NFL draft: Which USC players might get picked and when
A breakdown of eight Trojans who could hear their names called during the seven rounds from Thursday to Saturday
Haley Sawyer (OC Register) — With the NFL draft beginning Thursday, here’s a look at where USC prospects can expect to be selected over the weekend:
1) Makai Lemon, JR wide receiver, 5-11, 192
Projections:Lemon declared for the draft after three seasons with USC – as many expected – and is a projected first-round pick in every major mock draft that’s surfaced throughout the draft season. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper expects the Rams to choose Lemon with the 13th overall pick in the draft, but the Los Alamitos High grad has also visited with the Miami Dolphins (11th pick) and the Washington Commanders (pick No. 7) this month. His route-running out of the slot, ability to make contested catches and overall toughness make him an appealing option for any team.
2) Kamari Ramsey, RS JR safety, 6-0, 202
Projections: Moving to nickelback and missing two games caused Ramsey’s stats to drop off this season, but the position did give the Sierra Canyon High product the opportunity to flex his football IQ and add another tool to his belt. He also clocked 4.47 seconds to rank ninth out of all safeties at the NFL combine. Ramsey is expected to be a Day 2 selection in the third round, and might still be available for the right team early in the fourth round. Either way, he will be the first Sierra Canyon alumnus to reach the NFL.
3) Ja’Kobi Lane, JR wide receiver, 6-4, 202
Projections: Lane gave up a fourth year of college football to declare for the draft, but his performance and physical traits have him ready to be selected in the third or fourth round – although there is an outside chance of sneaking into the second round if there’s a good fit. His length lends itself to snagging contested catches while maintaining body control in or near the red zone, and it made him one of the highest-performing receivers in the vertical and broad jumps at the combine.
4) Anthony Lucas, SR defensive end, 6-6, 256
Projections:Lucas’ 85-inch wingspan and strength were beneficial in the Trojans’ pass rush, but a total of three career sacks has left many draft analysts scratching their heads. A leg injury ended his junior season after six games, which could be enough to signal health and durability concerns to NFL teams. Expect Lucas’ name to be called in the fourth or fifth round.
5) Bishop Fitzgerald, RS SR safety, 5-11, 201
Projections:Fitzgerald has steadily improved his NFL prospects over the years by transferring from Coffeyville Community College to North Carolina State and finally to USC. Ball-hawking is his specialty, and his five interceptions this season ranked seventh out of all FBS players. Fitzgerald learned D’Anton Lynn’s defensive scheme in one offseason and was one of the few players to excel in it this year. He secured an invite to the combine, but his 4.55 40-yard dash time ranked him last out of all safeties and raises questions about his ability to consistently get down the field, which could lower him to the fifth or sixth round.
6) Lake McRee, RS SR tight end, 6-4, 243
Projections:McRee showed growth in his game, and put on size in his final year with the Trojans to land on Kiper’s “Big Board” this week as the No. 10 H-back/fullback in this draft class. He can work in space and make contested catches in the pass game, but a lack of size and athleticism in addition to two ACL tears throughout high school and college could make NFL teams wary and push him to the seventh round.
7) DJ Harvey, RS SR cornerback, 5-10, 190
Projections:Harvey was unable to become a starter this season despite gaining schematic knowledge across his time at Virginia Tech, San Jose State and USC. Limited playing time and a smaller frame mean he could be selected in the sixth or seventh round.
8) Eric Gentry, RS SR linebacker, 6-7, 221
Projections: For all that Gentry has accomplished in his playing career at USC, he is still defined by his measurements. He was the tallest linebacker at the NFL combine. While this bodes well for pursuits across space, he might not have the complementary mass needed to thrive in the NFL. Still, Kiper ranked him as the No. 19 linebacker in this draft, and he might go in the seventh round.
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Scouting Report Summary per NFL Draft Buzz Fitzgerald ran a 4.55 forty in Indianapolis. Slowest safety in the group, and this was the fastest safety class in Combine history. The vertical at 33 inches did not help. Before the Combine, the speed was supposed to be a strength on his profile. Now it is a question mark, and evaluators have to weigh what they saw on the stopwatch against what they have been watching on film all year. But go watch the Michigan tape. Fitzgerald sits in the deep middle, reads the route combinations developing underneath him, waits, and then… Read more »
These three Trojans have received NFL minicamp invites only, not free agent contracts. Minicamps are basically tryouts that take place in early to mid-May, typically over one or two weekends. Less than 1% of the non-drafted tryout players invited to NFL rookie mini-camps ultimately make a team’s final 53-man active roster.
