The meat of NFL season is over, and with the Week 18 schedule lighter on stakes outside of Lions-Vikings, the NFC South and AFC wild-card race, we’re going to turn our attention to college football to start the new year — particularly the College Football Playoff and how the remaining teams stand in terms of NFL draft talent. There’s no better place to start than Boise State, who may have the best overall player in the entire class.

Ashton Jeanty is a first-round running back, period

Do not bring the words “positional value” to the table when discussing Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty has been the most dominant offensive player in college football this year and would have won the Heisman Trophy if there hadn’t been a guy named Travis Hunter who won the Bednarik and Biletnikoff awards this year. Jeanty’s feats this season are simply incredible, and he is the reason why Boise State was able to grab a bye in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

In 13 games this season, Jeanty rushed for a whopping 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns! He’s just 131 yards away from tying Barry Sanders’ record for most rushing yards in a season (2,628 in 1988) and probably would have surpassed it if he didn’t miss a few second halves, due to score margin, at the start of the season. Level of competition be damned — if it was this easy to run for this many yards in the Mountain West, more players would have done it. There are no qualifiers for Jeanty’s season, even if Penn State shuts him down in the Fiesta Bowl. He’s a remarkable running back and simply one of the best players in the upcoming draft class.

There doesn’t really seem to be a glaring hole in Jeanty’s game that would prevent him from being a top player quickly in the NFL. He might not run a 4.2 40-yard dash, but he’s got plenty of breakaway speed considering he had a run of at least 50 yards in nine of the 13 games he’s played so far — with four of those games featuring runs of 70 or more yards. He rarely goes down on first contact, has incredible vision, top-tier short area quickness and the strength to drag defenders when he does get tackled. Even against Oregon, Jeanty rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on just 25 carries. It’s not like he’s just beating up on the guppies of college football.

Where Jeanty lands will be a fascinating discussion. In terms of pure talent that’s projectable to the NFL, and he has a very strong case to be considered the best overall player in the class. However, he’s a running back and no team is ever going to use the first pick on that position. There’s at least recent precedent, with Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs as top-12 picks, for Jeanty to go high, but it still will be interesting to see how he’s valued in what is perceived to be a weaker class at the top.

That will come later, but for now, it’s time to enjoy Jeanty in what may be his final collegiate game. Hopefully he can get the record, but he’ll be toting the rock for an NFL team for big bucks very soon.

Where QB play is lacking, trench play is not

This draft class has been ridiculed ad nauseam for its lack of quarterback talent. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, the top two quarterbacks for the upcoming draft, did not make it to the playoff. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, a mid-to-late-round prospect, hurt his elbow and will be missing the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl quarterfinal vs. Notre Dame.

That leaves little by the way of NFL prospects at quarterback in the playoff outside of Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard. That may be a bummer for some fans, but there is some serious trench talent on display for most of these teams still in the running for the national championship — that’s worth paying attention to for the upcoming NFL Draft.

Georgia vs Notre Dame

Matchup/players to watch: Georgia’s DL Nazir Stackhouse, EDGE/DL Mykel Williams and LB/EDGE Jalon Walker against the Notre Dame offensive line

Georgia features two likely top-20 picks on their defense in Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker, who will need to play lights out to defend against a really strong Notre Dame offensive line and running game. Notre Dame doesn’t have any star talent on the offensive line in the draft this year, but they’re a good group as always.

Texas vs Arizona State

Matchup/players to watch: Texas’ offensive line duo of Kelvin Banks and Cameron Williams

Kelvin Banks and Cameron Williams both have a chance to be selected in the first round of the draft. They’ve struggled at times against teams with big-time talent up front, but Arizona State doesn’t quite pose the same challenge as Georgia did.

Oregon vs Ohio State

Matchup/players to watch: Ohio State offensive line against Oregon defensive line

This trench matchup probably has the most future professionals going toe-to-toe with each other. Oregon has potential first-round pick Derrick Harmon and fellow defensive lineman Jordan Burch going against Ohio State’s front, led by Donovan Jackson. Ohio State loves to be able to run the dang ball with their two NFL running backs in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. The game very well might be won with this matchup. Oregon also has sophomore defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei, who projects as a top pick in 2026.

