2025 NFL Draft: Biggest Winners and Losers from CFP Playoffs

The repercussions felt through the FCS’ first-ever 12-game College Football Playoff will reverberate up to the NFL. While viewers had the pleasure of watching more games that matter. NFL evaluators had more opportunities to evaluate draft prospects.

A bad performance in the College Football Playoff won’t automatically cause a prospect’s draft stock to plummet. However, players deciding whether to return to school or declare for the draft affect the makeup of that year’s class.

NFL teams must be patient and adjust their big boards based on who becomes available. Coming out of this year’s extended playoff, the following prospects and squads either benefited or were hurt by how the event played out.

No one looked more like a star than Penn State edge-rusher Abdul Carter during his College Football Playoff appearances.

Carter, who transitioned into a full-time edge defender this fall, really started to figure everything out late in the season. He always had the physical tools to be a dominant edge, but his performance rose a few notches after Thanksgiving. He racked up four sacks in Penn State’s final five games while providing consistent pressure.

In the Nittany Lions’ loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals, Carter was everywhere. He finished with a sack, seven pressures, a 22 percent pressure rate and three run stops, according to Pro Football Focus.

As the season progressed, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year went from a prospect with limitless (albeit raw) upside to potentially being a top-three pick in April’s draft. Carter could realistically be the first defender off the board, even before Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

If the Tennessee Titans take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, the Cleveland Browns will have a major decision to make at No. 2. Deshaun Watson likely won’t play another snap for them, although he’ll be under contract for another year or two. Cleveland could use that pick on a quarterback or look toward a veteran option to avoid a perceived rebuild.

If the Browns take the latter path, they could put opposing quarterbacks in some level of Dante’s Inferno by pairing Carter with Myles Garrett.

Quinn Ewers made the decision to enter the 2025 NFL draft despite coming up short in the biggest games of his collegiate career.

Ewers’ return to Texas after he originally committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes helped re-establish the Longhorns as a national power. However, he never proved to be a consistent or top-level quarterback compared to his peers.

During last year’s CFP semifinal, Ewers led what could have been the game-winning drive. Instead, he finished the contest with three incomplete passes from inside the Washington Huskies’ 15-yard line.

In this year’s CFP semifinal, the 21-year-old committed two turnovers, including the game-securing fumble that turned into a scoop-and-score by Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, once again inside the opponent’s red zone.

Ewers’ nonexistent pocket presence and streaks of poor play when the games mattered most will be major knocks on him entering the 2025 NFL draft. He could have been the class’ QB3 and a potential first-round draft pick, but he’s now more likely a Day 2 project that a team hopes it can develop over time.

Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo talked the talk, then walked the walk and even ran over a few people along the way to make sure his message was completely understood.

Skattebo may not have been the “the best running back in the country“—that title belonged to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty—but the first-team All-Big 12 selection more than proved he’s a difference-maker.

During the Sun Devils’ last four games, Skattebo carried the ball 95 times for 637 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 5’11”, 215-pound ball carrier basically kept the Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl against Texas with 30 carries for 143 yards and two scores. He also led his squad with eight receptions for 99 yards and even threw a 42-yard touchdown.

Skattebo was named the game’s offensive MVP despite being on the wrong end of an overtime loss.

Skattebo’s Herculean effort against Texas didn’t just establish him as a name to know in this year’s loaded draft class. He’s someone to watch as one of the position group’s top options.

The likes of Jeanty, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton and Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson still lead the pack. All three could be in first-round consideration. But Skattebo brings something completely different to a backfield because of his physicality and versatility. He will likely be a Day 2 selection who turns into a feature back sooner than later.

Drew Allar’s return to campus for another season didn’t come as a surprise. After all, the Penn State quarterback announced that he planned to do so before the CFP even began.

However, Allar had the opportunity to do something special during those postseason contests. Had he done so, he could have decided to reverse course and join a quarterback class that desperately needs a strong third option.

Only two quarterback prospects in this year’s class—Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders—deserve to be first-round picks. Both are expected to come off the board within the top five.

Considering how Allar played up until the Nittany Lions’ loss to Notre Dame, he looked like a rock-solid third option with top-10 potential. However, the underclassman needed a good showing to end his season. He didn’t have one.

Allar completed only 52.2 percent of his passes against the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl. Penn State still had an opportunity to tie or win the game late in the fourth quarter despite those struggles, but Allar threw an interception that led to Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal.

Allar made his decision, and it turned out to be the correct one. However, the 2025 class sure could have used a boost to what looks like a weak crop of signal-callers.

Texas’ Matthew Golden developed into a bona fide top target throughout the 2024 campaign. He showed why during the College Football Playoff, particularly in the Peach Bowl against Arizona State.