I am thinking the Rams blew it not taking Lemon. Watch them draft another QB next year after they see the two they have behind Stafford. They have already seen Bennett and still picked Ty Simpson.
S Kamari Ramsey (6-0, 205) was finally picked with the first pick in 5th round (#141) by the Houston Texans. Ramsey followed DC D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to USC in Dec 2023. Good jack-of-all trades, Swiss army knife hybrid safety/nickel guy. Wore the green dot. Tough, smart, aggressive, captain-type leader. A quick processor, but without the quick twitch. Durability issues. Forced to play out-of-position at USC. Not hugely athletic within a strong safety class. Only average speed and a hard evaluation for the NFL which caused Ramsey to slip past the 3rd and 4th rounds, where many projected him. Mel… Read more »
USC’s offense should be as good as anyone next season. They have so many outstanding O-Linemen that we can’t be sure who will be starting especially by game 6. At RB we have 2 really good ones. One gained almost a thousand yards last year although he was 3rd string early in the year and the other would have gained at least a thousand if he hadn’t gotten hurt. Riley Wormley intrigues me. In high school he averaged 10.6 yards a carry as a junior and 9.9 as a senior before he got hurt. He had one game where he… Read more »
No. I worked to hard for my money to lose it gambling and to become addicted. The only ones who win there are the gambling organizations. They are not in business to lose money. The cards are stacked in their favor, IMHO.
Tall (6-4, 200, 42″ VJ), rangy, acrobatic, red zone threat WR Ja’Kobi Lane selected by the Balt Ravens with pick #80, round 3. Great at catching contested balls. Average speed, burst and route-running ability.
Middle to end part of the 3rd round? He would have been the main WR target if he had stayed another year and gained notoriety among NFL scouts. Poor decision.
There’s always the chance a player won’t improve just because he gets more playing time. USC is always loaded with wideouts, and often spectacular ones at that. Lane’s just not a great separator. Also, it’s an easy position to get injured at. Lane already broke his foot in May ’25. If he had stayed and didn’t become dominant, that might have hurt his stock even more. These decisions are often a roll of the dice, either way.
Lane doesn’t get separation and that makes me wonder how well he will do in the NFL. I remember when George Farmer went pros. After the season in the spring I watched a program where they were filming a spring camp with the Dallas Cowboys. The thing that struck me was that the other receivers were opening up gaps when they made their cuts. They had real good speed off of a cut. Farmer caught some balls but it was always because he was big and overpowered the CB. But he was not getting open. I began to wonder if… Read more »
I think Ja’Kobi Lane is a much better NFL prospect than George Farmer (6-1, 220) was for sure. Much better hands.
Remember, Farmer, from Gardena Serra who was also a part-time RB, wasn’t even drafted in 2015. He had 30 catches for about 360 yds and 4 TDs for the Trojans.
But Lane will for sure have to find a way to overcome his “separation issue” as you say.
Somebody should have tried Farmer as a safety. He had great speed and he was a physical receiver. I would think that he might be a pretty big hitter on defense.
Frankly, I just don’t think he was that good of a football player in college. The Seahawks tried him out in the secondary, but it was a no go there with Pete Carroll as their coach. Farmer only made the practice squads with the Cowboys and the Seahawks for a couple of years. He never played in an NFL game.
Do star rankings matter? Six players drafted last night were five-star prospects in high school according to the 247 rankings. And 12 were four-star prospects while 14 were three-star recruits. Each year 5* recruits make up about 1% (30), 4* about 10% (300-400), 3* the rest about 90%. 65% of 5* recruits are drafted into the NFL, 23% of 4*, and 7% of 3*. What does all that mean? The bulk of a college team will be 3* players. The 4 and 5*s will make the difference in a playoff spot and NC. If you are a 5* there’s a… Read more »
Have you ever taught math, or statistics? I seen an inclination there.
And yes, stars absolutely do matter, not so much to the teams that don’t sign high-stars much, but definitely to the teams that do.
