2027 NFL Draft: Week 0 College Football Stock Watch

We are so back. College football is so back! While Week 0 featured only a handful of games and doesn’t carry the same juice as Week 1, it’s still the signal that college football is back and shouldn’t go under appreciated. From an NFL draft perspective, it also serves as our first meaningful piece of film to evaluate ahead of the 2027 NFL draft.

2027 NFL Draft: Week 0 College Football Stock Watch

There is no singular week of college football, Big-Noon Kickoff, or spectacular play that determines a prospect’s NFL Draft future — or at least there shouldn’t be. Instead, it’s about identifying players, gathering new information, and evaluating tape.

For me, as an evaluator, a Stock Up/Stock Down assessment isn’t indented to dramatically change their evaluation. It’s to continue adding more pieces to the puzzle creating a more clear picture of that prospect’s profile and identifying their trajectory as it relates to their NFL transition.

For prospects it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to show something I hadn’t yet seen out of them, to reinforced an already identified strength or weakness, or potentially put them on my radar to begin with.

Here are my biggest movers from Week 0.

Stock Up

Jayden Maiava — QB, USC

Entering the season, I viewed Maiava as one of the more intriguing mid-round quarterback prospects in the 2027 NFL draft class. The traits in his profile that encouraged me most were traits I often seen translate to the next level: sack avoidance, throwing with touch, accuracy, and sturdiness in the pocket.

The problem is, the traits that raised the most questions for me where the traits that generally limit a quarterback’s ability to establish themselves as a franchise starter: average physical tools, occasional risky decision maker, limited velocity/drive throws, and most importantly, doesn’t always throw with the level of anticipation that is required of his skillset at the NFL level.

Against San José State, Maiava delivered exactly what I had anticipated. He completed 25-of-29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score at the goal line with his legs as USC beat SJSU 42-26. Maiava’s services were not required in the fourth quarter which allowed freshman quarterback Jonas Williams to see fourth quarter action. But neither the stats nor the amount of playing time mattered to me as much as the film.

The film showed a comfortable passer. One who consistently took what the defense gave him, bought time when he needed to, was accurate to all levels of the field, and operated the offense at a high level. Exactly what I saw on tape in 2025, but built upon further. This is important because Maiava is now leading a different USC offense. One that does not have Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane to throw to. Sophomore Tanook Hines also wasn’t available due to injury, but Maiava still took care of business. Continuing to play at the same level we saw last year, without skipping a beat, and in a different environment is what was so encouraging from his Week 0 performance.

This isn’t suddenly going to vault Maiava up my quarterback board, but it’s an excellent starting point. The quarterback I see on tape is an NFL backup, but there are levels to backup quarterback play in the NFL. Quarterbacks like Tyson Bagent, Davis Mills, Mac Jones, Joe Flacco, and Jarrett Stidham are preferred backups. Quarterback who can serve as stretch starters over a multi-week absence. Backups like Tyler Huntley, Quinn Ewers, and Aidan O’Connell can keep the ship on course for the rest of a game or during a short absence. Then there are backups who hold space on the depth chart, but you hope never to have to deploy. These are the types of quarterbacks who remind me of the old Tom Moore quote on why Peyton Manning’s backups in Indianapolis didn’t get more practice reps — “Fellas, if 18 goes down, we’re f*cked. And we don’t practice f*cked”.

With Maiava, I see a preferred backup. Someone capable of being a multi-week fill in starter at the NFL level similar to Bagent, Mills, Jones, Flacco, and Stidham. Not because of skillset, but because of the role he can fill on the team. For me, his value currently sits in the late day-two conversation — somewhere between picks 75 and 100. Maiava’s stock is up and the rest of the season will tell just how high it can go.

Nathan Hayes — QB, North Dakota State

Coming into the season, Hayes was one of the bigger unknowns on my quarterback board. A senior with limited playing time now leads the North Dakota State Bison with more questions than answers. Well, Saturday provided some answers. Hayes looks like the Bison have found themselves another answer at the quarterback position.

