College Football Playoff Round 1 2025 NFL Draft Stock Up: Gunnar Helm, JT Tuimoloau & Xavier Watts
Let's talk about the top 2025 NFL Draft prospects from the College Football Playoff and FCS Semifinals
The first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff didn’t feature many close games, but a handful of 2025 NFL Draft prospects authored memorable performances. A few participants in the FCS Playoffs also raised their draft stock with strong showings. We’ll break them all down in this abbreviated Stock Up column.
This week’s Stock Up column will be shorter than most. I’m working through updated draft reports for 2025 and opening my scouting process for 2026. That leaves less time to write this style of article, but I plan to continue Stock Up until we run out of games.
As a reminder, consensus top prospects aren’t eligible for Stock Up. That means we won’t cover Kelvin Banks Jr. or Abdul Carter today. Their stock can’t go much higher.
Week 0 l Week 1 l Week 2 l Week 3 l Week 4 l Week 5 l Week 6 l Week 7 l Week 8 l Week 9 l Week 10 l Week 11 l Week 12 l Week 13 l Week 14 l Conference Championships
Only draft-eligible players appear in this series. All heights and weights are unofficial and shared by football programs unless specified. Pressure data, targets, and snap counts are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Sacks and other official stats are from publicly available box scores.
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Stock Up: Xavier Watts, S Notre Dame
Watts got the week rolling with a dominant performance against Indiana. He made ten tackles and had an interception against the Hoosiers. Everyone knows the two-time All-American for his ball hawking, but he made several key tackles on Friday night. Watts played downhill, showcasing his physicality fitting the run and attacking pitches or throws to the flat.
Watts took snaps in man coverage versus the slot option as well as single-high, two-high, and box alignments. He put good versatility on tape. With Rylie Mills suffering an injury in the win, Watts needs to continue being a game-changer versus the run and pass. That means he must be more aggressive and technical stacking and shedding blocks.
Watts projects as a top 75 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. You can see all his highlights from the Indiana game here.
Stock Up: Gunnar Helm, TE Texas
I was admittedly a bit late to join the Helm hype train, but he solidified his place as at least a third round selection with a terrific game against Clemson. He led the Longhorns in all three major statistical categories with six receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. Helm also caved in Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker to clear the way for a Quintrevion Wisner touchdown run.
Helm is a smooth athlete with the speed to create separation through his cuts and generate yards after the catch. He made a great catch at the back of the end zone after beating Clemson’s defense up the seam. He also ran a nifty route against Barrett Carter to separate on a short route and later juked the star linebacker with a jump cut to create more yards after the catch.
You can see all six of Helm's receptions here.
Stock Up: Ohio State’s Defensive Line
The Big Ten knows physical winter football. Tennessee tried to feign toughness by going shirtless in the cold pre-game warmups, but the truth came out once the whistle blew. Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, and Tyleik Williams overwhelmed the Volunteers in the trenches. Ty Hamilton and Kenyatta Jackson also got in on the action with a few big plays.
Sawyer is the vocal leader along Ohio State’s front, but Tuimoloau had the best outing. He finished the game with seven pressures, including two sacks, and a forced fumble. Sawyer added seven pressures with 1.5 sacks and two passes defensed. Williams recorded half a sack as part of a six-pressure performance.
Tuimoloau lacks elite agility and bend, but his upper body power and leg drive allow him to bull rush, collapse run lanes, and separate from blocks. He had a few nice flashes of speed against the Volunteers, including his strip-sack and a deep red zone run stop. Check out his highlights from the week.
Sawyer didn’t have as many clean wins as Tuimoloau, but his crazy motor led to several chase down opportunities on short runs, including on a play when he was the backside defensive end. His sacks came on a rip and a wide-angle rush where he quickly disengaged from the offensive tackle. Check out Sawyer’s best moments.
Williams’ pass rush production vanished this season, but his size and raw strength made him a mismatch for Tennessee’s offensive line. His heavy hands and swipes helped him apply pressure. He easily stacked and shed single blockers in the run game, closing lanes and forcing the running back to redirect to other gaps. Here are a few of Williams’ best plays.
Stock Up: Bryce Lance, WR North Dakota State
Lance made six receptions for 125 yards and three touchdowns against South Dakota State as North Dakota State advanced to the FCS Championship Game. Lance is a tall, speedy receiver who frequently found himself running open deep downfield against the Jackrabbits. He also quickly located space between the defense’s second and third levels when operating in the slot.
South Dakota State didn’t have a defensive back with the speed to match Lance vertically. Their attempts to play press coverage often ended poorly. Lance used his active hands and release package to swat or swim past jams and win inside leverage. His pure speed helped him stack corners with outside releases, and he finished several awesome over the shoulder catches.