Penn State vs Boise State

Matchup/players to watch: Penn State’s Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant and Dvon J-Thomas against a historically great rushing attack

This is a fascinating one because Penn State has a clear talent advantage coming into this game in terms of their defensive line against the Boise State offensive line. However, Ashton Jeanty is good enough to cause headaches for the Penn State defense, so this group will need to be on their toes.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Riley Leonard is the top one playing

For whatever it’s worth, Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard is the top quarterback prospect playing in the College Football Playoff. He’s not the flashiest quarterback out there in terms of consistently dazzling throws, but he does do some things well that will get him drafted somewhat early come April. Someone has to be a winner when it comes to the lack of quarterback talent in this draft and Leonard might be the beneficiary.

This is not a slight, but Leonard is probably the quarterback that Josh McDaniels thought he was getting when he selected Tim Tebow with a first-round pick in 2010. Leonard is a strong, mobile quarterback who can run in between the tackles and carry a load in the running game. He’s also got a strong arm and enough accuracy to deliver the ball down field. He’s a good developmental dice roll, especially in this class.

His passing numbers against Georgia or other teams, if they win, likely won’t be eye-popping, but Leonard is just a solid football player who some teams might want to take the time to work with. There isn’t too much to say about his game just yet, so let’s move onto some more players that are also playing for NFL money in the CFP.

One under-the-radar-ish player to watch for each team

Georgia Bulldogs — CB Daylen Everette

Daylen Everette hasn’t had the cleanest career at Georgia, but he’s played his best ball as a senior and has become a reliable playmaker for the Bulldogs. Everette had his best games against Texas this year, totaling nine tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, a forced fumble and recovery and a tackle for loss in two games against the Longhorns. Georgia’s best defensive games tend to rely on how he plays, and he could see a big boost to his draft stock with another strong run in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish — DL Howard Cross III

For a team that’s considered one of the best in the nation, Notre Dame doesn’t have a ton of draft-eligible star talent, but defensive lineman Howard Cross has a chance to hear his name called. He’s not the flashiest or the biggest guy, but he does a ton of dirty work on the interior of the Fighting Irish defense.

Boise State Broncos — DB Seyi Oladipo

Boise State doesn’t have much by the way of NFL talent outside of Jeanty, but defensive back Seyi Oladipo is a player to watch. Oladipo has 6.5 sacks this season, has been a menace as a blitzer this season, and will need another disruptive game if the Broncos wish to upset Penn State.

Penn State Nittany Lions — EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton

Penn State’s front is going to be tough for any team they see the remainder of the way, and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is a big part of that. Dennis-Sutton was banged up for a few games this year, but still was able to be disruptive and notch 5.5 sacks to this point. He’s a bigger edge defender at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, but he’s got some impressive juice off the edge.

Oregon Ducks — DL Jordan Burch

Oregon has a bunch of dudes up front, but Jordan Burch is one of the players that makes them go. He plays more of a classic 3-4 defensive end position and is a load at the point of attack. He was able to nab 8.5 sacks while being a tough player against the run. He’ll be integral to Oregon’s national championship hopes.

Ohio State Buckeyes — EDGE Jack Sawyer

Sawyer is well-known for grabbing an interception this season against Michigan, but he’s been a steady force for the Buckeyes’ front seven. He’s got the chops as a pass rusher to potentially be a top-50 pick this year.

Arizona State Sun Devils — DB Shamari Simmons

Running back Cam Skattebo is the best player on this team, but one deep-cut draft prospect to pay attention to is Simmons, who did a bit of everything for Arizona State this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons had 175 coverage snaps out wide, 122 in the slot and 74 combined against tight ends and routes out of the backfield.

Texas Longhorns — S Andrew Mukuba

Mukuba has been a complete enforcer for Texas this season, and calling him an under-the-radar safety prospect may be a disservice to him. He’s a terror, inflicting damage across any poor skill player who happens to come in his direction. He’s also a talented player in coverage and will pop off the screen a few more times before Texas’ playoff run is over.