Ohio State pass-rusher Nick Bosa stays at No. 1 in my updated rankings for the 2019 NFL draft, but there's plenty of movement in the rest of the top 25. I have only one quarterback, but there are five new prospects overall, including two who jumped into the top 20. And eight of my top 10 prospects are defenders.
A few notes before I get started, same as always:
These aren't detailed scouting reports. I still have a lot of work to do on these prospects, and what they do from now until January matters a lot.
Height and weight are based on what we have from schools. We don't get official numbers until the 2019 NFL combine.
Note: One asterisk denotes the player is a junior, and two asterisks denote the player is a redshirt sophomore in 2018.
1. Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State*
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 263 pounds | Previously: 1
Bosa won't be back at Ohio State, as his core muscle injury will keep him out until December, and he decided to train for the draft instead of trying to return for a bowl game. It's the right decision. Think about it this way: Now Bosa's next injury will come after he's a multimillionaire, not before. I don't expect the injury or decision to affect his draft stock. He is an elite pass-rusher who is advanced for his age in his technique -- you can probably thank his brother, Joey, and dad, John, both former first-round picks. He'll finish his Buckeyes career with 17.5 sacks in two-plus seasons, most of which was in a loaded line rotation.
2. Ed Oliver, DT, Houston*
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 292 | Previously: 2
Oliver wrecked East Carolina two weeks ago with five tackles for loss. He was unblockable. On tape, Oliver is just relentless. He never quits. He's the best interior pass-rusher in this class, though he's not quite Aaron Donald. Those are the comps Oliver is going to get until April, but that's not fair to him at this point. He has room to grow in his technique. Oliver uses a quick first step to wreck plays before they can even begin -- he had 39 tackles for loss in his first two seasons.
3. Devin White, LB, LSU*
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 240 | Previously: 3
The Tigers are really going to miss White, who has to miss the first half of LSU's game vs. Alabama on Nov. 3 because of a targeting call last weekend. LSU is a 14-point underdog at home. White had 133 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and an interception during a spectacular breakout 2017 season. He has dominated this season, too, with 76 tackles, including seven for loss. I love his read-and-react ability, and when I went back and watched the 2017 LSU tape, he was all over the field. White is not a true pass-rusher, but he could play outside or inside linebacker at the next level. He has some versatility and is extremely athletic.
4. Andraez 'Greedy' Williams, CB, LSU**
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 184 | Previously: 4
Williams burst onto the scene in 2017, picking off six passes as a redshirt freshman and emerging as one of the best defensive backs in college football. He has two picks this season, and he gets a huge test soon with the talented Alabama pass-catching group. Williams has great ball skills and a long, lean frame, and he sticks to wide receivers. The third-year sophomore has top-five talent if he leaves school early.
5. Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon*
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 233 | Previously: 8
The good from Herbert's past two games: no interceptions. The bad: too many missed throws. He completed just 56.6 percent of his total passes in the win over Washington and the loss at Washington State. Herbert has arm talent and athleticism, but I'd like to see more consistency overall. He has 18 touchdown passes and five interceptions on the season. Herbert's decision-making was improved last season (he finished No. 12 in the FBS in Total QBR at 80.1, even after missing five games because of a broken collarbone), and he has gotten even better this season. He has the traits that teams love, and that's why he's my No. 1 quarterback in this class.
Florida State swats the ball from N'Kosi Perry and falls on it to set up great field position.
6. Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson*
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 265 | Previously: 5
I thought Ferrell could have been a first-round pick in the 2018 draft as a third-year sophomore. He's that good. He had 9.5 sacks last season and has six this season. He terrorized Texas A&M and Georgia Southern with two sacks apiece and multiple pressures. Clemson has one of the most talented defensive lines I've ever seen in college football, and Ferrell is the top prospect.
