Ravens get vet C from Eagles for picks … Baltimore has reportedly acquired veteran C Cam Jurgens from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick. To complete the deal, the Ravens will also get a 7th round pick this year from the Eagles.
Rook report: Yet another LB … For the 3rd time in the first 4 weeks of the NFL season a LB has been named the GBN Rookie of the week award winner. Miami’s Jacob Rodriquez gets this week’s nod joining fellow backers Anthony Hill of Tennessee and the Giants Arvell Reese, who won the award the first and third weeks respectively after posting a season-high 18 tackles in Miami’s game against Minnesota. Rodriquez edged out Cleveland’s rookie WR combination of first rounder KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston who combined for over 150 receiving yards in the resurgent Browns’ win over Pittsburgh, and the aforementioned Reese who made big play after big play in the Giants comeback win over Arizona. It was also a week in which the first rookie QBs got meaningful minutes, although with mixed results. Read the full Rookie Report here.
College notebook: One Moore in; one out … Oregon got some good news this week as star QB Dante Moore, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position for the upcoming draft with top 5 potential, returned to practice this week after missing time with a concussion that resulted from a late hit in the Ducks win over USC late last month. However, Moore has still not been cleared for full contact so at least for now he is being listed as questionable for Oregon’s game with UCLA this weekend. On the other hand, Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore, another potential top 5 candidate for 2027, will not be in uniform when the Irish play at Stanford this weekend. Moore suffered a concussion in the final moments of the Irish’s win over North Carolina on Saturday. In fact, the Irish defence will be a little short-handed this weekend as LB Kyngstan Viliamu-Asa is also out with a thumb injury. On the other hand, star Mississppi RB Kewan Lacy, one of the top 2-3 prospects at that position, will return to action this weekend after missing the past couple of weeks after suffering a shoulder problem in the Rebels’ big win over LSU last month. Meanwhile, Tennessee has confirmed that steady, veteran OG Wendell Weeks, a 2025 all-conference returnee who figures to be a solid 3rd day prospect, will miss the rest of the season with what is being described as a serious knee injury; unfortunately, Moe is out of eligibility and will be forced into the draft, but likely won’t be able to test much before the draft. Elsewhere, there are rumblings out of Oklahoma that QB John Mateer, who at this time last year had emerged as a Heisman frontrunner, is on very thin ice with the Sooners preparing to face #1 Texas in their annual Red River Rivalry game in Austin this Saturday as he has turned into something of a turnover machine few weeks; indeed, Mateer has 6 turnovers in the past three weeks including 4 picks as the Sooners have scored barely 12 points per game in that stretch.
Texans, Titans 1-2 in weekly selection order … The top of the board for the current selection order for the 2027 draft, were it to be held this week would have a distinctly AFC South flavor to it as Houston and Tennessee would be sitting on the 1st and 2nd picks respectively. However, that will change this coming weekend as the two will meet Sunday afternoon in Nashville. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay sits right behind the AFC south rivals in the 3rd spot, while if the draft were held this week the LA Chargers and Miami would round out the top at #s 4 and 5 respectively, although their SOS figures remain substantially higher than those of the other three. And for the record, the plan is to begin posting a formal updated weekly selection order next week.
Big Board updated, expanded … With the college season approaching its mid-point, the GBN Big Board has been updated and expanded to include the 100 top prospects for the 2027 draft. As noted previously, the GBN ranking is based less on our own evaluation of the various prospects, and more on how we are hearing and reading that NFL teams themselves have the players graded. Also note, that we have not included several of the top 3rd year QBs generally considered to be part of of the 2027 draft class, including CJ Carr of Notre Dame, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Drake Lindsey of Minnesota as we have decided until such time as they actually declare. We also opted not to include non-QB 3rd year players unless they are clear top 10-20 type candidates. Also for the record, the positional rankings have updated as per the above drop-down menu.
Updated: The meek did not inherit the earth … Not this week anyway, as each of the 5 teams that went into the week at 0-3 are all still winless after losing their respective games earlier today. And while there is still one game to go this week, it appears pretty much a certainty that when the smoke clears after tonight’s Monday nighter, that Houston would have the #1 pick at the 2027 draft if it were held this week for the 3rd straight week, with Tennessee at #2 and Tampa Bay at #3. We should note though that the gap between the three has closed significantly over the last couple of weeks. At the same time, the LA Chargers and Miami would round out the top at #s 4 and 5 respectively, although their SOS figures remain substantially higher than those of the other three. And for the record, the plan is to begin posting a formal updated weekly selection order next week.
