10 draft-eligible players Patriots fans should watch for in Monday’s national championship game
There are plenty of players who could help fill a need for the Patriots.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will battle to add another national title for their respective program’s historic history on Monday. Many players might also have some individual stakes on the line, too.
For many playing in Monday’s game, the national championship game will mark the final opportunity to provide strong game tape before going through the NFL Draft process. As you’d expect in a national championship game, there are many standout draft-eligible players who are playing, even if most of them are on one team.
As the Patriots look to fortify their roster around quarterback Drake Maye this offseason, here are 10 draft-eligible players Patriots fans should watch Monday night.
Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson has been an integral piece to Ohio State’s success over the last four seasons, surprisingly turning down the opportunity to enter the NFL Draft last season to remain in college.
To this point, Henderson’s decision to return has seemingly been a smart one. He’s still one of the nation’s best running backs despite splitting carries with another top-end running back and has been a more efficient runner. He’s rushed for 967 yards on 7.3 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns this season. More impressively, he’s rushed for 4.6 yards after contact per attempt, per Pro Football Focus, for one of the best marks in the country.
Henderson has also proven to be a decent receiving threat. He boosted his receiving numbers (27 receptions, 284 yards) in Ohio State’s win over Texas when he took a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half. While Texas was certainly complicit in letting Henderson get into the end zone, the senior’s vision helped turn a short gain into a game-changing play.
Most early mock drafts have Henderson being selected in the first three rounds.
Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins
Judkins helped carry the workload alongside Henderson out of Ohio State’s backfield this season. The Ole Miss transfer, who was named two-time first-team All-SEC in both seasons at his former school, has put up similar numbers to Henderson this season, just on lower efficiency. He’s rushed for 960 yards on 5.2 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns.
As a receiver, Judkins hasn’t been as much of a playmaker as Henderson. He’s never recorded more than 150 receiving yards in a season. But the junior showed the ability to be a workhorse running back at Ole Miss, rushing for over 2,700 yards on five yards per carry, making Judkins an intriguing prospect if he declares for the draft.
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka
Offensively, Egbuka might be the top prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft playing in Monday night’s game. Similar to Henderson, Egbuka spurned the NFL last offseason despite garnering some first-round buzz in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Egbuka has taken a backseat to freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver this season, but he’s still been incredibly productive. He has 75 receptions for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, further proving that he’s one of the nation’s best wide receivers.
The senior has consistently produced in big games at Ohio State over his career. He’s recorded a touchdown in eight of the nine games he’s played against top-five opponents in his career, putting up 15 receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown in the College Football Playoff.
Once again, Egbuka has been projected as a first-round, early second-round pick. PFF gave him an 84.4 grade against man coverage this season, which was one of the best marks in college football. With his ability to get open in multiple areas of the field, Egbuka has earned comparisons to former Ohio State teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Ohio State OL Donovan Jackson
Josh Simmons, who’s been Ohio State’s starting left tackle for much of the last two seasons, was climbing up mock drafts before going down with a season-ending knee injury in October. Jackson slid over from left guard to left tackle following Simmons’s injury, providing some stability for the Buckeyes on the offensive line.
Jackson only allowed two sacks this season, both coming against Penn State, per PFF. At 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, Jackson has the size to play offensive tackle, but his best play came at guard as he was a multi-time All-Big Ten player at the position.
Ohio State EDGE Jack Sawyer
“Captain Jack” was the hero in Ohio State’s victory over Texas, strip-sacking Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal before getting an 83-yard scoop-and-score to send the Buckeyes to the title game. But he’s been producing long before that. That sack was his ninth of the season, recording 4.5 sacks so far in the CFP.
That play was also Sawyer’s third forced fumble of the season and fourth turnover created. He showed his athleticism and length in Ohio State’s loss to Michigan, making a leaping grab at the goal line to get an interception.
Sawyer, who’s gotten better in each of his four seasons at Ohio State, has been named second-team All-Big Ten in each of the last two seasons, recording 50 pressures and an 18.1 percent pass rush win rate that’s one of the best in college football, per PFF. As Sawyer’s progression has continued into the CFP, some recent mock drafts have included him as a first-round pick.
