As the 2025 season rolls along, so will our weekly previews of games and NFL prospects to watch. This will come in addition to our NFL Draft coverage over the course of the fall and winter. Whether you’re
a fan of the draft or just a college football fan, this series looks to give you an idea of what to watch each week. Windy City Gridiron’s Lead Draft Analyst, Jacob Infante, will be taking a look at what to expect in Week 13 of this year’s college football campaign.
Blue-chip of the week
LSU CB Mansoor Delane vs. Western Kentucky, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, 6:45 p.m. CST
LSU hasn’t quite had the year they had hoped for going into 2025, and it has them on the lookout for a new head coach for their football team. Transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane has been a lone bright spot, however: PFF has him with a 90.9 coverage grade, and he’s allowed a targeted passer rating of just 27.5 all season.
Teams looking for a freak athlete at cornerback might overthink Delane a bit, as his deep speed is relatively average. Otherwise, he’s as reliable as a corner can get. He’s a versatile defender who projects best as a field-side corner but can play the boundary, in the slot, in the box, and as a safety. He has a very high football IQ, diagnosing route concepts easily and reading the progressions of the quarterback to time his jumps on a route. Formerly a standout at Virginia Tech, Delane has looked a lot stickier in coverage and more consistent at LSU, and he’s an above-average tackler at his position, to boot. He’s my CB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft and borders on a top-ten overall prospect in the class.
Prospect matchup to watch
No. 15 USC EDGE Anthony Lucas @ No. 7 Oregon OTs Isaiah World and Alex Harkey, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, 2:30 p.m. CST
I’ve had Anthony Lucas on my radar as a potential NFL prospect since the summer of 2024 going into his junior year. He wisely made the decision to return to school for 2025 after not tallying a sack through his first three seasons, and it’s paying off dividends for him now. At 6’5” and 285 pounds, he’s a big-bodied edge rusher with some interior value on passing downs. He’s a lengthy defender who packs a mean punch at the point of attack and using his strikes well with good accuracy and timing to maintain proper leverage. For a bigger edge rusher, he has some solid quickness off the ball, too. I had Lucas as a late-round pick going into 2025, but he’s working his way closer to Day 2 territory for me now.
He’ll have his hands full with Oregon’s talented offensive tackle duo on Saturday. Isaiah World showcased elite physical traits at Nevada in 2024, and he’s carried them into the Big Ten for the Ducks this season. He has high-level movement skills at length for the tackle position, as his mobility in pass protection and reach as a blocker in space gives him ample amounts of upside. Alex Harkey might be a better fit to kick inside in the NFL, but he hasn’t allowed a sack all year and has shown serious road-paving abilities between this year at Oregon and last season at Texas State. World is the flashier prospect and will likely be selected much higher, but both he and Harkey figure to be draft picks when the time comes.
Sleeper highlight
UConn WR Skyler Bell @ Florida Atlantic, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, 2:00 p.m. CST
UConn has managed to turn things around for their football program. Having not finished with a winning record since 2010, the Huskies went 9-4 under Jim Mora in 2024, beating North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl. This year, they’re currently sitting at 8-3 for the season, and a big part of their offensive success has been the stellar play of Skyler Bell. With one more game to go in the year, he leads the FBS with 93 catches and 13 receiving touchdowns, and he also has 1,153 receiving yards through 11 games.
A Shrine Bowl invitee, Bell won’t wow you with elite size or physicality. However, he’s an explosive weapon who has the deep speed to stretch the field vertically, and he has the lateral explosiveness needed to separate out of his breaks and get open. As a route runner, he has a solid understanding of leverage through his stems and can win at all three levels. He adjusts his tempo well as a ball-carrier and sees the field well after the catch, too. I think Bell could eventually become a solid complementary starting receiver in the NFL, which places him in early Day 3 for me with the potential to sneak into the third round.
