<\/p>\n by Keagan Stiefel 4 Min Read <\/p>\n
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#65 Carter Smith, OT, Indiana<\/p>\n
Carter Smith has held up against Ohio State\u2019s Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson, Alabama\u2019s YhonzaePierre, and Oregon\u2019s Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagaleilei.<\/p>\n
If he can do the same against Miami\u2019s vaunted duo, we\u2019re talking about the difference between being a second- or third-round pick.<\/p>\n
Pro Comp: Luke Goedeke (TB)
Best Fits: CLE, NE, ARI, LAR<\/p>\n
#3 Akheem Mesidor, DL, Miami<\/p>\n
Akheem Mesidor isn\u2019t your typical No. 2 \u2014 much like his buddy Rueben Bain Jr., he was one of the most dominant pass-rushers in all of college football in 2025.<\/p>\n
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Mesidor can play from all over the defensive line, and is equally as effective no matter where he lines up, carrying a 30% pass-rush win-rate throughout the CFP.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d draft that guy.<\/p>\n
Pro Comp: Dre\u2019Mont Jones (SEA)
Best Fits: ATL, CAR, CIN<\/p>\n
#6 Mikail Kamara, DL, Indiana<\/p>\n
Mikail Kamara is undersized, but there have been some serious flashes throughout his four seasons.<\/p>\n
Kamara flashed with 7.5 and 10.0 sacks, respectively, over the course of 2023 and 2024. It\u2019s been difficult for him to reach those same heights now that he\u2019s facing double teams on a regular basis, however, so let\u2019s see how he stacks up in what is expected to be his final collegiate game.<\/p>\n
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Pro Comp: Calija Kancy (TB)
Best Fits: IND, JAX, NO<\/p>\n
#0 Keionte Scott, CB, Miami<\/p>\n
Keionte Scott is part of the new age, where perhaps the most impactful defensive players can\u2019t be tied to one position or role.<\/p>\n
Jalen Pitre has been exactly that for the Houston Texans, serving as an extremely versatile piece in the secondary that contributed to six turnovers this season. Derwin James does the same thing for Los Angeles Chargers. Kyle Hamilton does it for the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n
Scott could be the next in line, and you will hear his name called consistently throughout the 2026 CFP National Championship Game.<\/p>\n
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Pro Comp: Jalen Pitre
Best Fits: BUF, LV, MIN, WAS<\/p>\n
#5 D\u2019Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana<\/p>\n
D\u2019Angelo Ponds is rather diminutive, but he plays much larger than his listed size (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) \u2014 drawing assignments that include the likes of Ohio State\u2019s Jeremiah Smith and Alabama\u2019s Germie Bernard.<\/p>\n
Ponds is a former track star \u2014 which allows him to stay in phase against anyone on the outside \u2014 and displays a physicality that makes him the one of the most difficult players to play against in all of college football.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s rare that someone so small can stick on the outside, but that will be the expectation as he makes the transition into the NFL.<\/p>\n
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Pro Comp: Upton Stout
Best Fits: MIA, GB, CIN<\/p>\n
#7 CJ Daniels, WR, Miami<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for someone to make a spectacular catch, keep your eyes on No. 7.<\/p>\n
CJ Daniels has bounced around from Liberty to LSU to Miami, where he has slowly built that reputation. The NFL has no problem taking chances on talent, so expect him to get a chance late in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
Pro Comp: Luke McCaffrey
Best Fits: NO, NYJ, SF<\/p>\n
Honorable Mention: #3 Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana; #78 Pat Coogan, OL, Indiana; #1 Roman Hemby, RB, Indiana; #8 Jakobe Thomas, WR, Miami; #11 Carson Beck, QB, Miami; #2 Damari Brown, CB, Miami<\/p>\n
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More Patriots:<\/p>\n
Patriots Rival Predicted To Hire Packers Coordinator As Head Coach <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 College Football Playoff concludes on Monday. It\u2019s time for perhaps our most improbable national championship yet,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[4955,1817,52319,117,331,332,4919,49533,3619,7,7779,26718,253,4725,8322,944,1029,2233,1506,262,7187,2972,51055,1304,6,15,61529,100293,410,32194,9738,16582],"class_list":{"0":"post-686835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-aidan-hutchinson","10":"tag-akheem-mesidor","11":"tag-baltimore-ravens","12":"tag-college-football","13":"tag-college-football-playoff","14":"tag-derwin-james","15":"tag-elijah-sarratt","16":"tag-fernando-mendoza","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-francis-mauigoa","19":"tag-germie-bernard","20":"tag-houston-texans","21":"tag-indiana-hoosiers","22":"tag-jalen-pitre","23":"tag-james-madison","24":"tag-jared-goff","25":"tag-jeremiah-smith","26":"tag-kyle-hamilton","27":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","28":"tag-luke-mccaffrey","29":"tag-miami-hurricanes","30":"tag-mikail-kamara","31":"tag-myles-garrett","32":"tag-nfl","33":"tag-nfl-draft","34":"tag-omar-cooper-jr","35":"tag-pro-comp","36":"tag-pro-football-focus","37":"tag-rueben-bain-jr","38":"tag-tyler-boyd","39":"tag-upton-stout"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a>Keys To Victory For Patriots, Texans In Divisional Round Matchup<\/p>\n