Ohio State EDGE JT Tuimoloau
Lining up on the other side of Sawyer, Tuimoloau has arguably been more disruptive at Ohio State for their respective careers and in the postseason. Tuimoloau has 11.5 sacks this season, with 5.5 of them coming in the CFP.
Similar to Egbuka, Tuimoloau has also performed in big games over his career. Just this season, he’s recorded seven sacks and 29 pressures in Ohio State’s six games against top-10 opponents. He memorably had multiple sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s top-10 win over Penn State in 2022, showing his ability to take over a game.
On a play-to-play basis, Tuimoloau hasn’t been as strong of a pass rusher as Sawyer (12.1 pass-rush win rate). But with 56 total tackles this season, Tuimoloau’s 87.5 run defense grade on PFF is one of the best in college football this season. That’s helped Tuimoloau earn buzz to be selected in the first couple of rounds in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams
To go along with its stout edge rushers, Ohio State also has a top-end draft prospect in its defensive interior. Williams, who’s made an All-Big Ten team in each of the last two seasons, is one of the top defensive tackle prospects in the upcoming draft.
Williams’s volume stats don’t pop off the charts in a way that Sawyer’s or Tuimoloau’s does considering his position. He’s recorded 42 total tackles and 2.5 sacks this season.
But Williams’s metrics help show why he stands out. His 8.3 run-stop win rate and 88.6 run defense grade on PFF are among the best compared to other defensive tackles in the nation. His 7.3 percent pass rush win rate is around the 75th percentile among defensive tackles, showing his potential to be a three-down player at the next level and a likely early-round pick.
Notre Dame LB Jack Kiser
Finally, a Notre Dame player. Many of the Fighting Irish’s top players are either injured (cornerback Brendan Morrison) or aren’t draft eligible (running back Jeremiyah Love), which goes to further show how strong of a run to the championship game has been.
Kiser’s veteran presence has certainly helped Notre Dame reach the title game. The sixth-year senior has recorded a team-high 85 total tackles so far this season, adding two sacks and two forced fumbles. One of those sacks came on a key third-down play early on in Notre Dame’s win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl while he had a career-high 10 total tackles in its win over Penn State a week later, getting an interception that was wiped off the board due to a penalty.
As Kiser has been an active tackler all season long, his four percent tackle rate is one of the best in the nation. Considering the issues the Patriots had in the run game this season, a player like Kiser would seemingly help fix some of their run defense woes.
Notre Dame S Xavier Watts
To go along with Kiser, Watts has also given Notre Dame a star veteran presence to help lift its young defense. He’s been one of the best safeties in college football over the last couple of years, winning the Bronco Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player in college football) in 2023.
Watts has recorded 75 total tackles, six interceptions, eight passes defended, and a forced fumble in 2024 after posting seven interceptions last year. His ability to roam the field as a free safety has helped change games in Notre Dame’s favor, coming up with a key interception late in its win over USC and getting a pivotal early interception in its first-round win over Indiana.
Watts has also only been responsible for one touchdown over the last four seasons (per PFF), helping him become one of the top safety prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft as most mock drafts feature him as an early-round pick.
Ohio State CB Denzel Burke
Many of Ohio State’s top defensive players are in its front seven, but it also has a pair of standouts in its secondary.
Burke is the one who is draft-eligible in 2025. The senior has 45 total tackles, two interceptions, and two passes defended this season, earning him a placement on an All-Big Ten team for the third time in his career. This season, he’s allowed 31 completions on 40 targets for 394 yards and two touchdowns, per PFF. However, he’s only been targeted three times in Ohio State’s first three CFP games, a testament to Burke’s coverage abilities.
Burke was among the handful of draft-eligible players who likely would’ve been selected in the early round of the 2024 NFL Draft who decidd to stay at Ohio State. It certainly seems like staying an extra year won’t hurt his draft stock considering the season he’s had.
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