Rivalry Week is about to bring a fitting close to the 2025 college football regular season. Playoff cases and bragging rights will run the weekend.
Saturday is also the last opportunity for many prospects to make their argument for various awards and the 2026 NFL Draft. Among the races worth watching is the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's most outstanding receiver.
On Tuesday, the NCFAA named the finalists for its batch of honors. At receiver, that includes USC Trojans star Makai Lemon, Connecticut Huskies phenom Skyler Bell, and Ohio State Buckeyes wunderkind Jeremiah Smith. Before they learn their award-based fates on Dec. 12, let's take a look at how this trio projects on Sundays.
Makai Lemon
Smith, as a true sophomore, isn't eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft. That leaves Lemon as the favorite to be drafted first among this group.
A likely first-round pick, Lemon began the season as a top-50 prospect and has elevated his game to a new level in 2025. He currently leads the Big Ten in receptions (78), yards (1,124), and touchdowns (10).
Lemon is most comfortable in the slot, where he can dominate on crossing routes and make an impact over the middle of the field, both with trustworthy hands and an impressive ability to generate yards after the catch. However, in 2025, Lemon doubled his rate of snaps as a boundary receiver, setting the wheels in motion to become a well-rounded threat at the next level.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Lemon follow the footsteps of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Emeka Egbuka, shattering narratives about being "just" a slot receiver before taking on more responsibilities in the NFL. He certainly has the athleticism, route running, and nuance to do so.
Lemon is a fairly easy first-round selection. He'll hope that some hardware can push him above Jordyn Tyson and Carnell Tate come April.
Skyler Bell
Representing the small-school circuit, Bell has done everything in his power to emerge as a Sunday player on the Huskies.
Bell will enter Week 14 action with a chance to make history. He's within reach of the receiving Triple Crown, leading the nation in catches (101), yards (1,278), and touchdowns (13). If the award were solely about production, Bell would be the clear favorite, although an incredibly light schedule changes the math.
In any event, Bell has led the Huskies in receiving in all but two weeks and crossed the 100-yard mark seven times.
MORE: Skyler Bell 2026 NFL Draft scouting report examines one of the nation's leading receivers
Regarding the NFL Draft, Bell has done enough to cement his place in the pre-draft circuit, locking in All-Star opportunities and a place at the NFL Scouting Combine. He'll have the chance to show out against NFL talents, and doing so would help improve the fifth-round grade on my board.
I have some reservations about his physical limitations and a nagging drop problem. Still, there's an elite capacity for post-catch creation and flashes of contested-catch ability in his profile. Teams may find it hard to fall in love with a player who transferred out of Power Four competition, but he has a path to the top 100.
Jeremiah Smith
Unfortunately for receiver-needy teams and Buckeyes rivals, Smith isn't eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead, he'll begin his junior year as the near-unanimous WR1 and one of the top prospects in a class that is (supposedly) incredible at the top.
Smith checks every box, boasting elite size and athleticism with the production to match. Before the final game of his second regular season, he'll have amassed 25 receiving touchdowns and over 2,200 yards.
His predecessor, Marvin Harrison Jr., was frequently labeled as generational on his way to the fourth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Smith is more productive and didn't spend his freshman season waiting for early-round talents to graduate to the league.
So much can change in a year, but there are few safer bets than Smith, whose blend of pedigree and production is truly special.
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