Now that we’re four weeks into the college football season, we can talk about some draft trends starting to develop. Overreacting after the first week or two of games is fun, but ultimately not very informative. Prospects aren’t defined by one or two games, good or bad, and truthfully with so many of the top teams facing weak early schedules, there just hasn’t been that much to take away.

But now we’re a third of the way through the regular season and it’s time to start paying attention. Who’s standing out and who’s slipping relative to the group? With the bulk of the season still to go, it’s entirely possible for these early stars to fade or those disappointing studs to bounce back in a big way.

Still, it’s important to pay attention along the way. As a scout, it helps me keep a proper picture of the season trajectory for these prospects, which can be useful in final evaluations. And for the fans out there, it’s always nice to stay informed.

Without further ado, here are some of the 2027 draft risers and fallers through four weeks of college football:

Faller: South Carolina ED Dylan Stewart

I usually prefer to start out positive in these pieces, but we have to talk about Stewart. A consensus top-10 prospect entering the season and the No. 3 overall player on my summer big board, Stewart missed the first two games of the season as he worked his way back from a back injury. In Week 3, Stewart played just 14 snaps in his first game action of 2026 but was incredibly disruptive in those snaps, impacting the game at a high level and looking like a contender to be the first defensive player taken in the draft.

Against Alabama in Week 4, however, it was a different story. Stewart grew frustrated as the Crimson Tide began pulling away and argued with coaches, refused to sub out multiple times, and eventually punched an Alabama player as tensions escalated. After the game, Gamecocks HC Shane Beamer announced that Stewart is suspended indefinitely by the team, and it would be a major surprise if he ever suited up again for South Carolina.

That puts his draft stock in a bit of flux. While I (and many other scouts) viewed him as a potential blue-chip prospect, he doesn’t have years of high-level production to fall back on. The traits are all there and he is a good college player, but not the overwhelming force that can overcome this level of off-field concern.

Stewart is faced with two potential paths. If he decides to return to college for his senior season, he would be the most coveted (and expensive) player in the transfer portal. There will be no shortage of programs willing to overlook his transgressions because of his talent, and with a strong closing season, he could easily work his way back into top-five consideration. On the other hand, Stewart could declare for the draft at the conclusion of the 2026 season as originally planned. Short of bombing pre-draft interviews, he would still be a first-round pick off his talent alone, even if the top 10 would be considered a long shot.

It’s unclear what Stewart will decide to do, and it’s been less than a week since all this happened. He probably doesn’t yet know himself. Either way, he won’t be discussed in the same light in the 2027 class anymore.

Riser: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss

With the possible exception of Miami’s Darian Mensah, there hasn’t been a better quarterback in college football through four weeks than Chambliss. A former Division II star at Ferris State, he picked up right where he left off in last year’s College Football Playoff run, compiling 1,222 passing yards and 12 total touchdowns so far while completing 70.8 percent of his passes. Chambliss is on pace for some silly numbers by season’s end and is the clear Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

I was skeptical of Chambliss’ NFL upside when I was evaluating him in last year’s class, but it’s becoming impossible to ignore what he’s doing on the field right now. Smaller, older quarterbacks don’t have a great track record in the league — Chambliss will be lucky to measure 6-0 at the Combine and will be 25 when his rookie season kicks off — but he plays a fun, effective brand of football that’s easy to get behind.

Unlike many other quarterbacks of his archetype, Chambliss is comfortable winning from the pocket and attacking over the middle of the field. He has a strong arm even by NFL standards and throws receivers open rather than needing to see passes before attempting them. With all that in mind, maybe it’s time to start considering him a real first-round option for quarterback-needy teams.

Riser: Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker

Mestemaker is firmly in contention to be the first quarterback taken in the 2027 draft. His rise is pretty spectacular: a backup high school quarterback who mostly played punter, walked on at North Texas in 2024 and took a redshirt year before becoming one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the country in 2025.

