If you don’t want to read about the 2027 Draft, just skip this one. Enjoy any of the other content on WCG, and check out the app! However, a number of talented college prospects are going to be on display over Labor Day weekend, and a few who seem especially well-suited to Chicago’s lingering needs will be playing Friday night.
Oklahoma – 7:00 pm
Taylor Wein, ED (6’4”, 275lbs) – I need to be clear that Wein would be drafted based on tools and talent, not technique. Is he able to engage his hands? Not really. Does he finish
tackles cleanly? Not that I have seen. He is, however, a human freight train who can explode off the edge with a deceptively quick trio of first steps. He disrupts, playing the pass and the run with equal ferocity.
I’ll be looking for him to dominate against UTEP, and unless something changes dramatically this season will help determine if he’s a Day 2 or Day 3 player. It’s worth noting—for those who aren’t tired of hearing about it—that Wein is at least the type of player who Dennis Allen seems to want, but he also projects to be able to play in a modern, open-ended NFL defense as well.
David Stone, DL (6’3”, 310lbs) – Perhaps the only true “math changer” on this list in the run game, Stone plays with leverage, power, and burst. He shows adequate awareness of play development, and against the run he is truly the kind of player who can alter offensive plans with a very elegant sort of violence. Unfortunately, he has not yet shown the toolkit needed to disrupt the passing game reliably, and his timing is sometimes more reactive than proactive.
I doubt he will be able to increase his draft stock this year to the point where he is considered a first-round prospect (though in the age of NIL with players staying in college longer, it’s harder than ever to predict classes). What does seem likely is that if he either refines his ability to stunt inside as well or if he stiffens against the run even a little, he’s going to be a Day 2 prospect. If he does both? Watch out.
USC – 8:00 pm
Kameryn Crawford, ED (6’5”, 265lbs) – I’m not sure what to make of Crawford, and not just because half of his tape is credited to his prior name of Kameryn Fountain. He lacks the high-end traits that define draftable college players. His athleticism is best described as adequate. His technique is sufficient against the pass and the run. He has average instincts. However, there aren’t really flaws in his game, either.
I will be watching to see if he has the chops to progress from being a good college player to a draftable pro. If he continues at the linear progression he has been on and keeps the same general intensity level, he could find himself drafted in the earlier part of Day 3.
Miami – 8:00 pm
Justin Scott, DL (6’4”, 300lbs) – Scott is a converted basketball player who has surprising interior speed, with the ability to potentially ruin a guard’s day on any snap. He gets under blocks and makes sure that even if he isn’t getting to the quarterback, someone else has the opportunity. He is probably one level shy of being relentless, because he does fatigue as games go on, but he is at worst a disruptive snap eater in the pros, and if he gets his conditioning and hand technique up to the same level as his athletic traits, he could be a true 3T.
I’ll be looking to see if he has improved leverage or a better array of moves, even if I don’t know if he will need anything special against the interior of Stanford’s offensive line. He’s on track to be a first-round selection, perhaps in the range where Chicago could grab him.
Ahmad Moten, DL (6’3”, 325lbs) – More of Nose than Chicago is likely to consider, Moten is a mediocre tackler whose pads are usually high and whose instincts against the run lag. Against true pass sets, he’s a different player. What he does to crush the pocket in the pass game is worth drafting by itself, and he will doggedly pursue making a play with intensity that can shock a quarterback’s system. You can watch passers visibly flinch as games continue with how he forces them to adjust throwing lanes.
If he looks like he has even taken incremental steps toward being a more well-rounded player in 2026, he should be a first-round selection. If his game is still limited, he might fall to the second round, but there are just only so many people with his size and with his initial surge to the ball.
Damon Wilson II, ED (6’4”, 250lbs) – So yes, I am basically watching the entire defensive line of Miami. Wilson had nine sacks in 2025, and he got two of those (with five total pressures) against Alabama. His weakness against the run means he might have to start as a designated pass rusher, but in that role it’s hard to complain about what he does. He has a good initial burst around the corner, he stays low with adequate bend, and his ability to target the quarterback through traffic is better than average.
