WEEK 5
PSA: I’m still a bit unsure about my release for next week. Specifically, if I am going to cover the entire rankings in one show, or split them between the two. If I do split them, I will still be doing my CFB Schedule on Thursday. If it is all one post, that will be a very long post.
PART ONE
On the Audio Version Today:
32 Questions/Notes for 32 NFL Teams headed into Week 4
TE Deep Dive
RANKING PREVIEW – Look Back on Previous Rankings (Write-Up Below)
Longer notes on CFB Games
Times are in Eastern. Players without years are eligible for the NFL Draft. Years are when players are first eligible.
Only a small opening this week as this is a long post overall. We have one elite game, and then a very high number of potential quality match-ups to pick and choose from. The chronological list is at the bottom.
FRIDAY
Virginia Tech @ Miami (FL) on ESPN at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL) via Washington State ; Damien Martinez, RB, Miami (FL) via Oregon State ; Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami (FL)
The big spotlight for tonight’s Friday Primetime match-up is Cam Ward, who is rising to the point of becoming the 2025 QB1 for many in the dynasty community. Ward has always had mobility & playmaking ability, but 2024 is the first season where he has truly been able to limit the negative plays. Aside from Ward, Miami has a potential top-end size-speed RB in Damien Martinez, and Xavier Restrepo works well particularly as an inside WR. The VT RB Bhayshul Tuten is probably the player on the other side to pay the most attention to. Tuten has been one of the best RBs in CFB the last several years in generating Forced Missed Tackles.
Washington @ Rutgers on FOX at 8:00 PM
Key Players: Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington via Arizona ; Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers
Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai looks to bounce back after an inefficient performance against Virginia Tech. While I doubt Monangai’s traits and ability to get into the top 75 picks, Monangai does have some intriguing traits to become an NFL RB including fantastic contact balance. Potentially the more likely high-end NFL RB is Washington’s Jonah Coleman. Aside from the RBs, there are a few WRs on Washington worth keeping an eye on. In particular, Denzel Boston has the upside while being young enough to profile as a potential high-upside NFL Player.
SATURDAY
GAME OF THE WEEK
Georgia @ Alabama on ABC at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Carson Beck, QB, Georgia ; Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia via Florida ; Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama ; Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama (2027) ; Jamarion Miller, RB, Alabama
While Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe have slipped a bit down the QB Rankings, both players will have a massive opportunity this weekend to shoot up those rankings against their peers. Beck’s lack of Big Time Throws early in the season does concern me, and for his NFL profile, it is necessary to have a few higher-difficulty throws in this game. However, if he can put up strong grading against an Alabama team that held him back in 2023/2024, Beck could rise back to his place at QB1. Milroe has a similar upside, though it is hard to know exactly what Milroe is capable of. Aside from this big name QB battle, the RBs have potential for high upside. My favorite of the bunch is Trevor Etienne, who is a shorter, bowling-ball RB with NFL potential. At WR, the most spectacular player between the teams is Ryan Williams, the 17-year-old Alabama WR, even if he is not eligible until 2027. Outside of Williams, both teams are looking for someone to step forward and be a clear top-end SEC WR.
OTHER TOP GAMES
Oklahoma State @ Kansas State on ESPN at Noon
Key Players: Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State ; Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State (2026) ; DJ Giddens, RB, Kansas State ; Dylan Edwards, RB, Kansas State (2026)
The biggest Dynasty question of this game comes down to Ollie Gordon II: can he regain the hype of 2023? I had significant questions about Gordon entering the season, but even by my expectation he has failed substantially. While Avery Johnson struggled last week, he is not on the hot seat like Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold, and his traits are still worth watching particularly for fantasy when you consider his elite mobility. Aside from Johnson, KSU has excellent RBs in Giddens and Edwards (2026).
Stanford @ Clemson on ESPN at 7:00 PM
Key Players: Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford ; Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson ; Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson ; Bryant Wesco, WR, Clemson (2027) ; T.J. Moore, WR, Clemson (2027) ; Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson
Maybe this assessment is coming a bit too quickly, but Cade Klubnik seems like potentially one of the biggest risers of the 2025 class. Klubnik has looked these past two weeks like a QB who has truly turned the corner, and some of the potential beneficiaries of that include WRs Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco (2027), and T.J. Moore (2027). On the opposite side, Elic Ayomanor has shown himself as a potential premiere WR in College Football, and this will be one of his toughest and most noteworthy tests.
