2020 NFL Draft: Week 1 senior prospect preview

Opening weekend includes several intriguing matchups across the college football slate and many of the top senior prospects face tough tests to open their seasons.

The biggest matchup of Week 1 pits two ranked programs against each other with the Auburn Tigers kicking off their season against the Oregon Ducks. The game will be a great test for quarterback prospect Justin Herbert, but perhaps the game’s most important matchup, at least from a draft standpoint, is going to be in the trenches.

Four of the likely seven-eight senior tight end prospects face tough matchups, which I detailed here.

Many Power Five programs start their season against Group of Five opponents, giving some of the lesser-known/covered prospects an opportunity to shine on an early stage.

Several of the players covered here play for a Mountain West school, which boasts an impressive amount of senior talent you’re guaranteed to see on Sundays.

These games, though early in the season, are going to be crucial parts of each of these player’s evaluations no matter the final score. Many of these players won’t see the same level of talent throughout the rest of the year as they will in their openers and these games provide NFL evaluators an opportunity to see how they compete vs. higher levels of competition.

Here is a closer look at ten prospects looking to give an early boost to their respective draft stock.