
As part of today’s notes, I wanted to share some general ‘horizontal board’ info based on where I’m at. I won’t publish the whole thing for a while but here are some things I do want to post…
— I think the top four players eligible for the 2026 NFL draft are Arvell Reese (LB, Ohio State), Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State), Spencer Fano (T, Utah) and Jeremiyah Love (RB, Notre Dame) — in that order. Reese reminds me of Abdul Carter — a freakish athlete with unnatural power who flashes so much as an EDGE rusher and not just as a conventional linebacker. Downs has been one of the top performers in college football for a long time now. Fano is a dominating, tone-setting right tackle and Love is a dynamic weapon who could benefit from Jahmyr Gibbs’ success in Detroit. There’s quite a talent separation between this quartet and the rest at the moment, in my opinion anyway.
— A lot of people have Miami’s Reuben Bain Jr listed as a top-five pick. I have given him a third round grade. There’s talk of him having 30-inch arms and he’s 270lbs on a stocky 6-3 frame. His game is based on power and there’s a lack of twitch on tape. Sure, he’s shown to occasionally win off the edge but we’re not talking about a dynamic speed rusher here. He’s missed 21.3% of his tackles in the last four games and he has three sacks for the year. Ask yourself this — how many short-armed, 6-3/270lbs defensive ends who are better against the run than rushing the passer go very early in round one? Over the years there have been multiple players like this — Boogie Basham, AJ Epenesa and Myles Murphy are three that spring to mind — who the draft media go crazy for and it always feels like a bit of a mirage. I don’t see an X-factor NFL player.
— I currently only have 29 players with grades in the first two rounds. It’s one of the reasons why I would support an aggressive pre-deadline trade by the Seahawks. It would have to be the right player, of course, but this is not a class where I think teams are going to get value. I will obviously add names to this tally as the process goes on (notably post-Senior Bowl and combine) but it’s also possible some of the players I have listed won’t declare.
— Seahawks fans often talk about right guards. I have three right tackles graded highly as guard converts — Duke’s Brian Paker, Miami’s Francis Mauigoa and Iowa’s Gennings Dunker. All three are high-performing zone blockers. If I was doing a mock draft for the Seahawks and wanted to pair a player with them, it could easily be one of these three. Penn State’s left guard Vega Ioane is also one of my favourite players — and a good zone blocker — but he would have to go from the left side to the right which isn’t always a smooth transition.
— I’m not as high on the EDGE rushers. Clemson’s TJ Parker has been a big disappointment and like team-mate Peter Woods, will be relying on older tape and good testing. Romello Height, Jaishawn Barham, Gabe Jacas, Josh Josephs and David Bailey to me all seem like rotational or development players for the next level. The bigger-bodied guys are overrated. I think there’s very little to get excited about with LT Overton at Alabama. Matayo Uiagalelei has flashes but is he going to be a dynamic threat at the next level? Keldric Faulk and Dani Dennis-Sutton have a lot more potential than the others but need to play more consistent, impactful football and finish plays.
— It’s difficult to find cornerbacks at the moment. The big name linebackers look average to me. I’d rather take a chance on crazed, relentless madmen like Cade Uluave than spend a high pick on CJ Allen or Anthony Hill Jr who flatter to deceive. It’s an OK bunch of receivers.
Ty Simpson is the best draft eligible quarterback (part 3)
I’ve been writing about Alabama’s Simpson for a while now, noting why I think he’s a superior prospect at the moment to the likes of Oregon’s Dante Moore and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who’ve been getting all of the media’s attention. Interestingly, Todd McShay today produced a top-32 prospects list and had Simpson as QB1. It’s starting to turn.
Simpson is playing at a fantastic technical level. He isn’t scared to throw over the middle and he delivers NFL-level throws with decisiveness, anticipation and accuracy. He is elevating Alabama and beating good opponents, including on the road, every week. His mentality is as impressive as his talent. The only issue is a lack of starting experience. If he had 30 games under his belt and was playing the way he is, he’d be widely considered the favourite to be the #1 pick. Teams are going to have to weigh up what they’re seeing and whether they care about his inexperience.