Who to watch in college football this week with an eye toward the 2027 draft … Another week on the college schedule without a real must-see game with national implications coming up, but at the same time, there are a half dozen or more games with plenty to watch with an eye toward the 2027 draft starting with a key SEC match-up with #8 Alabama putting its unbeaten record on the line against upstart #16 Mississippi State in Starkville in the noon time slot, while there a couple of games in the late afternoon window featuring top 25 teams including #5 Ohio State at #14 Iowa, while #8 Florida plays at #25 Missouri. Here’s who we’ll be watching this weekend with respect to the 2027 draft (and maybe some elite future prospects to boot!)
Updated: Porter Steelers’ saga ends with trade to Cowboys … The Joey Porter soap opera in Pittsburgh came to an end late last evening when the 4th year CB was traded to Dallas. In exchange, the Steelers get a6th round pick this year, but a 2nd rounder in 2028. Porter is a good, solid starting NFL calibre CB, although he has yet to play in the Pro Bowl; he also has not played to date this fall, ostensibly because of a bad back, but more likely because he wants a new contract and the Steelers were refusing to negotiate once the season had started. No word yet on whether Dallas has agreed to a contact extension for Porter. Update: In fact, the deal went down without the Cowboys and Porter agreeing on a contract extension so there is no guarantee that he’ll suit up for the Cowboys this season. As such, the 6th round pick is conditional on Porter playing in at least two games this year, while the Cowboys appear to feel that if Porter doesn’t re-sign this offseason and heads elsewhere as a free agent they will at least be able to recoup some of the 2028 second rounder thru a compensatory selection.
Week 3 Rook Report: LB again … A pretty good case can be made that the rookie story thru the first few weeks of the NFL regular schedule has been the play of the first-year LBs. Anthony Hill of Tennessee, for example, led the entire league in tackles thru the first couple of weeks of the season, while Miami’s Jacob Rodriquez and Josiah Trotter of Tampa Bay were also playing like seasoned veterans. The irony of that situation is that all three were second-round picks at the 2026 draft, while the backers taken in the first round, including former Ohio State Buckeyes Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, who were selected with the 5th and 7th picks respectively by the NY Giants and Washington, were slower in adjusting to the pace of the pro game. Indeed, there were whispers around the Giants organization that Reese might be playing out of position as a pure off-ball LB rather than as a more attacking defender. Somebody on the Giants’ staff must have been listening, though, because this week against Tennessee the Giants did start moving Reese around and he responded with 13 tackles including a couple for loss while also breaking up a pass as the Giants prevailed – barely – 12-7 in an old-time defensive struggle. And that was enough to win Reese this week’s GBN Rookie of the Week award. For the record, the Titans’ Hill had another 8 tackles against the Giants and still leads the league with 34 thru the first three weeks of the schedule. Also for the record, the Giants’ rookie PK Dominic Zvada, an undrafted free agent, scored all the team’s points in the win as he was 4-4 kicking FGs. None was particularly long, but the game was played on a miserable, wet rainy afternoon with the infamous Meadowlands winds blowing every which way.
Reese’s efforts for the Giants, though, was only one of several significant performances by members of this year’s rookie class. In fact, his former OSU mate Styles was arguably just as good as he posted five total tackles, an interception, another PB, and a forced fumble in Washington’s upset win over Seattle, while LA Chargers’ S Genesis Smith, a 4th round pick this past April, had a couple of picks as the winless Chargers took Buffalo to the wall only to fall just short 33-31, while Las Vegas’ Zeke Masses had another pick this week to help the resurgent Raiders’ stay unbeaten with a 35-27 win over New Orleans. For the record, that was Masses’ 3rd pick of the year and ties him with the Giants’ Jevon Holland for the league lead. Elsewhere, NY Jets’ TE Kenyon Sadiq, the 16th player taken in the opening round this year, had a breakout game this pat week as he hauled in 7 passes for over 100 yards and a TC, but it was’t quite enough as the Jets fell to Detroit 31-24, while Arizona RB Jeremiyah Love, the 3rd player taken overall this past April, had his best game of the year rushing for 90 yards on 21 carries as the Cardinals gave San Francisco all it could handle before dropping a 36-30 verdict. We should also mention that both Detroit RT Blake Miller and Baltimore OG Vega Ioane had strong games in their respective team’s wins this past weekend.
Texans hold onto top pick in weekly draft order … After Chicago upset Philadelphia in last night’s Monday Nighter, Houston reclaimed the first pick overall in the ‘if the draft to be held today’ selection order for the 2027 draft for the second week in a row, followed by Tampa Bay, Tennessee which would have the 3rd pick overall, while the LA Chargers would be 4th with Miami rounding out the top 5.