Important Teams Taking a Step Up – Ole Miss, Ohio State, and Penn State
Kentucky @ Ole Miss on ABC at Noon
Key Players: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss ; Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss ; Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr., WR, Ole Miss ; Dane Key, WR, Kentucky
Kentucky may not be the greatest team, but they do represent a substantial step-up for an Ole Miss team focused on Jaxson Dart and a few notable WRs. If Dart can continue his performance through the first third of the season as he enters SEC play, then he would still very much be in play as the QB1 for this class, and Dart does possess fantasy-friendly mobility, even if it is not elite. Tre Harris, Juice Wells, and for Kentucky, Dane Key, are three WRs who have flashed upper-tier production at the SEC level, and will likely be fighting to get into Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Kentucky’s Barion Brown (WR) is another wild card prospect to keep in mind. Brown peaked as a freshman with mild production so far, but possesses rare explosive athletic ability. Brown is one of the more likely players for example to make a special teams impact in the NFL if he does not pan out as a full-time WR, at least based on his physical ability.
Ohio State @ Michigan State on Peacock at 7:00 PM
Key Players: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State ; Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (2026) ; Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (2027) ; TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State ; Quinshon Judkins, RB Ohio State ; Aidan Chiles, QB, Michigan State (2026)
This is still a massive spread and a game Ohio State should dominate, but a road Big Ten game against Michigan State is at least a substantial step up from what they’ve been dealt this year. This will be our first time to see how new OC Chip Kelly deploys his two dynamic RBs who are both in my personal first tier: TreVeyon Henderson & Quinshon Judkins. And then, like always, Ohio State has the most WR talent between the 2025 - 2027 class for a single team. Emeka Egbuka is the only major WR prospect eligible for the NFL Draft, but he is still a strong candidate to be as high as WR3 or 4 in this class. Next, while the big name is Jeremiah Smith, it is important to not overlook Carnell Tate (2026). He easily could plateau as a prospect as that happens for most prospects, but this would not be the first time a player’s statistics were held back by Ohio State; Chris Olave was in large part the third most productive Ohio State WRs for most of the 2021 season. All that said, the most talented player overall on the field might be Jeremiah Smith (2027), the Freshman. In his first 3 games against FBS competition, Smith compiled 14 Receptions, 281 Yards, and 4 TDs, an average of over 90 / 1 in each game. Finally, for Michigan State, the year has not gotten off to a hot start for potential 2026 QB Aidan Chiles, but importantly he is excelling in certain areas while failing in others. What this means is that if he can keep the job and show growth in certain areas like avoiding turnovers, Aidan Chiles might still be a top QB to watch heading into next year.
Illinois @ Penn State on NBC at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State ; Drew Allar, QB, Penn State ; Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State ; Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State ; Kaden Feagin, RB, Illinois (2026)
Penn State has at least played an upper-division team in West Virginia, but Illinois is playing much better football than WVU, and it starts with an unlisted QB in Luke Altmyer. I bring up Altmyer here because the first key to the game for Penn State both for their priorities and ours will be to make sure that Drew Allar outplays Luke Altmyer. Allar has some nice surface stats so far this season, but there are also some notable statistics like being 115th of 117 qualified QBs in Time to Throw that raise some questions. The most likely NFL talent by my estimation in this game is Nicholas Singleton, who I still believe can be the #1 RB in this class. Alongside Singleton, Kaytron Allen is also a RB with Day 2 potential. At TE, Tyler Warren is another riser for this class though he hasn’t been discussed too much in detail for this show. Warren is likely in my top 4 TEs at this moment. For Illinois, Kaden Feagin (2026) possesses many ideal physical traits for a high volume, physical NFL RB. The production has not been there yet, but if Feagin can develop, he has a very high NFL ceiling. Finally, while I’m not sure if there potential goes beyond Day 3, Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin have been excellent for Illinois so far this year.
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Late Night Showcases – Ashton Jeanty & Tetairoa McMillan
Washington State @ Boise State on FS1 at 10:00 PM
Key Players: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Boise State is now seen as one of the favorites to make the College Football Playoff from the Group of 5, and that means they’ll be heavily favored against most Mountain West opponents. While Wazzu has fallen on tough times, they are still one of the best opponents Jeanty will face this year.
