Will Howard, QB, Ohio State

Coming off a national title win, Will Howard hasn’t been talked about as much this draft cycle compared to the likes of Jalen Milroe, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart. But in a consensus weaker quarterback class, Howard has a chance to be a solid contributor at the pro level. Howard stands at six-foot-four, 236 pounds, a very good size for a quarterback. Howard started his career at Kansas State, having a very solid 2023 campaign for the Wildcats. During that year, Howard totaled 33 total touchdowns, with just over 2600 passing yards.

After the season, Howard entered the portal and ended up with Ohio State, where he produced his best year yet for the eventual national champions. Howard had 35 passing touchdowns along with 4000 yards, while adding another nine scores with his legs. Along with a star-studded Ohio State roster, Howard helped his team win a championship against Notre Dame. 

Howard has a lot to like as a prospect. His deep ball is very good, evidenced by his 96.3 grade on deep passes. He also had eight touchdowns to two interceptions on those throws. Howard also knows how to hit his receivers in stride. With the talent in front of him like Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, all Howard needed to do was put the ball in a spot where they could make things happen. 

Howard does have his flaws. He tends to struggle under pressure due to inconsistent footwork while also trying to force throws into tight spots, which will lead to turnovers at the next level. He also played with an incredibly talented Ohio State team, which gave him all he needed to be successful, but he has a chance to be a perennial backup/spot starter at the next level.

Damien Martinez, RB, Miami

The once Oregon State running back went to Miami this past year, and playing in the same backfield as likely first-overall pick Cam Ward, Martinez put up a respectable 1002 yards and ten touchdowns on just over six yards per carry, his second straight year eclipsing the 1000 yard total.

In one of the deepest running back classes scouts have ever seen, Martinez tends to get lost in the shuffle of backs that includes Ashton Jeanty, Cam Skattebo, Treveyon Henderson and Omarion Hampton, but there is a lot to like about Martinez. Martinez has prototypical size for a running back, standing at six-foot, 217 pounds. 

Martinez is also very elusive given his size and has excellent patience and vision that will translate well at the next level. When left in tight space, his ability to cut through the defense and traverse the field is impressive for his size. Of course, Martinez is still a bruiser, able to do all of what’s asked of him from NFL teams. His concerns as a pass protector and receiver are what prevent him from being higher on the board, but Martinez can absolutely be a starter in the league.

Elijah Badger, WR, Florida

Florida wideout Elijah Badger ended the year with 39 catches for 806 yards and four touchdowns. These numbers on the surface won’t pop out at someone as much as the top pass catchers in the draft, but to put that into context Florida had a very weird year this year with their signal callers. 

Graham Mertz went down early and freshman DJ Lagway took over the reins. While he showed a lot of promise, he totaled less than 2000 passing yards during his brief stint as the interim quarterback. Badger still put up a staggering 20.7 yards per catch, higher than deep threats like Isaiah Bond, Jayden Higgins and Tre Harris. 

Badger ranks No. 185 on PFF Big Board, but could be a contributor to a team at the next level. His release package is brilliant and provides enough speed and yards after catch ability to keep him from being one dimensional. He also clocked in a 4.43 forty-yard dash, which is very good given Badger’s size. The problem is that the top-end speed didn’t show up too much and he tended to struggle when competition got better, but a lot of it can be attributed to the turnover at quarterback during the year. 

In a weird year for wide receivers, some teams will value the well-rounded skill set and size that the former Arizona State wideout brings to the field. His versatility and ability to play special teams will also allow him to see the field from day one.

Billy Bowman Jr., S, Oklahoma

Billy Bowman stands at five-foot-ten, 192 pounds and ran a 4.42 forty-yard dash, a speed he maintains in game action. The safety class in this year’s draft has been regarded as a deep one, and Bowman is a very solid pick to find late on day two or early on day three. 

Bowman is a ball hawk, tallying six interceptions in 2023 while only allowing a 58.3% completion percentage to the opposition. Bowman had two interceptions along with a forced fumble this year as well. Bowman is also very physical out of the position. He is able to dissect what is going on and diagnose the play, establishing himself as a high-IQ football player. 

Another thing about Bowman is he is able to play around in different positions. Bowman played 184 of his 861 snaps out of the box and another 156 snaps as a slot corner, making up 40.5% of his snaps. While he did play most of his snaps out of the free safety spot, he can play a multitude of roles that a team would need out of him.

Bowman tends to miss tackles more often than teams would like out of a safety, evidenced by a  23% missed tackle rate that doesn’t compare well to a guy like Georgia’s Malaki Starks, who had it at 8.1%. Bowman was also inconsistent as a coverage safety, making it harder to evaluate a guy like him. Additionally, Bowman has a lack of size for the position and will struggle against the taller and bigger receivers and tight ends in the NFL unless he puts on some more weight and muscle.

Despite all this, Bowman has a lot of traits scouts look for from someone who plays the free safety role. He is very opportunistic in his play and does have the physicality NFL teams are looking for when needed to make tackles. 

Aeneas Peebles, DT, Virginia Tech

Peebles is a 23.5 year old defensive tackle from Raleigh, NC, who played at Duke for a few seasons and had a very good 2023 run, totaling six sacks as an interior lineman and 24 quarterback hurries. In 2024, he transferred within conference to Virginia Tech and continued to play at a solid level. 

There are a lot of things that pop out to teams about Peebles' game. For one, he had a 17.8% pass rush win rate, grading out higher than potential first round picks such as Derrick Harmon (17.6%), Mason Graham (13.8%) and Walter Nolen (10.9%). Peebles is an excellent pass rusher and uses all of his 282 pounds of body weight and athleticism to do it. He has very good strength and leverage, playing at pad level against other offensive lineman he went up against. The Hokie defensive tackle also plays with an extremely high motor, giving all his effort, second effort, and third effort to try and make a play.

While Peebles is excellent against the pass, he tends to be hit-or-miss against the run. Peebles only has a 6.3% run stop rate which would be lower than the three prospects listed above. He also only came in at the combine at six-foot and a half and has very short arms. One of the biggest knocks on defensive lineman Jer’zhan Newton last year was his short arms and Peebles’ arms are shorter than that. 

He doesn’t have the ideal size or wingspan, but his ability to be an excellent pass rusher from the defensive tackle spot and his relentless motor is enough to overcome those weaknesses size wise and can help him be a very productive NFL player.