It isn’t about how you start, it is about how you develop along the way. For some players, it wasn’t as hard of a road.
On Thursday night, 31 college football players achieved the first part of their childhood dreams. Some of those players, they were among the best coming out of high school. For others, they had to work hard and develop at their Power Five program.
The No. 1 overall pick was among the best right out of high school. Bryce Young was a five-star prospect and the No. 2 overall player of his class before signing with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Devon Witherspoon on the other hand didn’t even receive a ranking yet he became the No. 5 overall selection.
The other outlier of the top 10 was Tyree Wilson. He was a three-star prospect in his class and the No. 471 ranked overall player when he joined Texas A&M. Wilson transferred to Texas Tech and climbed the boards. Other outliers include Lukas Van Ness, who ranked as a low three-star and the No. 1063 player of his class.
Overall, we saw 11 five-star prospects get drafted in the first round. Two were the No. 1 overall prospects, who were drafted back-to-back. Of the remaining 20 selections, 10 were four-star prospects leaving 10 that were three-star or unrated.
Rankings courtesy of 247Sports composite
| Pick | Player | College | Stars | Overall | Position |
| 1 | Bryce Young | Alabama | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | C.J. Stroud | Ohio State | 4 | 42 | 2 |
| 3 | Will Anderson | Alabama | 5 | 17 | 1 |
| 4 | Anthony Richardson | Florida | 4 | 204 | 9 |
| 5 | Devon Witherspoon | Illinois | – | – | – |
| 6 | Paris Johnson Jr | Ohio State | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | Tyree Wilson | Texas Tech | 3 | 471 | 23 |
| 8 | Bijan Robinson | Texas | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 9 | Jalen Carter | Georgia | 5 | 18 | 4 |
| 10 | Darnell Wright | Tennessee | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 11 | Peter Skoronski | Northwestern | 4 | 113 | 3 |
| 12 | Jahmyr Gibbs | Alabama | 4 | 76 | 8 |
| 13 | Lukas Van Ness | Iowa | 3 | 1063 | 52 |
| 14 | Broderick Jones | Georgia | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 15 | Will McDonald IV | Iowa State | 3 | 787 | 47 |
| 16 | Emmanuel Forbes | Mississippi State | 4 | 186 | 13 |
| 17 | Christian Gonzalez | Oregon | 4 | 326 | 31 |
| 18 | Jack Campbell | Iowa | 3 | 662 | 44 |
| 19 | Calijah Kancey | Pittsburgh | 3 | 837 | 64 |
| 20 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Ohio State | 5 | 29 | 5 |
| 21 | Quentin Johnston | Texas Christian | 4 | 71 | 14 |
| 22 | Zay Flowers | Boston College | 3 | 1188 | 135 |
| 23 | Jordan Addison | Southern California | 4 | 275 | 10 |
| 24 | Deonte Banks | Maryland | 3 | 854 | 76 |
| 25 | Dalton Kincaid | Utah | – | – | – |
| 26 | Mazi Smith | Michigan | 4 | 106 | 11 |
| 27 | Anton Harrison | Oklahoma | 4 | 178 | 17 |
| 28 | Myles Murphy | Clemson | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| 29 | Bryan Bresee | Clemson | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Nolan Smith | Georgia | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | Felix Anudike-Uzomah | Kansas State | 3 | 2421 | 114 |
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