Arizona @ Utah on ESPN at 10:15 PM
Key Players: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Rice Eccles Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in College Football for the visitor. QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan will be entering a lion’s den late on Saturday against one of the better defenses in the Big 12, so this will be a key game to watch as it seems unlikely right now that Arizona will make the Playoff after a 31-7 beat down at the hands of Kansas State last weekend.
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OTHER GAMES (Including all the ones at 3:30-4:00p)
Minnesota @ Michigan on FOX at Noon
Key Players: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan ; Kalel Mullings, RB, Michigan ; Donovan Edwards, RB, Michigan ; Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota (2026)
Wisconsin @ USC on CBS at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Zachariah Branch, WR, USC (2026) ; Duce Robinson, WR, USC (2026) ; Ja’Kobi Lane, WR, USC (2026) ; Miller Moss, QB, USC ; Quentin Joyner, RB, USC (2026) ; Will Pauling, WR, Wisconsin
Oklahoma @ Auburn on ABC at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Jackson Arnold*, QB, Oklahoma (2026) ; Taylor Tatum, RB, Oklahoma (2027) ; Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma via Purdue ; Cam Coleman, WR, Auburn (2027) ; Perry Thompson, WR, Auburn (2027)
*: Arnold may not be the starter for Oklahoma after last week’s game.
Colorado @ UCF on FOX at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado ; Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado ; Kobe Hudson, WR, UCF ; R.J. Harvey, RB, UCF
North Carolina @ Duke on ESPN2 at 4:00 PM
Key Players: Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina ; Maalik Murphy, QB, Duke
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For Dynasty watching, the best way to view Saturday’s afternoon slate is to see it as a buffet of options. USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, and Colorado have flashy receivers. USC, Oklahoma, UCF, and particularly North Carolina have some intriguing RBs. And at QB, with Jackson Arnold likely looking at a benching, it will be mostly Shedeur Sanders, though I do think there’s some hope for Maalik Murphy to get some 2026 buzz. He is eligible this year, but I highly doubt he comes out early. He has prototypical size and some arm talent, but he might also be too large; he sometimes seems to have trouble keeping everything in sync.
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Arch Manning Watch: Mississippi State @ Texas on SEC Network at 4:30 PM
If Ewers does play, I would comfortably ignore this game. Mississippi State is likely the worst team in the SEC, particularly after losing their starting QB last week. If anything, the loss of Blake Shapen might increase the chances we see Arch Manning.
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Chronological Game Order
Oklahoma State @ Kansas State on ESPN at Noon
Kentucky @ Ole Miss on ABC at Noon
Minnesota @ Michigan on FOX at Noon
Wisconsin @ USC on CBS at 3:30 PM
Jackson Arnold Benched?: Oklahoma @ Auburn on ABC at 3:30 PM
Colorado @ UCF on FOX at 3:30 PM
North Carolina @ Duke on ESPN2 at 4:00 PM
Arch Manning Watch: Mississippi State @ Texas on SEC Network at 4:30 PM
Stanford @ Clemson on ESPN at 7:00 PM
Ohio State @ Michigan State on Peacock at 7:00 PM
Georgia @ Alabama on ABC at 7:30 PM
Illinois @ Penn State on NBC at 7:30 PM
Washington State @ Boise State on FS1 at 10:00 PM
Arizona @ Utah on ESPN at 10:15 PM
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PART TWO
PSA: I missed a few players on the audio version, so the lists may not perfectly align. Links to the rankings below should be able to clarify any misconceptions.
Pre-Ranking Analysis: Biggest Hits and Biggest Misses From 2023 and 2024
Rankings
https://www.reddit.com/r/DynastyFF/comments/xji3nr/2023_updated_prospect_watchlist_50_top_prospects/ — 2023
https://www.reddit.com/r/DynastyFF/comments/16yrcab/2024_stilltooearly_tiered_positional_rankings/ — 2024 pt. 1
https://www.reddit.com/r/DynastyFF/comments/170hri4/2024_stilltooearly_tiered_positional_rankings/ — 2024 pt. 2
This upcoming week, I will be debuting my first in-season ranking for the 2025 Rookie Class. I choose to make these rankings after Week 5 because that is the timeline that I have used for the last two years on the DynastyFF Subreddit. With that in mind, I’m going to briefly go position-by-position with my biggest hits and biggest regrets for each position in the last two years.
