With Week 6 of the College Football season set to kick off, a headlining group of prospects has made their way to the forefront of evaluators' attention this weekend.
Which prospects are worth keeping a closer eye on?
Let's take a peek at a handful of 2026 NFL Draft prospects to watch this week, and who they'll face.
2026 NFL Draft: 5 prospects to watch in Week 7 of the College Football season
EDGE Zion Young, Missouri
Schedule: vs No. 8 Alabama
The 2026 draft cycle is already beginning to take shape, and Week 7 offers one of the most important stages yet for a pass rusher who has taken his game to a different level the last two weeks (17 pressures).
Young has all the physical tools that scouts covet — a powerful frame, explosive counters, and mainly, the ability to play all three downs right away. Now, it's continuing to showcase his immense performance ceiling against the best competition.
He’ll get that chance on Saturday afternoon against an always-loaded Alabama front five headlined by a potential Day 1 pick in OT Kadyn Proctor.
It’s the type of environment NFL teams look at with a fine microscope — a sack artist on the biggest stage, facing a top 10 opponent. For Young, a player who had early Day 2 grades from teams in the spring, Week 7 is his biggest opportunity yet.
EDGE Gabe Jacas, Illinois
Schedule: vs No. 1 Ohio State
What an opportunity Jacas has this weekend to force his name up draft boards.
All the attention remains centered on the visiting Buckeyes as the No. 1 team in the country, but if Jacas has his way, Ohio State QB Julian Sayin and company could find themselves chasing the sticks a little bit on Saturday.
For NFL evaluators, it's the kind of litmus test that separates an intriguing, “could be a mid-round guy” from a player teams draft and expect to produce quickly.
QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Schedule: @ No. 3 Oregon
Huge week for one of the premier signal-callers in the class.
While Mendoza has lit up the likes of Kennesaw State (four TDs), Indiana State (four TDs), and Illinois two weeks ago (five TDs), the Oregon Ducks are an entirely different type of ballclub led by HC Dan Lanning.
In a class searching for a signal-caller to take hold of the top rung in the pre-draft process, it's highly likely the winner of this ballgame between Mendoza and Ducks QB Dante Moore will sit atop the positional class for many teams post Week 7.
ED Anthony Lucas, USC
Schedule: vs No. 15 Michigan
After a quiet week last Saturday against Illinois, scouts have Week 7 circled for Lucas as a player with top 75 love for a long list of teams in football.
Through five games, he's amassed 15 pressures and two sacks, both of which came against Georgia Southern in Week 2. He failed to record one against the likes of Purdue, Michigan State, and Illinois over the last trio of weeks, leaving much to be desired in conversations with scouts.
A strong showing against a versatile Wolverines offense could do wonders for a draft stock currently on a downward trend.
Headliners on either side for Penn State
Schedule: vs Northwestern
What an absolute mess the Nittany Lions were last week against the then winless UCLA Bruins.
While there are many other names that could have slotted in here considering the loaded college football slate ahead this weekend, attention is squarely on the likes of Penn State's headlining draft prospects this week.
For QB Drew Allar, RBs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, iOL Vega Ioane, CB AJ Harris, DL Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant, to S Zakee Wheatley (among others), getting back on track remains priority No. 1 for one of the country's most talented rosters.
Talent is everywhere; that's understandable, but last week was completely inexcusable against a Bruins roster that had minimal signs of life the first month of the campaign, and the onus turns to the leaders within the walls in Happy Valley to right the ship.
Embarrassing Northwestern won't hold much weight; it's the expectation this week, but if the now unranked Penn State program eyes a trip to the CFP down the road, it'll start via the leaders in the locker room that could hear their names called early in the spring.