Golden transferred to the Longhorns after spending two seasons with the Houston Cougars. At Houston, he never managed more than 38 receptions or 584 yards in a single season. However, he emerged as Texas’ WR1 during his lone season in Austin.

Golden led the team this year with 987 receiving yards and nine touchdown grabs. His best performance came in the postseason, when he snagged seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in the Longhorns’ double-overtime victory over the Sun Devils.

The early entrant to the 2025 draft isn’t the biggest or most physical target, but Golden plays much bigger than his listed size (6’0″, 195 lbs). He has more than enough burst and long speed to stack cornerbacks on deep routes. He displays excellent body control and strong hands. Golden often makes difficult catches look much easier than they are.

As the season opened, the junior prospect was a middle-round option. He now looks like a top-20 target after emerging as a well-rounded and dangerous threat this year.

Injuries happen. The timing of a specific injury can be critical, though.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills had been piecing together the best season of his collegiate career until he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from playing in the majority of the CFP.

The 6’5″, 295-pound graduate student posted a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He became a force in the middle of Notre Dame’s defense, providing power at the point of attack, length to win matchups against interior blockers and enough upfield ability to disrupt opposing offenses.

Unfortunately, Mills left in the second half of Notre Dame’s opening-round CFP contest against Indiana before the team announced he was done for the season. The defensive tackle was seen on crutches during the rest of the Fighting Irish’s postseason run.

The Indianapolis Colts know they need a quality tight end to help Anthony Richardson’s development as a passer.

“Our inability to control the middle of the field,” Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters when asked about the need for a viable tight end, “which we’ve gotta be able to do, I’ve got to be able to give [head coach] Shane [Steichen] and them a guy that can really control the middle of the field, that teams have to account for and defend.”

The Colts own this year’s 14th overall pick. They’re in the perfect spot to take the class’ top tight end prospect since the position isn’t viewed as a premium target. However, that’s dependent on the available talent.

Penn State’s Tyler Warren continued to show why he’s such a dangerous weapon during the College Football Playoff. In the Nittany Lions’ final two contests, the tight end caught 12 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

The reigning John Mackey Award winner was the real threat in Penn State’s offense. Warren’s 104 receptions set the single-season Big Ten record by a tight end. His 1,233 receiving yards reset the standard for the program at his position.

Warren to the Colts should be the easiest projection for the entire first round.

The Las Vegas Raiders have to be nervous about where they stand in this year’s draft order. Recent outcomes haven’t helped to strengthen their position.

A year ago, the Raiders owned the 13th overall pick. They stood pat as a record six quarterback prospects flew off the board in the first 12 picks. They couldn’t do anything but watch since they didn’t find a way to trade up and select their signal-caller of the future.

Granted, the Raiders ended up with Brock Bowers, who turned out to be a record-setting All-Pro tight end in his rookie season. But the quarterback position will always trump a tight end, even one as good as Bowers.

Las Vegas can’t go another draft cycle without selecting a quarterback who’s viewed as the new face of the franchise. However, the Raiders own the sixth overall pick, which is problematic based on two factors.

First, only two quarterbacks are viewed as legitimate first-round talents. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward aren’t expected to make it outside of the top five since quarterback-needy teams like the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants sit ahead of the Raiders.

Quinn Ewers’ poor play during the College Football Playoff and Drew Allar’s decision to return for another collegiate season didn’t help the Raiders’ cause, either.

Second, the possibility of a trade-up provides other teams with leverage. Maybe the Browns aren’t interested in the quarterback who falls to them. Perhaps they could leverage the Raiders’ desperation to land a windfall of picks instead.

Outside of Sanders and his family making a power play to force him to his destination of choice, the Raiders aren’t positioned well to address the game’s most important position.

Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins saved his best for last.

As his first season with the Buckeyes progressed, Judkins wasn’t the same lead back that he was during his two seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels, where he carried the ball 545 times for 2,725 yards and 31 touchdowns. Instead, the two-time first-team All-SEC honoree chose to transfer and join a backfield that already featured TreVeyon Henderson.

Judkins ended up leading the team in carries, but Henderson had more yards entering Monday’s contest against Notre Dame. That status changed by the end of the National Championship Game, though.

The junior ball-carrier led the way with 11 carries for 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns while also contributing two catches for 21 yards and another score. He put the complete package on display against the Fighting Irish.

The 21-year-old is a physical runner who can get tough yards by playing through attempted tackles.

He also has the ability to break a big play at a moment’s notice, as evidenced by his 70-yard scamper in the third quarter of Ohio State’s 34-23 victory.

If Judkins chooses to declare for the draft, the performance served as a reminder that he’s one of the reasons why this year’s running back class is so special. Although he isn’t among the top-ranked tailbacks in this year’s class, he does project to be a future feature back for some NFL team.