Week 9 of the 2026 college football season delivered plenty of drama: No. 1 Miami survived a scare against North Carolina, No. 2 Ohio State fell to USC and No. 3 Georgia rolled past Florida, while Iowa State won a shootout with Oklahoma State and Iowa blanked Wisconsin. With the 2027 NFL draft roughly six months away, ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid reviewed the action through a draft-centric lens, and several prospects helped their cases.
Reid said it is reasonable to project Indiana receivers Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh as top-20 picks, listing them as his WR2 and WR3. Both found the end zone against Minnesota on Saturday, with Becker posting eight catches for 149 yards and Marsh adding four receptions for 59 yards. Becker, a 6-foot-4, 208-pound vertical threat with the body control to win contested balls, caught a 21-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime. Reid slots Becker at No. 6 overall and Marsh, a 6-3, 210-pound target who also does dirty work as a run blocker, at No. 18.
Georgia linebacker Chris Cole continued to look like a potential top-10 selection. Reid described him as a jack-of-all-trades defender who is effective at the second level and off the edge as a blitzer, and the 6-3, 235-pounder scooped up a fumble and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown against Florida, adding nine tackles and a sack. Reid ranks Cole No. 5 overall with a wide gap to the next linebacker, compared him to Devin Lloyd, who went No. 27 in 2022, and noted Cole may be an even better athlete.
Kiper pointed to California safety Kingston Lopa, an Oregon transfer who broke up two passes against NC State. The 6-5, 210-pounder has five interceptions this season, tied for the most in the FBS, and Kiper has him as his No. 3 safety with second-round potential, praising his range over the middle and his willingness to step into the box against the run.
Reid highlighted South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, whose October resurgence has produced 1,016 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions on 64.2% completions over four games against Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma, along with 359 rushing yards and five scores. Against the Sooners, Sellers rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns for the second straight game, and Reid said the surge has lifted him from an early-to-mid Day 3 projection into possible Round 2 territory.
Kiper said Clemson edge rusher Will Heldt just keeps producing, with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss in eight games, including a sack against Florida State, and called the 6-6, 260-pound Purdue transfer a Day 2 prospect. Both analysts praised Texas Tech defensive tackle A.J. Holmes Jr., who has five sacks over the past three weeks and 12 in two seasons with the Red Raiders after three years at Houston. Reid is hearing early-to-mid Day 2 grades on the 6-3, 300-pounder and believes he could climb beyond his current top-50 status.
Oklahoma State receiver Justin Bowick drew Kiper's attention after catching seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State. Bowick is at his fourth program, moving from Eastern Illinois to Ball State to Illinois before landing with the Cowboys, a climb Kiper likened to a baseball prospect rising from A ball to the majors. Kiper has the 6-5, 209-pounder, who averages 17.8 yards per catch, in the third-round mix, while Reid holds a Round 4 grade but would not be surprised by a rise into late Day 2.
For an under-the-radar name, Kiper offered Montana running back Eli Gillman, who has topped 1,000 rushing yards for a third consecutive season. Gillman has averaged 6.1 yards per carry across 787 career rushes and scored his 63rd and 64th rushing touchdowns against Eastern Washington, his fourth game this season with a run of at least 50 yards. Kiper cited his vision, ball security and durability as reasons for late Day 3 intrigue, and also flagged Rhode Island's Marquis Buchanan and Northern Arizona's Ty Pennington as other FCS players scouts are monitoring.
