Thor Nystrom's 2026 NFL Draft Scouting Notebook: The Prospects To Watch This Weekend
Want to watch the most interesting draft prospects this weekend and not sure where to start? Here's Thor's quick guide to three games with top talent.
Welcome back to the NFL Draft scouting notebook, where every week this season we will preview the upcoming weekend of college football from the perspective of the NFL Draft.
No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee | 2:30p CST | ABC
Knoxville plays host to 'College GameDay' this weekend. Tennessee is looking to snap an eight-game losing streak to Georgia – all eight of those losses were by 14-or-more points. Each team smashed an FCS opponent last week. In the opener, Tennessee beat Syracuse 45-26 and Georgia beat Marshall 45-7.
Top prospects: Georgia LB C.J. Allen and Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy
Allen, my No. 2-ranked LB in the 2026 draft class, is the best run-defending linebacker in college football. He’s stout and violent, and blessed with mid-4.5s wheels at a shade under 240 pounds.
Allen diagnoses and triggers very quickly, amplifying the effect of his downhill athleticism. He’s both a physical hitter and a reliable wrap-up tackler. Allen was No. 2 on the Bulldogs last year in tackles while posting an elite 6.0% missed tackle rate.
NFL evaluators want to see more from him on passing downs. Allen has only one career sack, and he has struggled in coverage. You can’t leave him stranded in man coverage. Allen’s instincts in cramped quarters in run defense seem to leak from him in space, and he gets lost with his back to the quarterback.
Tennessee provides a good challenge for Allen, because the Vols have always run the ball well under HC Josh Heupel. Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson are in the NFL. This year, the Vols are using a two-man platoon of RBs Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop. Both have looked good through two games. Tennessee, a 3.5-point home underdog, needs to run the ball well in this game to win.
When Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar was at Appalachian State, we’d see him turn the ball over when the Mountaineers were behind and asking him to throw them back into games. Aguilar, who had a strong first two games to open the 2025 season, plays better when the defense doesn’t know what’s coming. Georgia’s run defense, led by Allen, is the key to trying to force Tennessee to play left-handed.
On the other side of the ball, Tennessee’s cornerback room is in bad straits with both starters ruled out with injury. Tennessee CB Rickey Gibson has been out since suffering an unspecified injury in the opener against Syracuse.
McCoy, the No. 2 cornerback on my 2026 board, has not yet played in 2025 after tearing his ACL in January.
Reports late last month stated that McCoy would return at some point this season – it’s just unclear when. McCoy will be in the Round 1 discussion if he returns to the field this season and flashes his 2024 All-American form (13 passes defended and four interceptions).
Either way, with both McCoy and Gibson out, Georgia’s deep wide receiver room has a chance to show out.
This could provide a Georgia wide receiver room that is deep in NFL talent a high-profile showcase to show out. Former USC WR Zachariah Branch, a human electricity bolt with reported 4.2s speed, leads the team in receiving through two games. Branch was WR11 on my 2026 board heading into the season.
The NFL gave UGA WR Dillon Bell late-Day 2, early-Day 3 grades over the summer, while WR Colbie Young was seen as a mid-Day 3 prospect. Georgia’s passing game has been quick-hitting and low-aDOT – will they open it up against a susceptible secondary?
Best one-on-one matchup: Georgia CB Daylon Everette vs. Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II
Fascinating matchup here. The mercurial Brazzell is a tantalizing size/speed boundary receiver. Everette is Georgia’s veteran CB1 who returned from an unspecified lower-body injury to play partial-snaps in last week’s win over FCS Austin Peay.
Everette boasts exceptional length, with a 6-foot-5 wingspan. He’s physical and technique-sound, and he gets his hands on receivers off the line. Everette has the wheels for this assignment with an estimated mid-4.4s forty
The weakness of Everette’s game is a little low-half stiffness that you sometimes see when he flips his hips or at the top of route breaks. I don’t see Brazell, a north/south mover, exploiting that – this feels like a good matchup for Everette.
Tennessee’s Brazzell has had a shockingly strong start to the season after his 2025 status was previously in jeopardy following an Aug. 8 arrest for driving with a suspended license. Those charges were ultimately dismissed.
Brazzell won a starting job out of camp, replacing 2024 fourth-round pick Dont’e Thornton on the boundary. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Brazzell has posted a 14-187-2 receiving line through two games. Brazzell will firmly be back on the NFL’s radar if he has a strong showing against Everette on Saturday.
No. 18 South Florida at No. 5 Miami | 3:30p CST | CW
South Florida is college football’s Cinderella story after upsetting Boise State and Florida. Saturday afternoon in Coral Gables, USF’s hopes for another upset hinge on controlling the ball on offense, and limiting explosive plays on defense. Miami, which beat Notre Dame in the opener, is a co-favorite with Clemson to win the ACC.
Top prospects: USF CB De'Shawn Rucker and Miami OT Francis Mauigoa
Rucker was the only draft-eligible South Florida player to receive a draftable grade from the NFL over the summer (Round 7). His assignment in this game is Miami WR CJ Daniels, a well-built boundary weapon who had a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2023 for Liberty.
Daniels has three TD in two games. Since USF also has huge tasks in addressing Miami’s running game and slowing down slot WR Malachi Toney – USF’s nickel defenders have struggled – it is crucial for USF that Rucker put the clamps on Daniels.
