s FCS playoffs get underway the weekend of November 29th with top-ranked North Dakota State the odds-on-favorite.
Buckeyes top seed in first official CFP ranking … To nobody’s great surprise, defending national champion and current top-ranked college team Ohio State is the #1 team on the initial CFP playoff rankings released last evening. The other top seeds, if the playoffs started this week, are Indiana at #2, Texas A&M at #3 and Alabama at #4, while Georgia, Mississippi, BYU, Texas Tech, Oregon, Notre Dame, Virginia and Memphis round out the top 12. Memphis is in as the highest ranked non-Power 4 team, although the Tigers aren’t in the top 25. Note that this year, conference champions do not get the byes; instead the top 4 spots will go to the four highest ranked teams in the final poll. And needless to say there will be some changes between now and then; this week for example, #7 BYU is scheduled to play #8 Texas Tech meaning that the loser of that game is almost assuredly going to be dropped from the top 12. The playoffs get underway with the first round games on December 19-20 at the home stadium of teams seeded 5th thru 8th; the quarter-finals will be played New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the Orange, Rose, Sugar and Cotton Bowls; the semis will be held January 8-9 in the Peach and Fiesta Bowls; while the national championship game will be played January 19th in Miami.
Couple more late trades to note … There were a couple of trades that weren’t officially announced until after the deadline passed earlier today as Chicago acquired ER Joe Tyron-Shoyinka and a 2026 7th rounder from Cleveland in exchange for a 2026 6th round selection, while the LA Chargers get a conditional 7th round pick in 2028 from the NY Jets for CB Ja’Sir Taylor.
Jets shake up draft adding three firsts in big deals … Normally most years there’s a lot of buzz around the NFL in the days leading up to the trade deadline, but then pretty much crickets on the day. This year was an exception, though, thanks in large part to the NY Jets who consummated two major deals, in the process acquiring three first round draft picks including one extra this year and two more in 2027. First, the Jets sent All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis for the Colts 1st round picks in both 2026 and 2027 as well as veteran WR Adonai Mitchell, then shipped star DT Quinnen Williams to Dallas for a 1st round pick in 2027, a second this year and veteran DT Mazi Smith. In other deals today, Seattle acquired WR Rashid Shaheed from New Orleans for 4th and 5th round picks this year, while the Saints also acquired a 6th in 2027 from the LA Chargers for OT Trevor Penning and Jacksonville acquired WR Jakobi Meyers from Las Vegas for 4th and 6th rounders.
Cowboys get vet LB from Cincy as trade deadline looms … The NFL trade deadline comes up at 4 PM ET later today. Last night, Dallas acquired veteran LB Logan Wilson from Cincinnati for what is being reported as a 7th round pick in 2026.
Saints, Titans 1-2 in weekly selection order … With another week in the books, the selection order for the first-round of the 2026 draft were it to be held this week has been updated here.
Ravens get vet ER from Titans for conditional pick … Baltimore has acquired veteran edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones from Tennessee i exchange for what is being described as a conditional 5th round pick in 2026. The pick reportedly can escalate to a 4th depending on production. Jones is a versatile player who has lined up at DT, DE and OLB during his 7 year career.
Niners top pick out for year … San Francisco has confirmed that rookie DE Mykel Williams, the team’s first round pick at the 2025 draft, will miss the rest of the season after tearing an ACL in yesterday’s win over the NY Giants. Williams was the 12th player selected at this past April’s draft; he had been considered prior to the 2024 season as a potential #1 pick overall, but he ended up playing on a bad foot most of the year which limited his effectiveness and dropped dropped his grade. Thru the first half of this year Williams has 20 tackles including one sack.
As the QB turns; college edition … A couple of stories we’re following regarding the QB position for the upcoming draft and beyond. There’s something of an interesting situation at South Carolina where the Gamecocks fired offensive co-ordinator Mike Shula over the weekend, Shula, of course, had been the coach of star South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellars, who has been mentioned prominently as a possible top pick this coming April. Sellars, though, had been discounting those whispers saying that he was happy where he was and wasn’t likely going anywhere soon. We’ll see if this situation with Shula impacts his thinking whether to change his mind and actually enter the draft or possibly transfer as he is just a 3rd year player with a couple more years of eligibility available to him.
Meanwhile, while Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza remains the slight betting favorite to be the first QB selected this coming April, there is a new name being thrown into the discussion these days and that’s Alabama’s Ty Simpson who has the Tide rolling. Simpson, who bided his time on the Alabama sidelines for three season before taking over this fall, still has a year of eligibility left and may figure that after waiting that long he’s in no hurry to leave, but he’s got a strong accurate arm with a quick, compact release, as well as enough athleticism to avoid trouble in the pocket. For the record, Simpson, who is 6-2, 210, is on pace to throw for over 3,000 yards this fall as he’s completing 68% of his throws, including 20 for TDs against just one pick.
