- LT Overton is an early top edge defender prospect: The 6-foot-5 and 280-pound Alabama star earned an 82.3 PFF overall grade, an 81.7 PFF run-defense grade and a 77.6 PFF pass-rush grade this past season.
- Eli Stowers gets another year of catching passes from Diego Pavia: Stowers shockingly didn’t declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, though a crowded tight end class and a chance to have another fantastic season with Pavia likely fueled the decision.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
When turning the page to the next draft class each summer, the natural tendency is to focus on newly eligible prospects. But the fact of the matter is that there are plenty of seniors who will have a chance to use the college football season to better their stock, too.
Here are 10 seniors who we think are poised to rise up draft boards this season.
C JAKE SLAUGHTER, FLORIDA
We kick off this list with one of the better offensive linemen in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Slaughter earned some starts in 2023 before starting every game of the 2024 campaign. The Florida native was consistently excellent in 2024, finishing the year as the only Power Four center to record 80.0-plus PFF pass-blocking and run-blocking grades.
There seemed to be a good chance that Slaughter would declare for last year’s draft, and he could have been the first true center off the board (depending on one's positional label for Grey Zabel). Another year of consistently good play may help him lock in a top-100 selection, perhaps as the top center in the draft.
EDGE LT OVERTON, ALABAMA
Overton was draft-eligible last season and consistently ranked in the top 50 on the PFF Big Board as the college football season wore on, but he opted to return to Alabama for another year. After starting just four games in his first two seasons at Texas A&M, Overton became a full-time starter at Alabama as a true junior in 2024.
He earned an 82.3 PFF overall grade, an 81.7 PFF run-defense grade and a 77.6 PFF pass-rush grade this past season. His 18.0% pass-rush win rate was a top-40 mark among more than 500 qualifying FBS edge defenders.
Overton is listed at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, and if he can continue to win one-on-one, he can be a first-round edge rusher in 2026.
EDGE TYREAK SAPP, FLORIDA
Tyreak Sapp's last name and position may lead your mind to Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. Although they aren't related, you should still pay attention to the future NFL player.
In his redshirt junior season in 2024, Sapp earned an elite 90.4 PFF overall grade — a top-10 figure in college football among edge defenders. He was stout in run defense and pass rushing, posting 88.7 and 82.2 PFF grades in those departments, respectively, while logging a career-high 14.2% pass-rush rate. Getting that rate closer to 20% could lead to a first-round selection for Sapp. The rest is already there.
EDGE DANI DENNIS-SUTTON, PENN STATE
Dennis-Sutton was a five-star recruit and top-30 player in the 2022 class, according to 247 Sports. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end brings ideal size to the position for the NFL. He was a rotational contributor at Penn State until last season, when he started 14 of 16 games.
Dennis-Sutton has been an all-around player thus far, earning single-season PFF overall grades of 72.2, 77.5 and 73.9 over the past three seasons without dominating in any one area. The more pass-rush snaps he plays, the lower his win rate: his clip dropped from 21.7% to 17.7% to 14.4% last season. Bringing that number back up will be the key to improving his draft stock.
EDGE MIKAIL KAMARA, INDIANA
At 6-foot-1 and 265 pounds, Kamara isn’t shaped like a typical NFL pass rusher, but his 88.7 PFF pass-rush grade in 2024 means you better approach his style with an open mind — because it works.
After jumping from James Madison to Power Four competition at Indiana last season, Kamara nearly doubled his pass-rush win rate, from 8.9% to 16.5%. Another year of that and he’ll be considered at least a mid-round selection.
EDGE DERRICK MOORE, MICHIGAN
Moore was a rotational edge rusher in 2023 but started 12 games in 2024. More starts gave way to better numbers, including a career-high 86.5 PFF pass-rush grade. His 23.1% pass-rush win rate was one of the highest marks in all of college football, showcasing his ability to win one-on-one.
If Moore can have another season with a 20%-plus rate, he’ll easily elevate himself into the top 100.
G AR'MAJ REED-ADAMS, TEXAS A&M
Reed-Adams could have capitalized on a weaker interior offensive line class in the 2025 NFL Draft but opted to return to Texas A&M for another season.
He earned an 83.2 PFF overall grade in 2024 with the Aggies after four years at Kansas. His PFF run-blocking grade powered that rise, jumping from 63.1 to 85.9 in 2024, but he has also allowed just 10 pressures in each of the past two years. A similar season in 2025 could lead to Reed-Adams becoming a top-50 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft as one of the top interior offensive linemen.
CB CHANDLER RIVERS, DUKE
Rivers’ 90.7 PFF overall grade in 2024 tied with Texas' Jahdae Barron for the top mark among Power Four cornerbacks. He allowed fewer than 300 receiving yards (296) with three interceptions and eight forced incompletions.
He’s on the smaller side at just 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, but if he has another lockdown season, he’ll be talked about as one of the better cornerbacks in the class.
LB DEONTAE LAWSON, ALABAMA
Lawson was poised to enter the 2025 NFL Draft before tearing his ACL against Oklahoma in late November of last season. He will be a fifth-year senior for the 2025 season, but the good news is that it sounds like he’ll be ready for fall camp after missing all of spring camp while rehabbing.
His 84.4 PFF run-defense grade in 2024 was a career high, and his anticipation and confidence looked to be at his highest levels yet. If he can get confidence back in that knee and still play as fast as he did in 2024, he can be one of the top linebackers in the 2026 NFL Draft.
TE ELI STOWERS, VANDERBILT
Stowers shockingly didn’t declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, though a crowded tight end class and a chance to have another fantastic season at Vanderbilt with quarterback Diego Pavia likely fueled the decision.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound former quarterback earned an 89.0 PFF receiving grade last season, the fifth-best mark among FBS tight ends. He dropped just one of his 70 targets while racking up 17 plays of 15 yards or more. 2023 will be just his third season as a full-time tight end, and if what we’ve already seen is just the baseline, he could be the best tight end in the country this season.
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