The cherry on top of a big game for Lance was a one-handed touchdown grab that put North Dakota State up permanently. Here’s a highlight reel of Lance’s best plays.
Stock Up: TreVeyon Henderson, RB Ohio State
Quinshon Judkins was the big transfer portal pickup for Ohio State’s offense last offseason, but Henderson remains the team’s best running back. Henderson is a top five back in the 2025 class. He lacks elite size and power but plays with electric footwork and such a natural feel for run lanes.
Henderson carried the ball ten times for 80 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 54 yards against Tennessee. He was moving at a different speed than the Volunteers defenders. Henderson’s track speed and explosiveness in space make him a threat to erase pursuit angles and knife through the defense.
Henderson is also a threat on late downs. He’s a great route runner, and linebackers lack the speed and agility to match him in coverage. In spite of his size, Henderson delivers powerful hits in pass protection.
Check out Henderson’s best moments from the game against Tennessee.
Stock Up: Elijah Roberts, Edge SMU
SMU got pushed around by Penn State, but Roberts’ power helped him stay level with the Nittany Lions. The former Miami transfer produced six pressures with two sacks in the loss. Roberts created disruption with his impressive power, knocking several offensive linemen to the ground with his bull rush.
Roberts won gradually by walking offensive tackles into the pocket or suddenly with the pop in his hands or a swim move. He took some snaps lined up against guards and still provided impactful reps as a pass rusher. Roberts has the size and play strength to continue reducing inside several times a game at the NFL level.
Roberts projects as a Day 3 prospect for a team looking to add some muscle along their defensive front. You can check out his highlights against Penn State here.
Stock Up: Will Howard, QB Ohio State
Howard struggled to elevate Ohio State’s offense against tough opponents this season. That Michigan game was one of the worst by a quarterback on a contending team. However, Howard rebounded with arguably the best game of his career. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception that wasn’t really his fault.
Howard showed off his touch on several well-placed go routes that kept the Buckeyes feasting in Tennessee’s deep third. He also had a nice far hash throw on a sail route and layered the ball well throughout the game. It was impressive to see the turnaround in Howard’s confidence and how well he commanded Ohio State’s star-studded offense.
Howard projects as a mid-to-late Day 3 selection. Check out his best throws from the College Football Playoff.
Stock Up: Grey Zabel, LT North Dakota State
Zabel has been one of the fastest rising prospects throughout the season. I entered the year with a Day 3 grade on him, but he quickly addressed many of my concerns. Zabel’s improved anchor, balance, and hand usage speak to his offseason work ethic and potential ceiling. He projects as a guard at the next level.
Saturday wasn’t perfect for Zabel. He got flagged once, had a bad pass protection rep where he tripped over another lineman, and had a run snap or two where I thought he could’ve sustained his block for longer. However, he largely dominated in pass protection. South Dakota State’s defenders didn’t challenge his anchor and lacked the combination of bend and speed to threaten his outside shoulder.
Zabel won many reps early by landing firm punches and clamping down with his strong hands. The Jackrabbits had no answers once Zabel got his hands on them.
Stock Up Honorable Mentions
I’m going to run through a few other names that stood out to me from the weekend. Texas edge rushers Trey Moore and Barryn Sorrell had a handful of impactful snaps against Clemson. Sorrell beat right tackle Blake Miller with a two-handed swipe for a sack early in the game and batted up a pass at the line of scrimmage that Colin Simmons intercepted. He also had a pressure on a forklift move versus left tackle Tristan Leigh.
Moore used a swift inside euro step to beat Leigh for a pressure through the B-gap and made a few tackles in pursuit after deploying a spin counter and retracing his steps.
I don’t expect Texas running back Jaydon Blue, Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz, or Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, but they all deserve recognition for their big games.
Blue finally had the big performance Longhorns fans have been waiting for since CJ Baxter went down with a season-ending injury months ago. Blue’s elite, angle-erasing speed produced two long touchdown runs, including a 77-yard backbreaker. He looked shifty and elusive in tight spaces.
It feels weird to call a loss a legacy game, but that’s what this match felt like for Klubnik. Outside of a tipped interception at the line of scrimmage, he could do no wrong against an elite Longhorns defense. His ball placement, layered throws, touch, and velocity on opposite hash throws jumped off the tape.
Klubnik ending his season on a high note will propel him into many first round mock drafts over the summer.
Woodaz was the best defender on the field for Clemson. He sniffed out screens and was a ball magnet on a night when the Tigers struggled to get any stops against the run. Woodaz is on the lighter side for a linebacker, but that helps his mobility and closing burst.