Let’s look at some plays against Tennessee. In this first clip, the left guard is beaten way too easily off the snap creating early pressure. Simpson is already having to pass from his own endzone. No problem:
Look at the level of poise and calm he has dealing with this situation. I want to share a screen-grab from that video:
When I took this picture, Simpson has already felt the pressure and adjusted his position because of it. Then, with two defenders closing in, look what he’s doing. He’s not panicking or trying to desperately scramble. He’s looking upwards and scanning the field. He sees a target, subtly side-steps to his left to buy an extra split-second in the pocket, then delivers a strike over the middle.
By the way, this play was a 3rd and 13 and he converts it for a first down.
This is next-level quarterback play. There are current pro’s in the NFL who would’ve absolutely shat themselves in that situation. This is Simpson putting his team on his back, dealing with a difficult situation and getting the job done.
Next clip. This one is about ball placement. He’s being asked to throw from the middle of the field to the right sideline to a tight spot, 36-yards downfield. It’s a great catch by the receiver but the ball is placed right where it needs to be, giving the receiver or no-one a chance to get it. The ball is also delivered with good velocity and loft:
I’ve spoken in the past how I’ve had conversations with people in the league who say they only watch every third down a quarterback makes before determining whether they’ll watch anything else. Simpson excels in that area. Look at this absolute bullet that should’ve been caught over the middle. This is a NFL throw:
Can you see the Shanahan/McVay tree coaches admiring this kind of throw off play-action?
These are what NFL-level throws in college football look like:
Another week of Ty Simpson putting NFL-level throws on tape. Love his poise, confidence, placement.
Simpson belongs in the conversation for QB1. pic.twitter.com/rFvanKvtdV
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 20, 2025
He did have one really bad decision on Saturday, throwing back inside across his body into traffic. He was lucky not to be picked off — and that’s perhaps where his inexperience shows. Yet he then ran the subsequent 4th and 2 for a conversion on the next play, scrambling to the right and evading defenders.
Since the week one disappointment against Florida State, Simpson’s QBR is 87.9. He’s scored 20 total touchdowns compared to only one interception. He’s won games against Georgia and Missouri on the road, also beating Vanderbilt and Tennessee at home.
He should be the Heisman favourite. He is QB1. He absolutely looks the part and if he keeps performing and Alabama keep winning, we’re going to hear a lot more about him.
A final note on Alabama. I’ve long thought linebacker Deontae Lawson was extremely overrated and was shocked to see some people still referring to him as a possible high draft pick. To me he’s stiff, not physical enough, too easy to block and he shows questionable effort at times.
Look at how he dealt with this touchdown on Saturday — from the bad angle to giving up on the play far too early and not hustling to make a last ditch tackle. He’s wearing #0. You can’t win with this:
I wouldn’t draft him — and it might be worth noting the people suggesting he’s destined to go early because that feels like a terrible take.
Carnell Tate is a lot better than I originally thought
The Ohio State receiver has taken his game to another level in recent weeks. There are so many things to like. He’s catching away from his body, he has superb body control and can hang in the air while contorting to make difficult grabs, his ball-tracking is superb, he appears to have a high degree of field IQ like most of the Ohio State receivers and he’s very reliable with zero tallied drops so far in 2025. His route running is impressive and he knows how to get open.
Tate lines up almost exclusively outside and while there’s little in the way of YAC — he is averaging 17.3 yards a catch. Four of his six touchdowns so far have been on passes beyond 20-yards.
I’m not sure on his pure long speed and that might be a thing that tempers his stock somewhat. However, the league is littered with highly productive receivers at the moment who aren’t ‘speed demons’. Tate is a cultured, talented, natural receiver.
Here’s what he did against Wisconsin on Saturday:
With the 2026 draft class playing out as it is, it wouldn’t be a shock if he ended up going in the top-20. With Chris Brazell II fading somewhat after an electric start, the fight to be WR1 appears to be between Tate and USC’s Makai Lemon.
