Entering Week 1 of the college football (CFB) season, who are the top 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch? There’s a primetime matchup on Saturday that commands attention, and various quarterbacks have big-time challenges on deck.
2025 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch in Week 1 CFB Action
Conner Weigman, QB, Texas A&M
The heavyweight matchup of the Week 1 CFB slate is Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Both teams are top-20 squads entering the year, and the Aggies are led by potential first-round passer Conner Weigman.
To date, Weigman has only started eight games in two years. That lack of experience clouds his outlook as a prospect, but the potential is clearly there. He’s a stellar athlete, a smooth off-platform thrower, and his flashes of touch and placement are extraordinary.
Weigman’s Week 1 contest will be a definite barometer for his standing entering the year. He’ll have to manage his pocket space with discipline against a talented defensive front, and Benjamin Morrison looms in the shadows as an elite ballhawk.
If Weigman thrives — and even better, if he leads his team to a win — it could be the start of a Round 1 ascent.
Riley Leonard, QB, Notre Dame
On the opposite side of the Texas A&M-Notre Dame clash, there’s another quarterback with distant first-round aspirations: Riley Leonard.
Leonard’s down year at Duke in 2023 was a major step back, but he’ll have a chance to rebound with Notre Dame in 2024.
Leonard’s Fighting Irish lost a few pieces on the offensive line, but he gained back a weapon in transfer Kris Mitchell, and he also has Mitchell Evans coming back from injury. He’ll be well-equipped to handle the task at hand, but the Aggies present a major threat.
Specifically, edge rushers Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner will pinch the pocket and make Leonard uncomfortable. Poise has been a big sticking point for Leonard as a prospect and is the root of many of his issues. If he can stay poised and deliver, it’ll be big for him.
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford
Elic Ayomanor captivated the nation in 2023 when he dominated Colorado to the tune of 13 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns — mossing Travis Hunter in the process. Incidentally, that game was on a Friday night, just as Ayomanor’s 2024 debut will be.
In Week 1 this year, Ayomanor will face a TCU secondary with at least five prospects on the 2025 NFL Draft radar. It’ll be a claustrophobic and compelling test for a 6’2″, 205-pound pass catcher who has proven a lot but has not yet proven his three-level ability at WR.
We know Ayomanor can win on quick slants. We know he has the speed to work vertically. And we know he has the instincts and play strength to win at the catch. But is his route tree vast enough for him to be a central force?
That’s what Week 1 and the weeks to come will prove.
Cameron Ward, QB, Miami (FL)
There’s another QB duel worth monitoring in the Week 1 slate: Florida signal-caller Graham Mertz vs. Miami (FL) passer Cameron Ward. Both QBs carry Day 3 grades on my board entering 2024, but Ward, in particular, has the tools to rise if he can show more discipline.
Ward has some of the easiest arm talent on the circuit, and he can make some of the most difficult throws look effortless with his elasticity. At the same time, however, routine plays can become unnecessarily difficult with his inconsistent processing and pacing.
Florida’s defense has its fair share of talent, and Ward is working with a lot of new pieces. Thus, if he can be the centralizing force and start his 2024 campaign on a high note, it could catalyze his bid for early-round capital.
Samuel Brown, WR, Miami (FL)
Offenses led by Ward have traditionally been very heavily pass-oriented, and Ward’s presence alone often drives that volume. That was the case at Incarnate Word and Washington State, and that effect could follow to Miami.
If Ward’s presence brings more passing volume, Samuel Brown could be a major beneficiary. Brown — listed at 6’2″, 195 pounds — showed promise at Houston in 2023, distinguishing himself with his blistering short-area twitch and burst out of breaks.
Against a highly-touted cornerback prospect in Jason Marshall Jr., Brown could make himself known in Week 1, and he could be one of the 2025 class’ breakout prospects.
Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
This one almost goes without saying — Carson Beck demands attention each and every week as one of the top QB1 candidates. That is especially the case in Week 1, as Beck goes up against a Clemson defense that’s incredibly talented at all three levels.
At around 6’4″, 220 pounds, Beck fits the prototypical passer mold to a tee, and he has the combined poise, processing ability, arm talent, and anticipation capabilities to dissect defenses from within the pocket. This Clemson clash gives him a chance to start strong.
Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
The Clemson football program is bullish on Cade Klubnik and his potential. We’ll see the returns on the junior’s development first-hand in a Week 1 matchup against the top-ranked team in the nation: the Georgia Bulldogs.
While much of the 2025 NFL Draft attention will be on Beck, Klubnik can kickstart an emergent campaign with a quality showing against a stacked Georgia defense — a unit that boasts Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker, Malaki Starks, and others.
Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State
For two straight seasons, Tory Horton has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. Now, he’ll look to make it three in a row with the 2024 campaign.
His first battle will be telling: A tough contest against a stacked Texas secondary that boasts Andrew Mukuba and Jahdae Barron.
At around 6’2″, 188 pounds, Horton has the short-area twitch, physicality, and strong hands to be a target funnel even in tough games. But this game will be a measuring stick for just how much he can elevate his squad against a superior opponent.
CJ Daniels, WR, LSU
Last year, Brian Thomas Jr. was the breakout receiver almost no one expected at LSU. He ended the cycle as a Round 1 pick. Though LSU no longer has Jayden Daniels to magnify that passing production, Garrett Nussmeier will have a potential breakout candidate in CJ Daniels.
A transfer from Liberty, Daniels possesses blistering speed at 6’2″, 205 pounds. But beyond having simple speed, he’s shown he can use throttle manipulation and stride variations to weaponize that speed, and he can track down the field.
Daniels’ Week 1 contest — against a USC defense expected to see a facelift in 2024 — will be big for establishing his presence on the 2025 NFL Draft circuit.
Kaimon Rucker, EDGE, North Carolina
An under-the-radar prospect matchup to watch in Week 1 is that of Minnesota offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery vs. North Carolina edge rusher Kaimon Rucker.
Ersery is already on the early-round radar with his tools and tenacity, but Rucker has even more to prove here.
At 6’2″, 250 pounds, Rucker loses the size matchup against Ersery, but his combination of explosiveness, bend, and violent hands can be deadly for opposing pass protectors.
If Rucker can utilize that combination effectively, he could boost his stock.