More on the 2027 QB situation … A few more thoughts on the rather fluid QB situation for 2027 from yesterday’s comments on the subject that focused on Texas’ Arch Manning. In fact, there are a couple of new trends that appear to be starting to emerge. The first resolves simply around who’s #1. Indeed, talk to people around the league and there really is no consensus these days on how the top QBs are ranked. Of course, Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore are still near the top with the physical tools to go very early, but there are issues with Moore’s health and whether Manning in fact has that ‘it’ factor. Meanwhile, there does seem to be something of a consensus that Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss is playing the best football of any college passer so far this year, but there are concerns about his lack of prototype height and the fact that he is a somewhat older candidate. At the same time, there is a growing buzz about Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State who may have the best pure arm talent of any of this year’s QBs. Mestemaker actually did lead the country in passing playing at North Texas last fall ad after a bit of a shay start in Stillwater has really started to light it up for the Cowboys. However, Mestemaker is still just a 3rd year player in just his first season of Power-4 football so he may be tempted to stay in college for at least another year to get some additional experience.
And that brings us to the other element we are starting to pick up on. And that’s that a growing number of NFL teams, especially those looking to upgrade at QB, are starting to incorporate into their thinking about the 2027 draft the very likely possibility that many of the guys included in this year’s top prospects at the position may very well decide to return to school. Manning, for one for example, is thought to be at best 50-50 to leave school with eligibility still on the table and the fact is that other than Chambliss, all the top rated QB prospects will have remaining eligibility after 2026 and with NIL there is plenty of incentive to stay in school. Stay tuned!
SC DE now suspension updated … Updating that earlier report on South Carolina DE Dylan Stewart, who had been considered to be a potential top 5 prospect for the upcoming draft, but was suspended indefinitely by the program after a series of incidents during last Saturday’s SEC loss at Alabama. Stewart will be suspended for this coming weekend’s game with Kentucky, but will be back the following week when the Wildcats travel to #8 Florida. Stewart was flagged for two unnecessary roughness penalties during Saturdays’s game, one of which was for striking an opponent; he also got into shouting matches on the sidelines with his both head coach Shane Beamer and later with his position coach, the latter after he refused to come out of the game when subbed for. In the end, Stewart may actually have gotten off rather lightly as there were whispers that he could even simply be booted off the team. However, it is all still going to be a major red flag for NFL teams a number of which are reportedly at least considering taking him off their board. Indeed, as a 3rd year player who has barely played this fall because of a lingering back issue, Stewart might be wise to think about possibly entering the transfer portal at the end of the season and trying to resurrect his grade both on and off at the field at another college.
Giants get QB McCarthy from Vikes for 5th … The NY Giants have acquired QB JJ McCarthy from Minnesota for a 5th round pick in 2027. The Giants have been looking for a veteran to help the giant void created when incumbent starter Jaxson Dart was lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the 3rd minute of New York’s second game. And the need for the Giants has been exacerbated by the fact that veteran backup Jameis Winston has been very inconsistent since taking over for Dart. McCarthy, of course, was the 10th pick overall just two years ago in 2024, but lost the starter’s role in Minnesota when the Vikings acquired former Arizona star Kyler Murray. Its also more than a tad ironic that McCarthy has finally ended up with the Giants as he widely projected to be their choice with the 6th pick in 2024 which they ultimately used to take WR Malik Nabers.
Thoughts on the evolving ’27 QB situation … Most of the focus on the 2027 draft this morning, particularly as it relates to the QB situation, is centred around the nasty concussion Oregon’s Dante Moore suffered on Saturday evening in Los Angeles when he took a late to the head while sliding in the Ducks’ win over Southern Cal. Moore, who had been considered to be the top prospect at the position for the upcoming draft, is expected back at some point later this season once he clears the concussion protocols, but one wonders if there might be some lingering questions about durability and the like regarding Moore. While all that was going on, Texas’ Arch Manning also faced a big SEC road test this weekend when the Longhorns played at unbeaten Tennessee. And while Manning and the ‘Horns survived, albeit barely 20-17, to maintain their #1 ranking we’re still not sure we’re seeing a potential elite passer in Manning III. He did throw 2-3 really exquisite passes against the Vols; he also clearly has the tools including a live arm, sound fundamentals, as well as very un-Manning like athleticism. However, you just don’t get the sense that the ball is popping out of his hand as it does with other top passers this year like Moore, USC’s Jayden Maiava or Darian Mensah of Miami. At the same time, its also not clear that he reads the field all that well and may lack the subtle route anticipation skills that set apart the truly elite QBs. Bottom, line is that it is very possible that QB1 for 2027 is still very much TBD and that it is going to take a few more weeks to even begin to really start to sort out the top guys.
LSU LB Weeks dinged again … For the second year in a row, LSU LB Whit Weeks will miss extended time with a leg injury. Weeks fractured his leg in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M and will be sidelined indefinitely, although the team expects him back before the end of the campaign. That’s after he missed 5 games last year with an undisclosed lower leg injury.