Barry Switzer said it’s all about the Jimmys and the Joes. I personally think coaching matters the most, in part because the best coaches usually attract and develop the best players.
I do love stats. They can take out all the subjectivity if used properly. It can put things in the right perspective as well. Here’s some more, the average NFL team is 40% 3*, 36% 4*, and 10% 5*. The fun part of college football is seeing those 3* really develop from signing day in high school to draft day in the NFL.
The last five NFL Super Bowl champions (Super Bowl LVI–LX) largely feature rosters built from highly-rated high school prospects, with key players frequently ranked as 4-star or 5-star recruits. While 5-star talents (top 0.01% of players) have a significant impact, winners often show a mix of 5-star elites, 4-star starters, and undervalued 3-star recruits.
The Big Ten ended the SEC’s 19-year reign of dominance regarding first-round NFL Draft picks last night, setting a new record for B1G first-round selections.
Another great post!……and the early season polls (which mean as much as a glass of ice in Antartica) have Ohio St as number one. Followed by Oregon. Keep smashing them into reality.
Which pre season poll had Indiana winning the NC…..or being in the top 10……25…..50. How did preseason #1 Texas do. Notre Dame in top 10 not in the playoffs. Penn State was top 5.
Not worth my time to go further.
Here’s what Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman and HC Nick Sirianni think about Makai Lemon: “ROSEMAN: “He has a lot to like about him — competitor, has the ability to separate in man coverage, out of the slot, he can play outside. Physical player, really good with the ball in his hands, really good hands, really good in zone coverage, has really good insights.”SIRIANNI: “Insane ability to catch the ball in contested situations. I love his toughness, I think this guy is a tough, tough football player with the way he carries the football, and when he has the football in… Read more »
Philadelphia wanted Makai Lemon bad! The Eagles traded up to beat their intrastate rival Steelers to land Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon. Lemon confirmed on a conference call with local media that he was literally on the phone with the Steelers, who were about to be on the clock at pick 21, when a call came in from the Eagles saying they had traded up from #23 with the Cowboys to select him at #20. “I feel like everything happened for a reason,” Lemon said. “They traded up so it means a lot that they really wanted me. I’m all… Read more »
Projections: Lemon declared for the draft after three seasons with USC – as many expected – and is a projected first-round pick in every major mock draft that’s surfaced throughout the draft season. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper expects the Rams to choose Lemon with the 13th overall pick in the draft, but the Los Alamitos High grad has also visited with the Miami Dolphins (11th pick) and the Washington Commanders (pick No. 7) this month. His route-running out of the slot, ability to make contested catches and overall toughness make him an appealing option for any team.
Projections: Moving to nickelback and missing two games caused Ramsey’s stats to drop off this season, but the position did give the Sierra Canyon High product the opportunity to flex his football IQ and add another tool to his belt. He also clocked 4.47 seconds to rank ninth out of all safeties at the NFL combine. Ramsey is expected to be a Day 2 selection in the third round, and might still be available for the right team early in the fourth round. Either way, he will be the first Sierra Canyon alumnus to reach the NFL.
Projections: Lane gave up a fourth year of college football to declare for the draft, but his performance and physical traits have him ready to be selected in the third or fourth round – although there is an outside chance of sneaking into the second round if there’s a good fit. His length lends itself to snagging contested catches while maintaining body control in or near the red zone, and it made him one of the highest-performing receivers in the vertical and broad jumps at the combine.
With a win today the Trojans can sweep Purdue and move past the Boilermakers into 4th place in the Big10. USC plays Cal tonight for WWP NC.
Why they passed up on Fitzgerald is a mystery to me.
Scouting Report Summary per NFL Draft Buzz Fitzgerald ran a 4.55 forty in Indianapolis. Slowest safety in the group, and this was the fastest safety class in Combine history. The vertical at 33 inches did not help. Before the Combine, the speed was supposed to be a strength on his profile. Now it is a question mark, and evaluators have to weigh what they saw on the stopwatch against what they have been watching on film all year. But go watch the Michigan tape. Fitzgerald sits in the deep middle, reads the route combinations developing underneath him, waits, and then… Read more »
These three Trojans have received NFL minicamp invites only, not free agent contracts. Minicamps are basically tryouts that take place in early to mid-May, typically over one or two weekends. Less than 1% of the non-drafted tryout players invited to NFL rookie mini-camps ultimately make a team’s final 53-man active roster.