In the Bison’s 33-7 win over Jacksonville State, he completed 14-of-22 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns while adding 14 rushing yards. The numbers weren’t overwhelming, but the bigger takeaway was how comfortable he looked running the offense.

The level of competition still needs to be monitored, but Hayes accomplished the most important thing possible in Week 0. He made me want to watch more. The physical profile, composure, and potential opportunity at NDSU make him one of my early-season quarterback sleepers. I’m not saying he has the chance to become an early round draft pick, but he does have a chance to become a draftable prospect.  One worth taking on day-three and developing long term. For a prospect who was on few radars before Week 0, that’s stock up.

Jeremy Payne — RB, TCU

Coming into the season, Payne entered 2026 as one of the more intriguing backs in the class after finishing 2025 with several explosive performances. The question wasn’t whether he could produce, we’d already seen that. The question was whether he could become a true centerpiece of TCU’s offense and maintain his efficiency on a heavier workload.

Payne answered that question better than anyone else on TCU’s offense. Against North Carolina, he carried the ball 25 times for 142 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He was consistently the most reliable source of offense for the Horned Frogs, particularly after the passing game stalled. More on that in the stock down portion. TCU scored on its first two possessions, but was shut out for the remainder of the game losing to North Carolina 15-10.

This was exactly the type of performance I wanted to see from Payne. He showed he can carry a significant workload and still generate explosive plays even when the offense around him isn’t cooperating. His stock is up because my questions are beginning to shift from can he produce, to how high is his ceiling.

Jelani Thurman — TE, North Carolina

Enfering 2026, Thurman was one of the players I was going to monitor early and he instantly showed why. Formerly of Ohio State, Thurman was buried on the depth chart and didn’t get consistent targets. This prompted his transfer to North Carolina where his athleticism, YAC ability, and competitive blocking transferred with him.

Week 0 was a strong start with four receptions for 94 yards. More importantly, he put forward great effort as a blocker while also immediately became one of North Carolina’s biggest offensive weapons. Quickly he has become a trusted weapon for new quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., but he needs to continue to show he can become a consistent part of an offense throughout the rest of the season.

The production alone is encouraging, but the bigger takeaway is that Thurman looked like someone UNC can build a passing game around. That matters for his NFL evaluation. He’s moved from an intriguing developmental tight end to a legitimate 2027 prospect on my board and I’m going to continue to watch and see if this becomes the beginning of a breakout season.

Demeal Leigh — OT, Youngstown State

Entering 2026 Leigh was already one of my most intriguing under-the-radar offensive tackles in the FCS. The physical profile is impossible to ignore at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, but what makes him interesting is how quickly he has developed.

Leigh played only one season of high school football. Yet, he has nevertheless become a three-year starter, starting 38 consecutive games for Youngstown State. Last season, Leigh earned second-team All-MVFC and third-team All-American honors putting him on the map, even at a small school.

Leigh’s Week 0 opportunity wasn’t the traditional Power Four showcase, but he performed really well. With that being said, the goal remains the same. Can he continue turning his rare physical profile into consistent tackle play? He’s coming off a season in which he allowed only one sack on more than 420 pass-blocking snaps, while also posting the best run-blocking grade of his career. His combination of size, experience, developmental trajectory, and production makes him one of the most fascinating players at the FCS level. I’m actually rather surprised he didn’t transfer up to the FBS level this past spring. Nonetheless, we will get to see him against FBS level pass rushers in their next match up when Youngstown State takes on Kentucky Saturday on September 5.

Leigh is exactly the type of player this exercise is designed to identify. He isn’t going to be jumping rounds with each passing weekend and this doesn’t catapult him up my rankings. What it does do, however, is take a day-three prospect that I liked coming into the year and provide me more evidence that his production is sustainable. With sustained production across an entire season including FBS level talent, he could easily find himself in my day-two conversations when the draft rolls around.At least that’s where the trajectory points right now. Leigh is a stock up, and firmly on my 2027 watch list.

