The college football playoff field has been set. The transfer portal window is approaching. Which means the NFL draft season is nearing. In the last few weeks several players have officially declared for the NFL Draft. These will not be the only names as this is only the first wave of players declaring for the Draft.
Declaring at this stage will likely include opting out of a bowl game. No player mentioned in this list is on a current playoff team.
The Big Ten leads the way with nine players, Big 12 conference has seven, the Mountain West comes in with two, while the SEC and the ACC have six players each who have declared.
The second week in December might be the beginning, but there are several dates and benchmarks to reach before the Draft picture even begins to take shape. The Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine game rosters are still being formulated.
The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine will take place between February 23rd and March 2nd. March 29th-April 1st will be the Annual League Meeting. Then on April 23rd, the NFL Draft will begin from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
Running Backs
Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson - 251 att, 1,451 yds, 5.8 y/c, 12 tds
Penn State RB Nick Singleton – 123 att, 549 yds, 4.5 y/c, 13 tds
Wide Receivers
Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson – 61 rec, 711 yds, 11.7 y/r, 8 tds
Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II – 62 rec, 1,017 yds, 16.4 y/r, 9 tds
Clemson WR Antonio Williams – 55 rec, 604 yds, 11.0 y/r, 4 tds
Tight Ends
Arizona State TE Chamon Metayer – 38 rec, 375 yds, 9.9 y/r, 4 tds
USC TE Lake McRee – 30 rec, 450 yds, 15.0 y/r, 4 tds
Wyoming TE John Michael Gyllenborg – 24 rec, 217 yds, 9.0 y/r, 1 td
Offensive Line
Boise State OT Kage Casey - 13 games
Nebraska OG Rocco Spindler – 12 games
Colorado C Zarian McGill – 12 games
Defensive Line
Clemson DT TJ Parker – 37 tackles, 19 solo, 9.5 tfl, 5.0 sacks, 1 pd, 3 fr, 0ff
Clemson DT Peter Woods – 30 tackles, 10 solo, 3.5 tfl, 2.0 sacks, 1 pd, 0fr, 0ff
Penn State DT Zane Durant – 25 tackles, 14 solo, 4.5 tfl, 4.0 sacks, 2 pd, 0fr, 0ff
Arizona State DT Justin Wodtly – 36 tackles, 21 solo, 6.0 tfl, 6.0 sacks, 2 pd, 0fr, 0ff
Arizona DT Dontay Corleone – 13 tackles, 8 solo, 0 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 pd, 0fr, 0ff
Florida State DT Darrell Jackson Jr – 45 tackles, 13 solo, 3.0 tfl, 1.0 sack, 0 pd, 0fr, 0ff
Linebackers
Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr – 69 tackles, 37 solo, 7.0 tfl, 4.0 sacks, 2 ints, 1 pd, 1 fr, 3 ff
Nebraska LB Dasan McCullough – 21 tackles, 11 solo, 5.0 tfl, 2.0 sacks, 1 pd, 0 fr/ff
Defensive Backs
Arizona State S Xavion Alford – 9 tackles, 4 solo, 0.5 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 pd, 0 fr/ff
South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse – South Carolina – 27 tackles, 19 solo, 1.5 tfl, 1 int, 5 pd, 0 fr, 1 ff
South Carolina DB Jalon Kilgore – 54 tackles, 32 solo, 0 tfl, 2 ints, 10 pd, 2 fr, 0 ff
Michigan State DB Dontavius Nash – 14 tackles, 5 solo, 1.0 tfl, 0 int, 0 pd, 0 fr/ff
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy – 44 tackles, 26 solo, 0.5 tfl, 4 ints, 9 pd, 0 fr/ff
Clemson CB Avieon Terrell – 48 tackles, 30 solo, 4.5 tfl, 3.0 sacks, 0 ints, 9 pd, 1 fr, 5 ff
Penn State CB/S Zakee Wheatley – 74 tackles, 51 solo, 2.0 tfl, 1 int, 1 pd, 1 fr, 0 ff
Special Teams
Syracuse P Jack Stonehouse – 59 punts, 2,780 yds, 47.1 ypp
Michigan State P Ryan Eckley – 49 punts, 2,378 yds, 48.5 ypp
UCF PK Noe Ruelas – 32/33 XPA, 97.0 XP%, 15/17 FGA, 88.2 FG%, 77 points
Barring any off the field concerns or playoff performances, most of what relates to draft stock will remain unchanged until after the early part of January. The next big calendar event after the college football playoff will be the Senior Bowl and the all-star game bowls.
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