USC 2026 draftees:
1) WR Makai Lemon, #20 1st round, Eagles
2) WR Ja’Kobi Lane, #80 3rd round, Ravens
3) S Kamari Ramsey, #141 5th round, Texans
That was all, folks!
I am thinking the Rams blew it not taking Lemon. Watch them draft another QB next year after they see the two they have behind Stafford. They have already seen Bennett and still picked Ty Simpson.
Could be. As you probably know, GM Snead and McVay reportedly disagreed about taking Simpson #1, though McVay denies this as expected.
S Kamari Ramsey (6-0, 205) was finally picked with the first pick in 5th round (#141) by the Houston Texans. Ramsey followed DC D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to USC in Dec 2023. Good jack-of-all trades, Swiss army knife hybrid safety/nickel guy. Wore the green dot. Tough, smart, aggressive, captain-type leader. A quick processor, but without the quick twitch. Durability issues. Forced to play out-of-position at USC. Not hugely athletic within a strong safety class. Only average speed and a hard evaluation for the NFL which caused Ramsey to slip past the 3rd and 4th rounds, where many projected him. Mel… Read more »
USC’s offense should be as good as anyone next season. They have so many outstanding O-Linemen that we can’t be sure who will be starting especially by game 6. At RB we have 2 really good ones. One gained almost a thousand yards last year although he was 3rd string early in the year and the other would have gained at least a thousand if he hadn’t gotten hurt. Riley Wormley intrigues me. In high school he averaged 10.6 yards a carry as a junior and 9.9 as a senior before he got hurt. He had one game where he… Read more »
Pundant, have you placed a big bet on all these predictions?
No. I worked to hard for my money to lose it gambling and to become addicted. The only ones who win there are the gambling organizations. They are not in business to lose money. The cards are stacked in their favor, IMHO.
Oh by the way….it’s pundit
Raven GM Eric DeCosta called 3rd round pick Ja’Kobi Lane a “ball of clay with a lot of upside.”
Lane had a whopping 12 TD catches in 2024. Only four WRs in the FBS scored more that season.
Lane played #2 WR to #20 first rounder Makai Lemon (now an Eagle), with 745 receiving yds in 2025 and 525 yds in 2024.
Tall (6-4, 200, 42″ VJ), rangy, acrobatic, red zone threat WR Ja’Kobi Lane selected by the Balt Ravens with pick #80, round 3. Great at catching contested balls. Average speed, burst and route-running ability.
Middle to end part of the 3rd round? He would have been the main WR target if he had stayed another year and gained notoriety among NFL scouts. Poor decision.
Well, he should be getting nearly $2 million a year in the NFL. Could he do better staying at USC?
There’s always the chance a player won’t improve just because he gets more playing time. USC is always loaded with wideouts, and often spectacular ones at that. Lane’s just not a great separator. Also, it’s an easy position to get injured at. Lane already broke his foot in May ’25. If he had stayed and didn’t become dominant, that might have hurt his stock even more. These decisions are often a roll of the dice, either way.
Lane doesn’t get separation and that makes me wonder how well he will do in the NFL. I remember when George Farmer went pros. After the season in the spring I watched a program where they were filming a spring camp with the Dallas Cowboys. The thing that struck me was that the other receivers were opening up gaps when they made their cuts. They had real good speed off of a cut. Farmer caught some balls but it was always because he was big and overpowered the CB. But he was not getting open. I began to wonder if… Read more »
I think Ja’Kobi Lane is a much better NFL prospect than George Farmer (6-1, 220) was for sure. Much better hands.
Remember, Farmer, from Gardena Serra who was also a part-time RB, wasn’t even drafted in 2015. He had 30 catches for about 360 yds and 4 TDs for the Trojans.
But Lane will for sure have to find a way to overcome his “separation issue” as you say.
Somebody should have tried Farmer as a safety. He had great speed and he was a physical receiver. I would think that he might be a pretty big hitter on defense.
Frankly, I just don’t think he was that good of a football player in college. The Seahawks tried him out in the secondary, but it was a no go there with Pete Carroll as their coach. Farmer only made the practice squads with the Cowboys and the Seahawks for a couple of years. He never played in an NFL game.