7. Rashan Gary, DT, Michigan*
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 283 | Previously: 9
Gary has a shoulder injury and has missed the past three games. There's some uncertainty about whether he'll return this season. He dominates when he's at his best; he just manhandles offensive linemen. The problem? Consistency. A defender this big and this talented should create more pressure and disruptions. The former No. 1 overall recruit disappears too often for my liking. If he enters the 2019 draft, I'm interested to see what teams think of his medical report.
8. Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama*
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 301 | Previously: 6
It's not easy to start for Nick Saban as a freshman, and that's exactly what Williams did when he lined up as the right tackle in Week 1 in 2016. Now he has started more than 30 games over the past three seasons, playing on the left side in 2017 and 2018. There's a chance he could move to guard in the NFL, but I like him as a tackle right now.
9. Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 185 | Previously: 10
Passers who went after Baker last season didn't have much luck. He broke up nine passes and had six interceptions. Even after losing Roquan Smith, there is still a ton of talent on the Georgia defense, and it starts with Baker, who has developed into an elite corner. Baker has two more picks and nine pass breakups this season.
10. Josh Allen, OLB, Kentucky
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 230 | Previously: 14
I pegged Allen before the season as a potential Day 2 pick, as he broke out in 2017 with seven sacks, 66 tackles and an interception. He has been underrated in this class, as I think he now has a chance at being a top-10 pick. Allen is disruptive, and he has the length that NFL teams love as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He is up to eight sacks this season, including a three-sack game against South Carolina.
11. Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State*
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 300 | Previously: 12
One thing that really impressed me in Saturday's loss to LSU was Simmons' hand usage. He knows how to disengage blockers and find the football. He had two touchdowns last season. In one game. He blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone, then took a fumble 90 yards to the house in the rout of Louisiana Tech. The big man can move. Simmons, a disruptive player on the interior who could play in a 4-3 or 3-4 front, also chipped in five sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2017. He has 9.5 tackles for loss this season. Simmons will have to answer to NFL teams about his 2016 arrest.
12. Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama**
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 194 | Previously: 13
Nick Saban and Alabama consistently produce NFL-ready defensive backs, and Thompson could be the next in line. After playing in the rotation most of the past two seasons, Thompson stepped in to start two games at the end of 2017. He didn't look out of place. So far in 2018, he has been spectacular, racking up 46 tackles and two interceptions. Thompson has great range and is a natural playmaker. The third-year sophomore has emerged as one of college football's best all-around defensive backs.
13. Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 241 | Previously: 7
I wrote a few weeks ago about why Sweat was moving up on my board. He has 19 sacks in 19 games since transferring to Mississippi State. Sweat's frame has room for more weight, so he could play outside linebacker in a 3-4 or defensive end in a 4-3. He showed last season that he's one of the best pass-rushers in college football, putting up 10.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. He has an outstanding takeoff at the snap and good pass-rushing moves.
14. Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama**
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 289 | Previously: NR
Williams flew under the radar before the season because he played limited snaps in the Crimson Tide's rotation in 2017, racking up 6.5 tackles for loss. But the third-year sophomore has popped on tape this season and outproduced Raekwon Davis (the next prospect on my list), with 8.5 tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries. Williams is the real deal, a nose guard with an impressive first step. Now, Williams hasn't played much football, so there's no guarantee he'll leave school early. But he's an interior pass-rusher to watch.
15. Raekwon Davis, DE, Alabama*
Height: 6-7 | Weight: 316 | Previously: 21
You might remember the massive Davis intercepting Georgia's Jake Fromm in the College Football Playoff national title game last season. He moves extremely well for his size. Davis is still developing pass-rushing moves, but he has the size and athleticism that NFL teams love. He had 8.5 sacks last season but has only a half-sack in 2018.
16. Devin Bush, LB, Michigan*
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 233 | Previously: NR
Bush is a playmaker and leader of the U-M defense. He lines up all over the field and makes a ton of plays, and he caught my eye early last season as a sophomore. He had 102 tackles, including 9.5 for loss, and an interception last season. He has 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2018. I scouted his dad, Devin Bush Sr., a first-round pick out of Florida State in 1995. He had a 41-inch vertical. His son could be a first-rounder in 2019.
17. Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss*
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 325 | Previously: 15
Little is a true left tackle. He won't have to move to the right side in the NFL. He's light on his feet and can get to the second level to take on linebackers, and he consistently overpowers SEC edge defenders at the point of attack.
18. Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn*
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 325 | Previously: 16
It's tough to miss Brown on the 2017 Auburn tape. He bullied offensive linemen during a breakout season in which he had nine tackles for loss and 56 total tackles. He's still raw and still developing pass-rushing moves, but the size and athleticism are there to be a top-10 pick. He has 6.5 tackles for loss this season, including a dominant performance against Tennessee earlier this month.
19. Brian Burns, OLB/DE, Florida State*
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 235 | Previously: 19
Burns can bend the edge as well as any pass-rusher in this class, and he's starting to put it all together with 5.5 sacks over his past three games and nine for the season. He has a lean frame, but he's quick off the ball and can use his speed to get to quarterbacks before offensive tackles have a chance to move. Burns had 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season, after 9.5 sacks as a freshman in 2016. He needs more time in the weight room, but he could grow into a 4-3 end in time. There's a chance he rises even higher after the combine.
20. Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson*
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 340 | Previously: 11
As I wrote in my way-too-early Big Board, big-bodied guys who move like Lawrence and can eat gaps don't last long in the draft. And Lawrence has shown that he is more than a plugger -- he had nine sacks in his first two seasons. Turn on the tape, and you'll see Lawrence take on blockers and throw them aside. He hasn't made a huge impact this season, however, as he has only 16 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in six games.
21. Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame*
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 193 | Previously: 17
As I wrote in my look at underrated prospects, Love could be a No. 1 corner at the next level. He just keeps improving. He has 12 pass breakups and an interception this season and is developing into a shutdown corner. He had three picks in 2017, when he started every game as a sophomore.
22. Byron Murphy, CB, Washington**
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 182 | Previously: NR
After redshirting in 2016, Murphy snagged two picks in his first college game, a road win at Rutgers. He's a natural playmaker with easy speed. Murphy missed seven games in 2017 because of a broken foot, but he has played well since, though he doesn't have a pick this season. He does have 11 pass breakups and three tackles for loss. The third-year sophomore isn't as big as former Huskies corner Marcus Peters, but he makes that kind of impact. Quarterbacks don't have any success throwing at him.
23. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma*
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 168 | Previously: 22
I wrote about Brown as a riser last month -- he's a big-play threat on every route. He has game-changing speed and is dynamic after the catch. Since the start of the 2017 season, he has 16 catches of 40-plus yards. Brown can play in the slot or outside, creating easy separation with that speed. And he's not one-dimensional; he runs every route that NFL teams want to see. The question is size -- at 5-9, he doesn't look like a No. 1 wide receiver. But the NFL is changing: Speed is everything. He can be a deep threat at the next level, in the mold of John Ross, who has started to flash his talent in Year 2. Brown should be in the discussion for Round 1, especially after he works out at the combine.
24. Noah Fant, TE, Iowa*
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 241 | Previously: NR
No tight end has emerged as the guy in the 2019 class. I'm betting on Fant's future, as I've been told he's going to test off the charts at the combine. Fant is the Hawkeyes' best receiving threat, and he has 56 catches and 17 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He has a big catch radius that NFL teams will covet, and he is going to be a matchup problem at the next level.
25. Elgton Jenkins, C, Mississippi State
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 310 | Previously: NR
Jenkins has started at both tackle spots and left guard for the Bulldogs, but he settled in at center last season and hasn't missed a start since. The fifth-year senior's grade is going to be right up there with Frank Ragnow and Billy Price, who were taken in the first round last year. With a 6-4 frame, he also could move to guard in the NFL.