Arkansas running back Mike Washington looks really good
I wrote about him last week but couldn’t resist a follow up today. What an impressive player and pre-testing, I’m giving him a second round grade at the moment. He’s a 220lbs back who shows great burst and decisiveness to shoot through openings and acclerate. Washington changes direction well and he finishes runs. He has a gliding quality to his running style but it’s not often you see this on such a physical runner.
Here’s a couple of clips from the Texas A&M game on Saturday:
Washington has 404 yards after contact this season, more than Jonah Coleman and Kaytron Allen. I’d argue he’s had limited opportunity to shine too — Arkansas have often been behind or having to deal with shoot-out games where the running attack has had to take a back-seat.
He’s been one of my favourite players to watch so far this year.
On top of Washington and Arkansas’ talented quarterback Taylen Green, I’ve also been impressed with receiver O’Mega Blake. He has strong hands, he’s also a finisher when he’s running after the catch. For 2025 he has 582 yards and four TD’s so far. He’s an outside receiver with decent size (6-2, 190lbs) and he only has two drops for the year. He excels in mid-to-short range situations and could be good for a system like Seattle’s. He does produce YAC and he’s a very competitive, aggressive player. I’ve given him a third round grade but he could last into day three and provide some value.
Other quarterback notes
I thought Oregon’s Dante Moore had a much better performance against Rutgers than he did against Indiana. He showed off natural gifts including some fantastic layered throws, deep shots and ‘make it look easy’ throws to dissect coverage. This was a performance more worthy of the hype he’s been receiving.
I do think Rutgers were absolutely horrendous though — evidenced by the final score (56-10) and their coverage and pressure combinations were appalling. Their tackling was also garbage. On the penultimate Oregon touchdown, three defenders seemed to be running away from the running back as he sprinted to the end-zone, not towards him. It was like playing Madden on easy mode for Oregon. Even so, Moore flashed some nice plays and showed off his potential.
USF’s Byrum Brown is built like a tank and he’s a forceful runner and capable passer. He can throw with touch but also make explosive plays on the move. There’s potential here to work with.
Oklahoma blitzed a lot against South Carolina and LaNorris Sellers really didn’t handle it well. Too often he felt the pressure and set off running. He looked flustered and had no way of combatting with quick hot throws. The offense looks awful and needs to help him — but Sellers looked the total opposite of Simpson in terms of composure under pressure.
Meanwhile, I continue to be impressed with Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Holton. He’s powerful, shows some agility, he’s undersized but disruptive and had a great sack bullying his way past two blocks to sack Sellers. He could provide some solid mid-round value.
I really like the playing style of Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt. He can get the ball downfield on the run, he’s creative, has a better arm than expected and there’s just something about him I like.
The same can’t be said for Carson Beck. I’ve no idea why some people were still calling him a round one type player. He just can’t help but throw terrible, lousy interceptions. He did it throughout last season and now it’s happening again.
He had four official interceptions against Louisville and had another nullified on a penalty. After the game he blamed his receiver on one pick for running the wrong route, yet he still threw the ball and should’ve owned it.
Here are the first two picks:
Carson Beck’s 2 INTs pic.twitter.com/1yv9q4ZuLb
— Follow: @fsh733 (@fsh733) October 18, 2025
This is the third:
Carson Beck Just slanging them picks!!! pic.twitter.com/lTUglboN7C
— Cardinal Companion (@CardsCompanion) October 18, 2025
And now the fourth. Compare how Ty Simpson handles pressure to this:
Carson Beck back-foot fadeaway INT’s are back like they never left.
Glad to see some things never change.pic.twitter.com/GsdUtVpXTI
— Gabe Kuhn (@G_Kuhn71) October 18, 2025
I wouldn’t draft Beck. If he’s throwing so many picks in college, how does that change and improve at the next level? He’s playing for Georgia and Miami too — hardly overmatched smaller schools with no supporting cast.
Since taking Brock Bowers off him in his first year as a starter, he’s been pretty much exposed as a turnover machine.






