While there seems to be more parity in the NFL than ever before, some teams are hurting. They need help. And while the 2025 NFL Draft isn't until April, let's have some fun with a draft-related hypothetical.
What if teams with a losing record entering Week 6 could pluck one college football player right this very instant and insert him into their lineup?
That's the aim of this article.
Carolina Panthers (1-4)
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
The Panthers need a lot. Plenty of players. One who'd be a welcomed addition to this offense, which features Andy Dalton slinging passes downfield is McMillan, one of the most ridiculous jump-ball wideouts entering the NFL in a while. He hasn't been quite as efficient in traffic this season as he was in 2023, but a year ago, McMillan had the second-most contested-catch wins in college football.
The Panthers have a quality separator in Diontae Johnson, and when Adam Thielen returns from injury, he'll still get open too. What Carolina doesn't have is a rebounder on the perimeter to thrive in the back-shoulder game. That's precisely where McMillan specializes.
Cincinnati Bengals (1-4)
Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky
The Bengals are currently 31st in the NFL in EPA allowed per rush. That's not like a Lou Anarumo defense. Trey Hendrickson is a borderline elite pass rusher on the outside. Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson are two super-steady, three-down linebackers. It's on the defensive interior where the Bengals are lacking. They really miss D.J. Reader.
Walker, who's listed at 6-foot-6 and 345 pounds, would be the remedy to Cincinnati's run-game struggles. While he's a sizable dot on the draft radar because of his impressive pass-rush juice at his size, the Kentucky star gets after it halting the run too.
Cleveland Browns (1-4)
Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Beck isn't necessarily the best quarterback prospect in the 2025 class -- right now. But he's steady. He doesn't wow in any one specific area. But he's not a liability in any area either. And that's exactly what the Browns need at quarterback. Stability. A methodical approach. Beck will see the open receiver, and let it rip on time, with mostly great accuracy.
Deshaun Watson is not it. He's completely indistinguishable from the quarterback who burst onto the scene from 2017 to 2020. Beck would provide this offense with the stable force it needs at the game's most vital position.
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
The Jaguars have a cornerback problem. They paid Tyson Campbell in the offseason, but he's yet to live up to the lucrative deal. Then there's Montaric Brown. He's not a lockdown option on the other side of the field, although he's performed reasonably well relatively to his sixth-round draft position.
Johnson is the type of long, smooth athlete with plus ball skills who goes high in the NFL Draft. He's what the Jaguars could use in their secondary that currently ranks last in the football in EPA per dropback. Johnson is now up to nine interceptions in his three-year Michigan career, and he's housed both of his picks in the 2024 campaign.
Los Angeles Rams (1-4)
Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
When healthy, the Rams don't have a receiver problem. Far from. For the sake of this article, I'm providing a prospect who could theoretically help them right now, when Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp still on the sideline. And Egbuka is a classic Sean McVay wideout in that he's a master routesalesman with quality size and catches everything.
By now we know how polished Ohio State receivers are when entering the NFL. Ebguka is just the latest iteration from Columbus. He could align out wide, motion into the slot, and find space over the middle for Matthew Stafford within this offseason right now. Egbuka is averaging an otherworldly 3.89 yards per route run this season at Ohio State.
New England Patriots (1-4)
Will Campbell, OT, LSU
The Patriots are in possession of, arguably, the worst pass-blocking offensive line in football. Pressure rates for quarterbacks aren't solely a reflection of an offensive line -- quarterbacks invite pressure too -- but that stat is usually a good indication of blocking quality. Through Week 6, Jacoby Brissett had been pressured on 46.3% of his dropbacks, the highest rate in the NFL.
Which is where Campbell would come in as a welcomed addition. His 2024 started slowly. Of late, he's played like the breakout star on LSU's offensive line a season ago protecting Jayden Daniels. Listed at 6-6 and 323 pounds, Campbell as NFL-caliber left tackle size and could slot into that premium position in New England to help fix some leaks.
Tennessee Titans (1-3)
Cam Ward, QB, Miami
I like when quarterbacks push the envelope and play aggressively. Have to in today's NFL. But playing with reckless abandon in key moments? Don't love that. And Levis has been too careless with the football to begin his 2024 season. This is not to say I'm totally out on him, but what the Titans could use right now is the calm, cool, and collected aura of Ward, who seemingly does not see a rise in blood pressure when defenders are flying around him in the pocket.
He's now led two wild comebacks -- against Virginia Tech and Cal -- without batting an eye. Last week in Berkeley, in the fourth quarter, Ward went 15 of 22 for 238 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the 39-38 win. Against the Hokies, 8 of 11 for 88 yards with two touchdowns. No picks. Ward's never-shaken attitude is what the Titans need.
