During the college football season each year, as long as you're watching the games, we point out five players each week to keep an eye on who make logical sense for the Philadelphia Eagles in the following year's NFL Draft.
Gabe Jacas (17), EDGE, Illinois (6'3, 270): (22) Illinois at Purdue, 12:00 p.m.
Jacas has been an increasingly productive edge defender for Illinois, with 4 sacks each of his freshman and sophomore years, 8 as a junior, and 4 so far in 5 games as a senior. He has speed, power, instincts, and versatility, all of which he showed off in a monster game against Michigan last season, when he had 13 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble:
Instant draft crush for me.
Joe Royer (11), TE, Cincinnati (6'5, 255): (14) Iowa State at Cincinnati, 12:00 p.m.
After transferring from Ohio State to Cincinnati in 2024, Royer had 50 receptions for 521 yards and 3 TDs. In 4 games so far in 2025, he has 10 receptions for 162 yards and 2 TDs.
He has great hands and is a smooth athlete who can get vertical down the seam and gobble up yards after the catch. A 2024 highlight reel:
On the downside, he needs work as a blocker, which will turn off some Eagles fans who have tired of watching Grant Calcaterra get blown up. Still, the Eagles have an obvious need at tight end, and being able to make plays in the passing game is the more important trait.
Kadyn Proctor (74), OT, Alabama (6'7, 366): (16) Vanderbilt at (10) Alabama, 3:30 p.m.
Proctor is a mammoth offensive tackle, but he is also a pretty ridiculous athlete for a man his size. He came in at No. 2 on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" list this summer.
The 6-7, 366-pound Proctor’s body has 274 pounds of lean muscle mass with 26 percent body fat. His strength numbers are awesome. This summer, he squatted 815 pounds, benched 535 and power cleaned 405.
Honestly, I was even more blown away when I found out he vertical jumped 32 inches and broad jumped 9-3. He’s 366 pounds! That 32-inch vertical is as much or more than five of the wideouts who were at this year’s combine. It’s the same as Colorado’s LaJohntay Wester, and he weighed 203 pounds less.
In his first season at Alabama, Proctor started at left tackle and was selected to the All-SEC Freshman Team by the conference coaches. He had his highest-graded performance of the season against Georgia and its top-ranked defense. Last year against Georgia, Proctor earned a 90 percent grade with five knockdown blocks as the Tide didn’t allow a sack all night, per Pro Football Focus. Against South Carolina’s ferocious D-line, Proctor did not allow a sack, pressure or quarterback hit in 63 snaps and posted five knockdowns.
Proctor has started at LT since 2023. He would be a great candidate to be an eventual Lane Johnson replacement at RT, assuming he could flip to that side of the line. His size and athleticism traits remind me a bit of Mekhi Becton coming out of college. Becton's career at OT likely would have been more fruitful if he had gotten to work with Jeff Stoutland from Day 1. But what Becton's career arc shows is that if all does not go well at tackle, guys with his size and ability can move inside and have something of a floor as a guard.
Cut-up of some blocks here:
Also, Alabama threw a bubble screen to him last Saturday:
He actually looked pretty good as a ball carrier!
Jeff Stoutland has said numerous times over the years that he likes offensive linemen who have some kind of "wow" trait, and certainly Proctor does.
Makai Lemon, WR, USC (5'11, 195): (20) Michigan at USC, 7:30 p.m.
Through USC's first five games, Lemon has 35 catches for 589 yards (16.8 YPC) and 5 TDs. His 589 receiving yards lead the nation.
He has inside-outside versatility, though he's deadlier from the slot, in my opinion. He's a good route runner, has good hands, and he's a menace with the ball in his hands after the catch. Lemon has drawn some comparisons to USC alum Amon-Ra St. Brown, and you can see why below (via @BIG10SC):
The Eagles' receiver situation is interesting at the moment, with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith likely frustrated with their usage in the current offense. So we'll see how that plays out. But even if the Eagles get their passing game fixed; and both Brown and Smith have good seasons, I wouldn't rule out the Eagles using a first-round pick on a receiver.
Hezekiah Masses (5), CB, California (6'1, 185): Duke at California, 10:30 p.m.
Masses transferred from FIU this year, and he is having an incredible start to his senior season at Cal, as he is leading the nation with 4 INTs and 7 pass breakups in 5 games.
He also had a 100-yard pick-six called back on a penalty.
Masses has good size and he get his hands on a lot of footballs. That's a good start.
Also, it's funny to me that Cal is in the ACC.
MORE: Week 5 non-Eagles rooting guide
Previously profiled players
• August 23
Dylan Edwards, RB/SWR/KR/PR, Kansas State
Daniel Hishaw, RB, Kansas
Dontay Corleone, iDL, Cincinnati
D.J. McKinney, CB, Colorado
Keldric Faulk, DL, Auburn
• August 30
Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
Ethan Onianwa, OT, Ohio State
Darrell Jackson, DT, Florida State
Nic Anderson, WR, LSU
T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson
• September 6
Chandler Rivers, CB, Duke
Gennings Dunker, OL, Iowa
Matayo Uiagalelei, EDGE, Oregon
Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
• September 13
Anto Saka, EDGE, Northwestern
Isaiah World, OT, Oregon
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia
Caleb Banks, iDL, Florida
• September 20
Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
Lee Hunter, iDL, Texas Tech
Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
Rueben Bain, DL, Miami
Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana
• September 27
Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
Harold Perkins, EDGE/LB, LSU
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
Max Klare, TE, Ohio State
Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State