There are two very important things to keep in mind here:
First, for this exercise, I’m considering “Appropriately Ranked” to be based on Draft Capital. This is a pre-process piece that is meant to correctly inform people of the players they should know about.
I’m largely ignoring the consensus; if a player is ranked highly and is drafted highly, they are a hit. Most importantly, that means I’m including the “lay-ups” from each class as hits. So if you want to take any credit away from me for the Marvin Harrison Jr.’s and Caleb Williams’ of the world, I don’t fault you. I’m not trying to take credit for them, I just haven’t found a better way to list them and this is ultimately supposed to be a simple piece.
These are somewhat subjective interpretations, so hopefully the write-ups can provide proper context. I also apologize for the random ordering of information; I was making it up as I went.
QBs
Appropriately Ranked: Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Spencer Rattler, Devin Leary, and Hendon Hooker
Underrated: Anthony Richardson & Jayden Daniels
Returned to College: Quinn Ewers, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jaxson Dart
Mentions I Should Have Ignored: Jalon Daniels, Michael Pratt, Riley Leonard, and Tanner McKee, Tyler Van Dyke
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There’s not too much to remark on when it comes to the appropriately ranked players, but it is notable that J.J. McCarthy in particular was in his appropriate tier. My biggest regret over the last two cycles was that, due to my priors, I was slow to adopt Jayden Daniels hype. Long before the 2023 Season, my initial Watchlist had several comments of players that I should include. I decided to rank them on a scale of 1-to-10 on how much they deserved to be listed, with 10 being someone who should have been on the list. I ranked Daniels a 2. While I did write-up Daniels as a future top-10 NFL Draft Pick before the end of the 2023 Season, this is one of my bigger misses. On the opposite side, while Anthony Richardson was too low in my quarterly rankings, he was my QB3 in the pre-season. Richardson fell in my rankings throughout the season as I began to presume he would return to college after a somewhat rough year, but it did not seem to affect his draft stock. Outside of this, I feel very strongly about my rankings. I would consider the players I ranked highly and returned to school such as Quinn Ewers to be among my biggest misses at the position, but if they ultimately go highly, I won’t knock it too much. Also just a minor note for clarity but I didn’t rank Hooker highly, but in a 3rd Tier, which feels fitting for his ultimate capital and situation. Maybe we should consider the bottom 4 “Misses,” but given the nature of the position (one relevant player per team), they were ultimately never ranked too highly. Still, I regret ranking them.
RBs
Appropriately Ranked: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Blake Corum, Zach Charbonnet, Trey Benson, Braelon Allen, Audric Estime, Bucky Irving, Marshawn Lloyd, Jaylen Wright, Will Shipley, Rasheen Ali, Eric Gray, Kenny McIntosh, Deuce Vaughn, Chris Rodriguez
Slightly Overrated: Tank Bigsby & De’Von Achane
Underrated: Jonathan Brooks
Returned to College + Overrated: TreVeyon Henderson, Rocket Sanders
Returned to College: Devin Neal, Donovan Edwards, JaQuinden Jackson, Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks
Overrated: Zach Evans, Sean Tucker
Lower Tier Overrated: Jase McClellan, Carson Steele, DeWayne McBride
Omissions: Kendre Miller and Tyjae Spears
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There are a few categories here, but the two biggest misses on the RB list by far are Zach Evans and Sean Tucker. Along with Kayshon Boutte and Troy Franklin, they are probably the four biggest misses (Overrated) on this list. While some off-field and medical issues seemingly factored into these situations, they are ultimately the clear biggest misses. Aside from that, TreVeyon Henderson and Rocket Sanders being my top two RBs in the 2024 class in particular sticks out. I’m considering these players overrated regardless of Draft Capital because of the position in combination with how highly they were ranked. If Henderson in particular goes in the top 50, maybe I reconsider that next year, but right now they’re overrated. My biggest complete omissions were Kendre Miller and Tyjae Spears who got good 3rd Round Draft Capital. Not huge omissions, but at RB that’s significant enough. Carson Steele being on the list, undrafted, but becoming relevant deserves a shout as well (again, “Overrated” on my list because it is based on Draft Capital.)
