30 college football players who could go from unknown to first-round pick in 2024

Every year, multiple players find themselves outside the NFL Draft conversation, but there's a reason they call 2025 mock drafts "way too early." There are dozens of players hoping to immensely raise their draft stock.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl - Ole Miss v Penn State / Todd Kirkland/GettyImages

19 of 30

19. Josh Conerly, LT, Oregon Ducks

Oregon’s offensive line was legendary last season. They kept Bo Nix so clean that he was able to push himself into the first round of the NFL Draft. As most people expected him to go in the second, it was a huge win for the Nix camp when he went 12th overall to the Denver Broncos. We hope Nix bought his Oregon offensive line lots of dinners because they are the reason he built his stock.

And highest among them might be Josh Conerly Jr. He was a top talent in his recruiting class, and his commitment to Oregon was always called a massive win for the Ducks. So why is he not considered the top tackle in the 2025 NFL class?

It might come down to size, although he’s still very much a huge human. Conerly comes in at around 305 lbs. The tackles ahead of him on analysts' boards are around 320-330 pounds.

Here’s why this shouldn’t be relevant. Conerly might be the best leverage player in the class. He gets as low as any offensive lineman in the country, and that leverage allows him to dominate defensive pass rushers. Conerly might not tower over opposing players like some tackles, but he beats them in every other way.

Home/College Football