I ranked Miami’s Francis Mauigoa as my No. 4 draft-eligible 2026 offensive tackle over the summer. Mauigoa (6060/341) has been outstanding in the early-going, posting a 84.3 PFF grade.
Mauigoa is a two-time member of Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks “ list, and his athleticism jumps off his tape. Mauigoa has been clocked on the GPS at an elite 18 mph, and he has recorded a 30.5-inch vertical.
Mauigoa is a gifted run blocker. He shoots off the line and stakes himself to an early lead in reps. His strength, quick feet, and pliability generally seal the deal from there. His pass-pro has always lagged behind, but has improved weekly since his true freshman campaign in 2023.
Best one-on-one matchup: USF QB Byrum Brown vs. Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr./iDL Akheem Mesidor
USF’s high-wire offense can keep the defense on its heels for four quarters when it’s humming. Brown is a gifted runner, but more athlete than quarterback. He drew a UDFA grade from the NFL over the summer. If you can strand Brown up on that high-wire by penning him into the pocket and turning up the heat, you defang the Bulls’ attack.
This is where Miami’s Bain and Mesidor come in – they’ve combined for 10 pressures through two games. Bain has been one of the country’s best overall players, recording two sacks, seven run stops, and an interception.
USF QB Byrum Brown’s plays naturally invites pressure – he was pressured on 35.3% of dropbacks in 2023 and 42.7% of dropbacks in 2024. Exasperating that issue, Brown tends to run himself into sacks, with a bright-red-flag career pressure-to-sack ratio of 24.7%.
Bane appears destined for another huge game. For USF to pull off a third-straight upset, Brown simply must avoid negative plays. He doesn’t have the arm or pocket-presence to convert third-and-longs against Miami.
No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame | 6:30p CST | NBC
We’re going to find out a lot about the Fighting Irish on Saturday night. Notre Dame was on bye after their three-point Week 1 loss to Miami. Since A&M is the only ranked opponent left on Notre Dame’s schedule, this becomes a quasi-must win spot for the Irish. The Aggies, meanwhile, jump up in competition after a 42-28 win over UTSA and 44-22 win over Utah State.
Top prospects: Texas A&M OT Trey Zuhn and Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love
Love is the consensus RB1 in the 2026 draft class. We’ve only seen Love in one game this season, and he struggled – gaining a mere 33 yards on carries in the Week 1 loss to Miami. It wasn’t all his fault. Of those 33 yards, 29 of them came after contact. Notre Dame tried to get Love more involved in the passing game – he ended with four catches for 26 yards on six targets.
Last season, Love averaged 7.1 yards per touch with an absurd 187.3 elusive rating and 4.47 yards after contact (94th percentile). There was Ashton Jeanty, and then there was Jeremiyah Love. The 210-pound Love has been clocked in the 4.3s while on campus. He’s an unreal athlete with a creative bent on the gridiron.
Notre Dame’s passing offense is feeble and vanilla. The Irish need Love to take this game over.
The Aggies also look to establish the run, so it’s a good thing that A&M HC Mike Elko has confirmed that LT Trey Zuhn will be active. Zuhn was knocked out of last week’s win against Utah State.
Over the summer, I ranked Zuhn (6063/318) as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the 2026 class. He’s a good player who is headed inside at the next level due to a lack of length.
Zuhn’s 81 ⅛-inch wingspan isn’t, by itself, nullifying for an NFL career at offensive tackle. But he has wide shoulders on a strapping frame, and his 31 ⅞-inch arms fall significantly beneath the threshold for NFL offensive tackles. Zuhn is likely to draw some soft comparisons to Bucs C Graham Barton. Barton, a collegiate LT, had 32 ⅞-inch arms with a 79 ¾-inch wingspan.
Best one-on-one matchup: Notre Dame OG Billy Schrauth vs. Texas A&M DT Albert Regis
Regis (6011/310) is a fire-hydrant, short and powerful. Regis is a bit of a one-trick pony, not providing much as a pass-rusher. Regis is Texas A&M’s best run defender – 78.5 PFF run defense grade in 2024 – and crucial in the matchup against Love. The NFL saw Regis as a Round 4 prospect over the summer.
Regis is a B-gap DT who will find himself matched up with Notre Dame LG Billy Schrauth for a portion of the festivities. Schrauth (6050/310) is an athletic technician with length. The NFL saw him as a Round 5 prospect heading into the season.
In the run game, Schrauth is at his best when he can win with quickness, movement, and technique. Schrauth fires out of his stance quickly and tends to arrive at his destination on time, whether that’s to the play-side shoulder, or hunting linebackers in the second-level.
Styles make matchups. And while Schrauth should win his pass-pro reps against Regis, he could have issues moving Regis in the run game. Regis is a lunchpail grinder who doesn’t take plays off. He isn’t going to beat you with movement and doesn’t try. Regis has a thick trunk, and he’s extremely difficult to move when he plants himself into the ground.
I like Schrauth’s game – it’s a fun dichotomy of length, athleticism, technique, and grit. Schrauth doesn’t mind scrapping. But his weakness is pure-power, and Regis has got that in spades. Texas A&M is 6.5-point road underdogs in this spot. To pull the stunner, A&M will need Regis to lead a monster day for the run defense.