Now Mestemaker is at Oklahoma State, and there were questions surrounding how he’d adjust to the jump in competition. He struggled some in Week 1 against Tulsa, but since then he’s been lights out. Mestemaker has a rocket arm and prototypical NFL size, so scouts already love him. His deep ball is pretty and he can hit precise spots 50 yards away off his back foot with a defender in his lap.

Those traits will get him far, as will his willingness to push the ball downfield and attack tight windows. Mestemaker hasn’t ever seen a throw he doesn’t want to take, for better or worse. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit, make something happen on the move and scramble as needed. Even though he has a long way to go developmentally (learning to read defenses, tightening up his decision-making, becoming more accurate down-to-down), his upside is tremendous and his tape is already good.

Faller: Texas WR Cam Coleman

Arguably the most hyped transfer this summer was Coleman, coming over from Auburn to a Texas team that needed a top receiving threat. His numbers at Auburn didn’t jump off the page, but he was nonetheless productive and his film was eye-catching. Coleman’s combination of size, speed, and agility is rare and it gives him the sort of upside that goes in the top 10. With better quarterback play, Coleman was projected by many as a strong breakout candidate entering the season.

So far in 2026, however, Coleman is largely the same player he was at Auburn. By that, I mean he hasn’t taken the leap in production many expected. He has just 12 catches for 208 yards through four games, though four of those receptions went for touchdowns. His physicality is evident on every rep and his potency as a downfield playmaker or a red zone threat was never in question. Still, something just seems off.

I was lower on Coleman this summer, and this is pretty much why. His route running is inconsistent at best and his hands are more unreliable than you’d like. The Longhorns haven’t exactly had ideal quarterback play this season, but there’s only so long you can go on making that excuse. Coleman’s traits and highlights will continue to get him first-round consideration even if the tape and production don’t quite back that up, but he’s at risk of being passed up in a crowded wide receiver class.

Riser: California S Kingston Lopa

A massive 6-5, 210-pound Oregon transfer, Lopa wasn’t on anyone’s draft radar entering the season. He’s just a redshirt sophomore and never started a game for the Ducks, but it’s impossible not to notice what he’s doing with the Golden Bears. Through four games, Lopa has 27 tackles and a monster five interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.

Lopa isn’t all flashy stats and hype, either. Whenever someone has abnormally high interception rates, it’s easy to be skeptical, as those are often buoyed by tipped passes, bad throws, etc. But Lopa has real coverage instincts, and he’s a ballhawk. When he plays in deeper zones, he plays with active eyes and baits quarterbacks into throws he can get to. Like with all risk-takers, sometimes he misses, but he pays off those plays far, far more often. When the ball is in the air, he goes after it like he was shot out of a cannon, and his skills at the catch point are impressive for a young defensive back.

I’m not all the way in on the Lopa hype train, at least not in the first-round range he’s getting some projections in. His work in man coverage is much more iffy, due in large part to his taller frame. That makes it harder for him to cut and turn as quickly as smaller players, and he yields some separation one-on-one. Also a consequence of his frame, Lopa tackles high, which leads to him falling off too many tackles. For such a young player, though, he can work on these things and improve. Right now, I’d grade him as an intriguing Day 2 option.

Faller: Oklahoma DT David Stone

It’s been a rough year for Stone in Oklahoma. He largely played behind Gracen Halton last year but flashed serious upside as an interior pass rusher, so with Halton off to the NFL, it was supposed to be Stone’s time to shine. I had him as a projected first-round pick coming out of summer and even I was a bit lower than consensus on him. His hype was through the roof.

You could easily argue there hasn’t been a more disappointing prospect through the first third of the college football season. Billed as a top-flight pass rusher at defensive tackle, Stone has just three total pressures in four games, one of which was unblocked. His 4.3-percent pass rush win rate is abysmal, and while he’s been a decent enough run defender, he isn’t excelling enough in that department to make up for the liability he currently is as a pass rusher.