He didn’t produce so I guess he wasn’t all that great
Kudos to Makai Lemon! Dressed like a professional, looking like he was eager to get to work. Agree with ATL DDS, Philly is a snotty city.
Do star rankings matter? Six players drafted last night were five-star prospects in high school according to the 247 rankings. And 12 were four-star prospects while 14 were three-star recruits. Each year 5* recruits make up about 1% (30), 4* about 10% (300-400), 3* the rest about 90%. 65% of 5* recruits are drafted into the NFL, 23% of 4*, and 7% of 3*. What does all that mean? The bulk of a college team will be 3* players. The 4 and 5*s will make the difference in a playoff spot and NC. If you are a 5* there’s a… Read more »
Have you ever taught math, or statistics? I seen an inclination there.
And yes, stars absolutely do matter, not so much to the teams that don’t sign high-stars much, but definitely to the teams that do.
Barry Switzer said it’s all about the Jimmys and the Joes. I personally think coaching matters the most, in part because the best coaches usually attract and develop the best players.
I do love stats. They can take out all the subjectivity if used properly. It can put things in the right perspective as well. Here’s some more, the average NFL team is 40% 3*, 36% 4*, and 10% 5*. The fun part of college football is seeing those 3* really develop from signing day in high school to draft day in the NFL.
“Lies, damn lies and then there are statistics”.
😉
I put Mark Twain’s words in quotes
Don’t leave us hanging, you have to finish this with a correlation between an NFL team’s athlete’s high school star ranking and playoff success rate.
This from Google AI.
The last five NFL Super Bowl champions (Super Bowl LVI–LX) largely feature rosters built from highly-rated high school prospects, with key players frequently ranked as 4-star or 5-star recruits. While 5-star talents (top 0.01% of players) have a significant impact, winners often show a mix of 5-star elites, 4-star starters, and undervalued 3-star recruits.
http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.statistics.20160604.04.html#:~:text=This%20is%20particularly%20notable%20for,teams%20competing%20in%20Super%20bowl.
Golden, relax……unfortunately the site is starting to get folks posting just to get a rise. Your point is obvious to anyone that knows anything.
Down Goes the SEC. Down Goes the SEC.
The Big Ten ended the SEC’s 19-year reign of dominance regarding first-round NFL Draft picks last night, setting a new record for B1G first-round selections.
2026 First-Round Draft Breakdown
Another great post!……and the early season polls (which mean as much as a glass of ice in Antartica) have Ohio St as number one. Followed by Oregon. Keep smashing them into reality.
I believe we established quite well last season that early season polls do in fact mean quite a bit more than glass of ice in Antarctica.
Which pre season poll had Indiana winning the NC…..or being in the top 10……25…..50. How did preseason #1 Texas do. Notre Dame in top 10 not in the playoffs. Penn State was top 5.
Not worth my time to go further.
The context was around a different angle, specifically the challenge of starting low in the polls and trying to move up, not the predictive success.
Here’s what Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman and HC Nick Sirianni think about Makai Lemon: “ROSEMAN: “He has a lot to like about him — competitor, has the ability to separate in man coverage, out of the slot, he can play outside. Physical player, really good with the ball in his hands, really good hands, really good in zone coverage, has really good insights.”SIRIANNI: “Insane ability to catch the ball in contested situations. I love his toughness, I think this guy is a tough, tough football player with the way he carries the football, and when he has the football in… Read more »
Philadelphia wanted Makai Lemon bad! The Eagles traded up to beat their intrastate rival Steelers to land Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon. Lemon confirmed on a conference call with local media that he was literally on the phone with the Steelers, who were about to be on the clock at pick 21, when a call came in from the Eagles saying they had traded up from #23 with the Cowboys to select him at #20. “I feel like everything happened for a reason,” Lemon said. “They traded up so it means a lot that they really wanted me. I’m all… Read more »
Good team, terrible city. But congrats on getting paid M. Lemon.
Fight On!
The NFL Draft has started. Here’s our Trojan first-rounder.
Colin Cowherd projects Makai Lemon to the Ravens at #14, not the Rams.
NCAA looks to be going to 76 teams for the tourney. Is the conference championship play worth it?