Melkart Abou Jaoude — EDGE, North Carolina

Melkart Abou Jaoude entered 2026 earning a lot of my intrigue. After his first two years at Delaware, he transferred to UNC last season and broke out finishing second in the ACC with 10.5 sacks. That was above Rueben Bain Jr. and trailing only Akheem Mesidor, both of which went in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft and were forces in Miami. He also finished with 12 tackles for loss in route to earning second-team All-ACC honors. In Week 0 Abou Jaoude picked up right where he left off.

The question entering this season was whether he could sustain that success with increased emphasis in pass protections and the early returns clearly indicate that he can. Abou Jaoude immediately made an impact against TCU finishing with four tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble as North Carolina’s defense completely took over the game. Abou Jaoude is a legitimate edge prospect in the class and is firmly in the late day-two, early day-three mix.

Stock Down

CJ Bailey — QB, NC State

Bailey entered 2026 with NFL intrigue, but some were more intrigued than others. The physical profile is excellent for the position, and he had already accumulated significant starting experience at NC State. This was supposed to be the year where the talent and production came together and Bailey established himself as one of the ACC’s better quarterbacks. The biggest question was whether he could become more consistent in his decision-making, improve his accuracy, and clean up his mechanics.

Unfortunately, Bailey had a disastrous opening game against Virginia. He completed just 12-of-23 passes for 84 yards with no touchdowns and an interception while also losing a fumble. NC State ultimately lost 34-8, and the offense repeatedly struggled to generate any rhythm. 

What is more concerning is what the tape revealed and that was a quarterback who, at this point, has seemingly made minimal progress. The accuracy was not on point, the mechanics were still elongated and erratic, and the turnovers were still occurring.

One bad game isn’t enough to erase three years of evaluation. However, what is concerning is that what we saw against Virginia was what we have come to see from Bailey. This game wasn’t the exception, it was the norm. The norm we were hoping to see re-written in 2026.

Ultimately, his stock takes a hit, but in my evaluation, I already had him outside the top-10 quarterbacks. I already had some belief that he may be a 2028 NFL draft prospect due to where he is in his development and this game reinforced that sentiment. From here, it’s time for Bailey to prove it. If he wants to be a part of the 2027 NFL draft, he is going to have to start re-writing the narrative and it starts this week in their next matchup against Richmond. The response over the next month will tell us far more than one ugly afternoon in Charlottesville.

Jaden Craig — QB, TCU

Entering the season, Craig was an interesting prospect. The Harvard transfer had produced at a high level in the FCS and earned the opportunity to take over TCU’s offense. The question was obvious: could his strengths translate against Power Four competition?

The first answer was a mixed result. Craig completed 20-of-32 passes for 175 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in TCU’s 15-10 loss to North Carolina. After TCU scored on its first two possessions, the offense completely stalled and failed to score again. Craig wasn’t solely responsible, but the run game was strong and Craig struggled to complement it with the passing game.

Craig is a stock Down for me because the exact question I had entering the season remains unanswered and Week 0 didn’t provide much evidence in Craig’s favor. His stock takes a hit, but the evaluation is absolutely not over. The next few games are going to be critical in determining whether Craig can prove that the Harvard production translates to the Big 12.

Week 0 Final Thoughts

The biggest lesson from Week 0 is that we shouldn’t overreact — but we should pay attention.

Maiava, Hayes, Payne, Thurman, Abou Jaoude and Leigh all gave us reasons to either raise their stock or increase our level of interest. Bailey and Craig, meanwhile, reinforced some of my concerns, but I will continue to monitor their growth. And that’s what Week 0 is supposed to do.

It doesn’t tell us who these players are. It tells us what we need to watch next. It adds a piece to the puzzle that is their prospect profile.