All hope is not lost for Stone, however. He has seven run stops on the season and is grading out as essentially a neutral player in run defense. That’s far from good given his pedigree, but it is better than many assumed he’d be given the tape last year. If his pass rushing comes around, it’s good to know you can still play him on run downs. But he has a long way to go before he gets there.

Riser: Alabama ED Devan Thompkins

Thompkins has a really unique profile. A 6-5, 300-pound defensive lineman and USC transfer, Thompkins primarily played on the interior with the Trojans. The Crimson Tide, however, are lining him up everywhere — even as a stand-up outside rusher. And it’s paying off, as he has a 12.4-percent pass rush win rate and 14 total pressures. His three sacks in four games match his total from his entire final season with USC.

Thompkins will move to the interior in some capacity in the NFL. He reminds me somewhat of Adetomiwa Adebawore, the jumbo edge rusher from Northwestern the Colts moved to defensive tackle when they drafted him. Thompkins isn’t the crazy level of athlete Adebawore was coming out, but he is stronger, and I think his best fit will be as a defensive end in an odd-front scheme.

Against the run, Thompkins displays people-moving power, and the quickness in his pass rush makes him hard to stop. We’ve seen a few of these types of prospects come through in recent years, and most don’t work out. It’s tough to be a tweener in the NFL. But there’s a reason they keep getting drafted so highly: when they hit, they change everything your defense can do. Thompkins is that kind of guy.

Quick-Hitters:

• Michigan ED Dom Nichols: A true junior, Nichols is a really fun watch. He’s a bendy 6-5, 245-pound edge rusher who punishes teams that try to run at him. It’s the pass-rushing skills that are most impressive, though, and while the 50-percent pressure-to-sack rate obviously won’t hold up, his speed off the edge and finishing ability make for a deadly combo.
• Virginia Tech TE Luke Reynolds: The most productive tight end in college football right now, the Hokies are funneling their passing offense through Reynolds. He’s a beast in the trenches as a blocker and dynamic as a pass-catching weapon. Every-down, multi-role tight ends of Reynolds’ caliber rarely make it out of the first round.

• Purdue RB Fame Ijeboi: The Boilermakers aren’t exactly appointment viewing right now, so you probably haven’t heard of Ijeboi. But he’s one of PFF’s highest-graded running backs and has a strong 0.4 missed tackles forced per attempt. Purdue’s offensive line is so bad that Ijeboi is averaging more than 75 percent of his yards after contact, yet he has 367 total yards and six touchdowns. The strength and tackle avoidance he plays with are NFL-caliber.

• Ohio State S Jaylin McClain: McClain really shouldn’t be overlooked in this safety class. His coverage instincts are impressive and he has as many forced incompletions as receptions allowed. He can play in single-high or two-deep schemes and has yet to miss a tackle this season.

• Wake Forest WR Carlos Hernandez: One of the ACC’s most electric offensive weapons, Hernandez is having a monster breakout year. In just four games, he has 30 receptions for 516 yards and three touchdowns, averaging over 17 yards per reception and over 10 yards after the catch per reception. His deep speed threatens defenses vertically on every snap and he can make magic happen with the ball in his hands.

• Texas OT Melvin Siani: While Texas LT Trevor Goosby is maintaining his trajectory as a potential top-10 pick, his running mate on the other side, Siani, is proving himself a worthy prospect in his own right. A transfer from Wake Forest, Siani is an excellent pass protector, winning with his size, length and footwork. He could be better as a run blocker, but pass blocking is at a premium in the NFL.
• UCLA RB Wayne Knight:  A true bowling ball of a back at 5-7, 193 pounds, Knight is a transfer from James Madison and one of the most productive running backs in college football. He’s averaging a monster 8.8 yards per carry and 0.32 missed tackles forced per attempt. Nearly half his carries have gone for first downs and his natural pad level and contact balance make him tough to tackle.