Moore injuries limited to concussion … Oregon and star QB Dante Moore got probably the best news update possible on his health status after he was taken to hospital after taking a vicious late hit to the head while sliding early in Saturday night’s big west coast battle at Southern California. According to the latest reports, Moore did suffer a concussion, but there does not appear to be any other damage. As a result, Moore will still have to clear concussion protocols, but will be able to return to action once that happens. In the meantime, Oregon, which got back on track with a win at USC, will be more than okay at the position with former Nebraska starter Dominic Raiola taking over from Moore.
Star SC DE now suspended … Updating an earlier report on South Carolina DE Dylan Stewart, who had been considered to be a potential top 5 prospect for the upcoming draft, has been suspended indefinitely by the program after a series of incidents during last night’s SEC loss at Alabama. Stewart was flagged for two unnecessary roughness penalties during the game, one of which was for striking an opponent; he also got into shouting matches on the sidelines with his both head coach Shane Beamer and later with his position coach, the latter after he refused to come out of the game when subbed for. In fact, there are even some whispers that he could ultimately be booted from the team. Stay tuned!
College football injury and other updates … There has still not been a formal update on the status of Oregon QB Dante Moore who was knocked unconscious by a late hit in last night’s win over Southern California. Moore did spend the night in hospital where he was reportedly alert and able to move all his extremities, but it would seem likely that it will be awhile before he plays again this fall. Fortunately for the Ducks they have arguably the best back-up QB in college football in former Nebraska starter Dominic Raiola, who surprisingly transferred to Oregon this year despite the presence of Moore. And Raiola looked like a potential #1 pick himself after replacing Moore as he completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and a couple of scores in leading the Ducks to an impressive 41-27 road win over previously unbeaten USC. Raiola also took advantage of the fact that TE Jermaine Johnson, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position who had been listed as questionable during the week, did play and played well catching 7 passes for 119 yards.
Same story for Texas DE Colin Simmons whose status for yesterday’s game was also questionable after he was seen leaving the field in a walking boot at the end of last week’s game, did suit up and in fact put in a defensive player of the week performance as he registered 4 sacks as the #1 Longhorns escaped Tennessee with a way-too-tight 20-17 win. Unfortunately, Simmons also probably would get the ‘bonehead of the week’ award after his totally vulgar mimicking of urinating on the field after one of his sacks that turned what would have been a 4th and forever for the Vols deep in their own territory into a 1st down. On the other hand, South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart, this year’s other top 1-2 DE prospect, was again pretty much a no-show in the ‘other’ USC’s loss at Alabama. Stewart only played a handful of snaps against the Tide, although he did manage to pick up two roughing penalties, including one for punching one of the Alabama players. Maybe worse for Stewart, he was involved in a rather messy sideline situation in which he appears to get reamed out by head coach Shane Beamer.
Elsewhere, star Mississippi RB Kewan Lacy did not play in the Rebels loss at Florida as he continues to be sidelined by a nagging shoulder injury. Unfortunately, that denied pro scouts the chance to watch Lacy go head-to-head with the Gators’ Jadan Baugh in a match-up of arguably the top two backs for the upcoming draft. For the record, Baugh, who has emerged as an early season Heisman candidate, did play and did not disappoint as he ripped off 166 yards and 3 TDs to help the resurgent Gators upset #4 Ole Miss. Meanwhile, Texas Tech TE Terrence Carter, the third of this year’s top prospects at the position, did not play this week because of a foot injury.
Top prospect carted off after late hit … Oregon QB Dante Moore, one of the top 2-3 prospects for the upcoming draft, has just been carted off the field during the 2nd quarter of tonight’s game against Southern California after taking a vicious late hit to the head while sliding. Moore remained down on the field for over ten minutes before being placed on a stretcher with his head immobilized and taken directly to a waiting ambulance. More to come.
Who to watch in college football: September 26 … Interesting week coming up in college football. On the one hand, there is no real can’t miss game of national importance; at the same time, though, there are a number of really good games on this week’s docket. in fact, from a purely draft perspective, its actually going to be something like a bonanza, especially for teams looking at their QB options early in 2027 with more than a half dozen of the top guys at the position on national TV this week.
And it all starts in the Noon ET window when top-ranked Texas and Arch Manning face a big SEC road test when they play at #14 Tennessee on ABC. Across the dial on FOX in the same hour, Illinois will be at Ohio State to face the 6th ranked Buckeyes led by Julian Sayin. Then in the late Saturday afternoon window, Trinidad Chambliss, the early leader for this year’s Heisman, leads #4 Mississippi into Gainesville to play Florida on ABC, while John Mateer of Oklahoma will try and get his game back on the fast track when the Sooners play at #2 Georgia on ESPN. Finally, in the evening slot, there’ll be two more big SEC match-ups with LSU and Sam Leavitt hosting Texas A&M and Marcel Reed on ABC, while LaNorris Sellars will lead South Carolina into Alabama on ESPN. Read more
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