Arizona Cardinals (2-3)
Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss
The Cardinals are currently 28th in the NFL in pressure rate on defense at just 27.9%. Former first-round bust L.J. Collier leads the team with a mere 10 pressure entering Week 6. Dennis Gardeck has been an incredible overachiever, but the Cardinals need a true No. 1 outside rusher in the worst way.
Umanmielen looked like a Day 2 pick after a dazzling 2023 at Florida in which he had seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and a pressure rate of 18.5%. Now at Ole Miss, the steady SEC producer has continued his disruptive ways. He currently has 3.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and a pressure rate of 14.4%. At 6-4 and 255 pounds, he has an NFL-caliber frame at defensive end too.
Indianapolis Colts (2-3)
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
The Colts have allowed 14 passes of more than 20 yards through five games, tied for the seventh-most in football. Julian Blackmon and Nick Cross are respectable safeties. They're not consistent game-changers. Starks has been at Georgia. In less than three full seasons playing within Kirby Smart's defense, Starks as 14 pass breakups and six interceptions.
At 6-1 and 205, he's plenty big enough to man multiple roles at the professional level and exudes explosiveness when tracking a run play or the football in the air.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-3)
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
The Raiders need some flash in their quarterback room. Badly. It's almost as if we knew this would be a problem at some juncture of the 2024 season, seeing as though the Raiders went into the season with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell as their quarterback options.
Milroe could provide that spark. Inside a thick frame, Milroe has dynamic athleticism to create off-script. He's ascending as a passer from in the pocket and has above-average arm talent. He'd help elevate those around him in Las Vegas.
Miami Dolphins (2-3)
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Another team with significant injury issues at a key position. Without Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins offense has come screeching to a halt. And while Tagovailoa hadn't gotten off to a torrid start in 2024 before his concussion, his ball-handling, anticipation, and accuracy were core elements of what made him and the Dolphins offense so difficult to stop the past two years.
Sanders has a skill set comparable to Tagovailoa's -- wants to win from the pocket, has shown an ability to make anticipatory throws, and has plus ball placement on passes to all levels.
New Orleans Saints (2-3)
Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas
The Saints have come back to earth after an out-of-this-world start offensively. And the offensive is doing Derek Carr no favors. Beyond that, Carr has never been one of the better under-pressure passes in the NFL. While the club just picked Taliese Fuaga in the first round of the 2024 draft, it could use more reinforcement at the other tackle position.
Banks has rounded into form as one of the better, more NFL-ready run and pass blockers in the 2025 class. After allowing 12 pressures in each of the past two seasons with the Longhorns, entering this weekend's monstrous game against Oklahoma, Banks has surrendered one pressure. That's it.
New York Giants (2-3)
Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
This is not misinformation -- the Giants have the makings of a quality passing offense. Yes, even with Daniel Jones at quarterback. Could they get significantly better at the quarterback spot? Yes, but that's for another story, another team. With Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson, they have two young and electric wideouts who complement each other well.
What New York needs is a serious threat at tight end, which is where Loveland would theoretically come in. He looked like a future first-round pick during Michigan's national title-winning season in 2023, when he caught 45 passes for 649 yards with four scores on a team that wanted to run the ball like 2,000 times per game. He's looked every bit as dynamic in 2024 for the Wolverines and is tracking toward the prospect you can write in Sharpie to be the first at his position off the board in April.
New York Jets (2-3)
Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
Garrett Wilson is an elite separator, and he's a pinball after the catch. He's 13th in FantasyPoints.com's Separation Score among wideouts who've run at least 100 routes entering Week 6. Allen Lazard's connection with Aaron Rodgers has yielded positive results in 2024, yet this Jets receiver group is one that could use more dynamic weapons. Lazard's only 58th in that separation metric. Burden has a game reminiscent of Wilson's, and he's a little thicker in the lower half, which helps him bounce off tacklers after the catch. He's forced a whopping 48 missed tackles on 158 career receptions at Missouri.
San Francisco 49ers (2-3)
Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame
The 49ers are again dealing with annoying injuries at the safety position, and the defense has been uncharacteristically porous during the club's surprising 2-3 start.
Watts is a former four-star receiver recruit who's blossomed as a do-everything safety with the Fighting Irish. He led college football with seven picks in 2023 and has a pair of interceptions with five pass breakups thus far in 2024. Behind Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd, and Co., Watts would be a ball magnet in San Francisco.