With trade deadline looming Eagles get Phins’ DE Phillips … The NFL trade deadline comes up at the end of business on Tuesday. In fact, there were several deals last week in anticipation of the deadline and there was another overnight as Philadelphia acquired veteran DE Jaelan Phillips from Miami for a 2026 3rd round pick. The Eagles actually have two 3rd rounders this year as they earlier acquired one from the NY Jets, but it is believed that the Dolphins will get Philadelphia’s own pick which needless to say will be considerably later in the round than the Jets’ selection.
Saints back to #1 with Jets idle … With the NY Jets on their bye week, the New Orleans Saints will move back into the #1 spot on the weekly if the draft were held this week selection order for the first-round of the 2026. The Saints lost 34-10 loss to the LA Rams earlier today which drops their record to 1-8. Tennessee is also 1-8 and will be in the #2 spot after the Saints, at least for the week, while the Jets will drop to 3rd at 1-7. In fact, because the Saints SOS figure is somewhat lower than that of the Jets this week, New Orleans actually would have had the top pick for the week win or lose by the Jets. Meanwhile, if the draft were held this week, Miami would have the 4th pick, followed by the NY Giants and Cleveland. Cleveland, though, would actually have the 4th pick ahead of both Miami and the Giants if they lose the game in hand they have over those two teams.
Eagles get vet CB, future pick for Ravens’ 6th … Philadelphia has acquired veteran CB Jaire Alexander from Baltimore in exchange for a 6th round pick this coming April. To complete the deal, the Eagles will also get a 7th rounder in 2027.
ASU QB Leavitt out for year … Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt, who has been mentioned as a potentially interesting prospect for the 2026 draft, will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a lingering foot injury. Leavitt originally injured the foot back in September and has been in and out of the lineup since. Leavitt, is a third-year sophomore who will have at least one more of eligibility remaining, has yet to indicate what his plans are for next year, but one would think that given the injury that he would be wise to return to school for his final year either at Arizona State or thru a transfer.
Dolphins GM out … Let’s face it, somebody in Miami had to go and that somebody, at least for now, is GM Chris Grier who has been relieved of his duties in the wake of the Dolphins’ dismal 2-7 start to the season that got real ugly in last night’s 28-6 home loss to Baltimore. Grier, who has been with the organization since 2000 and GM since 2016, will be replaced on an interim basis by senior personnel exec Champ Kelly. Somewhat surprisingly, though, reports out of Miami indicate that head coach Mike McDaniel, who has been on the hot seat for weeks, will remain on the job at least until the end of the season.
Jags two-way top pick to IR … Jacksonville has placed star WR/CB Travis Hunter on injured reserve as a result of a non-contact knee injury incurred during practice on Thursday. As a result, Hunter will miss at the least the next 4 games. Hunter was the second player selected at the 2025 draft by the Jaguars who traded up with Cleveland to get him. So far this season, Hunter who has played both ways for the Jags has 28 catches for 298 yards on offense and 15 tackles and 3 passes defended on the other side of the ball.
Who to watch in college football this weekend … Its another quiet weekend on the college football schedule with no real can’t miss engagements. However, there are 3 match-ups involving ranked teams including a couple in the SEC and one in the Big XII, along with a couple of potentially interesting games in the Big 10. Here’s who we’ll be watching this weekend with an eye toward the 2026 draft in these and other games.
Iggles, Jets trade vets, swap future late picks … Philadelphia and the NY Jets completed a trade earlier today with the Eagles acquiring CB Michael Carter and a 7th round pick in 2027, while the Jets get WR John Metchie and a 2027 6th rounder.
Pats make 2nd deal of day; send S Duggar to Steelers … New England was expected to be a buyer with the NFL trading deadline looming for next Tuesday, but they were sellers today. As noted below, they sent DE Keion White to San Francisco earlier this evening and just minutes later traded S Kyle Duggar to Pittsburgh, again for another one of those late round pick swaps. In fact, the terms are exactly the same in both deals with the Patriots acquiring a 6th round pick, while throwing in a 7th rounder in return to complete business.
Niners get DE White from Pats for pick swap … San Francisco has reportedly acquired DE Keion White from New England in a deal involving one of those proverbial late round pick swaps. To wit, the Patriots get a 6th round pick this year, while the 49ers get a 7th to complete the deal.
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