{"id":9604,"date":"2026-04-16T15:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/ranking-the-top-five-most-nfl-ready-usc-prospects-sports-illustrated\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:08:37","slug":"ranking-the-top-five-most-nfl-ready-usc-prospects-sports-illustrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/ranking-the-top-five-most-nfl-ready-usc-prospects-sports-illustrated\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the Top-Five Most NFL-Ready USC Prospects – Sports Illustrated"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this story:
The USC Trojans have some of the top prospects that will be available in the 2026 NFL Draft. Players from both sides of the ball should expect to hear their names called relatively early during the three-day affair.
Here's a ranking of the Trojans' top five most NFL-ready draft prospects.
One of the top prospects available regardless of position in the 2026 NFL Draft, it should come as no surprise that Makai Lemon<\/a> is\u00a0USC\u2018s top-ranked draft prospect. Lemon was the engine behind the Trojans\u2019 offense this past season. He recorded 79 receptions, 1,156 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns on route to the Biletnikoff Award as the nation\u2019s best wide receiver.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
Lemon should be in contention to be one of the top wide receivers selected in this year\u2018s NFL draft. He should also be one of USC\u2019s highest wide receivers selected in the draft in recent memory.
Lemon isn\u2019t the only uber-talented wide receiver who is eligible for this year\u2019s NFL draft. The other half of USC\u2019s star wide receiver duo, Ja\u2019Kobi Lane<\/a>, is also one of the draft\u2019s top wide receiver prospects
Despite scoring only a third of the touchdowns he scored a year ago, Lane still had improved totals in receptions and receiving yards. In 2025, Lane caught 49 receptions for 745 yards and four touchdowns.\u00a0
Although his production doesn\u2019t scream wide receiver No. 1, his size at 6-4, 200 pounds and intangibles make him a top wide receiver prospect. Lane arguably has the top catch radius among draft prospects and has a case for being the best jump ball catcher as well.\u00a0
The first USC defender on the list, Kamari Ramsey<\/a>, didn\u2019t have the season many expected him to have in 2025. Although he is a safety, Ramsey played a lot in the nickel position for the Trojans as they dealt with injuries in the secondary.\u00a0
Thankfully for former USC defensive coordinator D\u2019Anton Lynn, Ramsey had the versatility to play nearly every position in the secondary at an extremely high level. That allowed Lynn to make the easy decision to move Ramsey to the nickel spot.\u00a0
Ramsey could\u2019ve declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, but decided to return to USC for one more season. His decision should pay off as he has the talent to be a Day 2 selection.
Another USC safety that makes the list is Bishop Fitzgerald. An All-American this past season, Fitzgerald exploded onto the scene with 51 tackles, five interceptions, and three pass deflections.\u00a0
His production was through the roof during his college career, totaling 148 tackles in three seasons during his time at NC State and USC. Fitzgerald has played a lot of football and has made a lot of plays at high levels of college football. Whether it\u2019s on special teams or on defense, his skills should translate well for an NFL team.
The lone non-skill player that makes the list, Eric Gentry, was a stalwart at linebacker for USC at the beginning of Lincoln Riley\u2019s tenure with the Trojans.\u00a0
Gentry, an Arizona State transfer, played four seasons with USC and totaled 225 tackles during his career in Los Angeles. This past year, he had a career high of 76 tackles, and added three sacks plus five forced fumbles to go along with it.\u00a0
His size at linebacker is out of this world. He\u2019s listed at 6-6, 225, which makes him an intriguing piece for NFL defensive coordinators.
Sign up to our free newsletter <\/strong><\/a>and <\/strong>follow us on Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, and <\/strong>X<\/strong><\/a> for the latest news.\u00a0<\/strong>
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Residing in Los Angeles, Gabriel Duarte is a senior at Cal State Northridge and is pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. Gabriel is passionate about college athletics and is a writer for USC Trojans on SI and Oregon Ducks on SI. Gabriel has covered many college sporting events around the Southern California area including basketball and football for USC. Gabriel also writes for his local newspaper on high school sports.
\u00a9 2026 <\/span> ABG-SI LLC<\/span> – <\/span>SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In this story:The USC Trojans have some of the top prospects that will be available in the 2026 NFL Draft. Players from both sides of the ball should expect to hear their names called relatively early during the three-day affair. Here's a ranking of the Trojans' top five most NFL-ready draft prospects.One of the top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}