Week 6 of the college football season continues Saturday, and features an interesting slate of matchups.
It offers the Detroit Lions a prime opportunity to watch several of college football's best players, including a trio of highly-touted Big Ten players in offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota), defensive end Jack Sawyer (Ohio State) and defensive tackle Zane Durant (Penn State). Ersery, Sawyer and Durant are three of the five 2025 NFL Draft prospects the Lions should be keeping a close eye on this weekend.
Let’s take a closer look now at the three of them and those two other draft prospects taking the field Saturday.
Minnesota OT Aireontae Ersery
Ersery profiles as a high-end blindside protector at the next level.
He possesses NFL-caliber frame and length, standing in at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds. Plus, he's athletic and agile, and has the ability to excel as both a pass and a run blocker. For his efforts a season ago, he received an 86.7 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus – the second-best run-blocking mark among all offensive tackles.
It'll be interesting to see how Ersery fares on Saturday night against USC.
Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer
Sawyer is a high-motor, high-IQ EDGE defender who seems like he'd be a perfect fit in Detroit.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder posted 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 2023, and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors for his efforts. He's had an impressive start to his 2024 campaign, too, with a sack, eight QB hits and four hurries to his name through four games. For his efforts, he's earned an 86.7 overall grade from PFF, including a 79.9 pass-rush grade and an 82.1 run-defense mark.
If I were the Lions, I'd be keeping a close eye on him during Ohio State's battle with Iowa Saturday afternoon.
Penn State DT Zane Durant
The 6-foot-1, 286-pounder is a supremely athletic, difference-making presence along the line of scrimmage. He's coming off a four-pressure, one-sack effort last week against Illinois. Plus, he recorded three run stops in the aforementioned Penn State victory, increasing his PFF run-defense grade to 84.5 and his overall grade to 87.7 (an FBS-best mark for interior defensive linemen).
He might be a bit undersized for his position, but he's still one of the most intriguing defensive tackle prospects in the 2025 draft class. The Lions should be giving him an extensive look during Penn State's clash with UCLA Saturday afternoon.
Alabama S Keon Sabb
Sabb has a chance to be a top-five safety prospect in the 2025 draft class. After being a member of the Michigan Wolverines the past two seasons, he joined the Crimson Tide, and immediately earned a starting role in the back-end of the team's secondary.
Per PFF, the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder was one of just six Power Five safeties who earned 80-plus grades in both coverage and as a run-defender in 2023. Plus, he forced the third-most incompletions a season ago (eight) despite playing only the 161st-most coverage snaps among FBS safeties (221).
Sabb appears to be the real deal, and he's already picked off two passes and recorded three passes defensed through four games this season.
It wouldn't hurt Detroit to give him a look this afternoon when Alabama takes on Vanderbilt.
Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor
Ayomanor is equipped with the necessary physical tools to develop into a productive receiver at the next level. He's shown the ability to be effective both on the perimeter and over the middle of the field, with the knack for separating quickly on slants/in-breaking routes.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder amassed 1,013 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a redshirt freshman, and has enjoyed a solid start to his 2024 campaign, too. He's racked up 21 catches, 284 yards and two touchdowns through four games, and has looked every bit of an individual that can be a top-three receiver at the NFL level.
If I'm Detroit general manager Brad Holmes, I'm paying close attention to Ayomanor Saturday against Virginia Tech and the rest of the way this season.