WRs
Appropriately Ranked: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, Marvin Mims, Quentin Johnston, Josh Downs, Cedric Tillman, Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Keon Coleman, Rome Odunze, Xavier Worthy, Malachi Corley, Ja’Lynn Polk, Xavier Legette, Jalen McMillan, Roman Wilson, A.T. Perry, Brian Thomas Jr.
Year Early: Jermaine Burton (Ranked for 2023 List ; not Ranked for 2024 List)
Overrated: Kayshon Boutte, Rakim Jarrett, Troy Franklin
Slightly Overrated: Adonai Mitchell, Tyler Harrell
Maybe Overrated?: Jacob Cowing, Brendan Rice, Johnny Wilson, Ainias Smith
Underrated: Zay Flowers
Returns + Overrated: Emeka Egbuka
Returns: Studrivant, Horton, Juice Wells
Omissions: Ricky Pearsall, Ladd McConkey, Jonathan Mingo, Jayden Reed, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell, Jalin Hyatt, Michael Wilson, Tre Tucker, and Luke McCaffery
For Wide Receivers, we’re going to go through “Appropriately Ranked” first to make sure that I’m not being too generous towards myself. For example, last year after Marvin Harrison Jr., I had a large tier including Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze, but they were not at the top of it. It also included players like AD Mitchell. I could also argue that players like Quentin Johnston and Brian Thomas Jr. were ranked too low to be considered appropriate, but Thomas I will specifically defend from the perspective that Thomas was a Week 1 CFB Riser for me, and my lists last year had an excellent track record of identifying Thomas’ breakout early. He was also listed in his own sub tier of 2a to highlight the reward but also the recency of the profile five weeks into the season. Ultimately, I’d say everyone in “Appropriately Ranked” was at least estimated within an NFL Round of where they were drafted, and most were closer than that.
Zay Flowers I consider a significant miss because while he was ranked, his tier was not high enough to suggest a 1st Round WR. That said, a Senior with size questions, Flowers is probably a profile who is most likely to be ranked in that middle tier again. Similarly to Henderson and Rocket, I may consider Emeka Egbuka less “overrated” if he is drafted in the First Round in particular, but he was ranked very highly for a return-to-school player on my list, so right now I consider him more of a miss. Rakim Jarrett wasn’t super highly rated, but he was a player who was someone I ranked higher than the consensus for a while in hopes of a breakout. If I collected my data correctly, there were 10 WRs (5 per season) that were not on this list that went in the top two days of the NFL Draft. That means the list has included 67% of the Day 1 & 2 WRs overall. It has also included 91% of the 1st Round WRs and 100% of WRs selected in the first 30 picks. While I do think this is solid, the goal is to do much better in Rounds 2-3 moving forward, and there are WRs on that list that I think at least could have been identified without the benefit of hindsight.
TEs
2023
T1: Michael Mayer
T2: Jahiem Bell, Dalton Kincaid, and Sam LaPorta
2024
T1a: Brock Bowers
T1b: Ja’Tavion Sanders
T2: Luke Lachey, Ben Sinnott
I’m gonna be transparent with this one; maybe you don’t feel the same way, but I was shocked at how good my TE Rankings were. Sure we could flip Mayer & Kincaid (keeping in mind it is about draft capital) + flip Sanders & Sinnott, but overall I feel very strongly that these are some good early rankings. Including both LaPorta and Sinnott in particular where these players were not necessarily highly regarded until later in the process sticks out here. Luke Lachey at this point looks like a miss, and I also did mention Sanders earlier, but he probably deserves to be considered specifically as overrated. Ultimately, his pass catching profile did make him the TE3 in a good number of fantasy leagues, but I graded him as a Tier 1B TE, suggesting I thought he would be drafted at least where Sinnott was and probably even better than that. So Sanders is a relative miss here, but again someone who is ranked TE2 and was perhaps TE3 in fantasy leagues.
//
I do feel good about this process, but hope to continue to improve in the future. I have quite a bit of writing before next week, so on that note,
Thanks,
C.J.
(#50) TE Panic Meter, NFL & CFB Schedule Look Ahead, and 2023-2024 Rookie Ranking Review