The football season is around the corner and as always, NFL.com releases its top 100 list for the upcoming season. Years ago, all these players were ranked and went through the recruiting process. We take a look back on how those things played out.
MORE: Recruiting Rumor Mill | Do Nebraska and Tennessee have a legit shot at five-star David Sanders?
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CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
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No. 100 Zaire Franklin
Rated as a high three-star inside linebacker in the 2014 class, the Philadelphia (Pa.) LaSalle standout picked Syracuse over Arizona, UConn, UMass, Temple and others. He was heavily recruited by current Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea to play at Syracuse.
Franklin has had 440 tackles through last season all with the Indianapolis Colts.
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No. 99 Lavonte David
David was a four-star JUCO recruit in the 2010 class and ranked seventh overall after playing his high school football at powerful Miami Northwestern. After dealing with academic issues at Fort Scott C.C., David had a phenomenal two-year career at Nebraska.
David was a second-round pick and has totaled 1,480 career tackles.
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No. 98 Cameron Heyward
A four-star defensive tackle in the 2007 class and a Rivals250 member, Heyward committed to Ohio State over Florida and Georgia. Over four years in Columbus, the former Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge standout totaled 163 tackles and 15.5 sacks and then was a late first-round draft pick in 2011.
He’s totaled 647 tackles in his entire career spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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No. 97 Terry McLaurin
Shortly after getting his Ohio State offer at summer camp, the speedy McLaurin picked the Buckeyes over Missouri and Purdue. The Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral four-star had a decent college career with 65 catches for 1,251 yards and 19 touchdowns and was a third-round pick.
His entire career has been with the Washington Commanders where he’s had 378 catches for 5,283 yards and 25 TDs.
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No. 96 Dion Dawkins
Dawkins spent the 2012 season at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy and ended up as a two-star prospect coming out of prep school. He chose Temple over Cincinnati, Liberty and others.
Dawkins was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills where he’s spent his whole career and he’s a three-time Pro Bowler.
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No. 95 Julian Love
In March of his junior year shortly after Notre Dame offered, the four-star cornerback from LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy committed to the Irish over Northwestern, Boston College and others. Love totaled 176 tackles and five interceptions in 38 games over three seasons with the Irish.
Love just signed a major three-year extension with the Seattle Seahawks.
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No. 94 Trevor Lawrence
In December of his junior year, Lawrence committed to Clemson over Georgia although there were always rumors that the five-star quarterback either silently committed to the Bulldogs or was very close at some point.
The five-star was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft and continues to be the Jacksonville Jaguars starter.
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No. 93 Harrison Smith
Rated as a four-star athlete in the 2007 class because he was also a star running back at Knoxville (Tenn.) Knoxville Catholic, Smith chose Notre Dame over Tennessee although it was the hometown school. The four-star was a tackling machine in college with 309 stops in his time in South Bend.
He was the No. 29 pick in the 2012 draft and has had 1,039 tackles during his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
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No. 92 Aaron Rodgers
One of the greatest NFL players of all time, Rodgers’ high school days at Chico (Calif.) Pleasant Valley was before Rivals rankings started. He went to Butte College before transferring to Cal and becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
He’s been the league MVP four times and has thrown 475 career TDs.
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No. 91 Tariq Woolen
A low three-star receiver out of Fort Worth (Texas) Arlington Heights, Woolen chose UTSA over Houston, North Texas and others and then switched to cornerback in his sophomore year.
Woolen was a fifth-round pick in 2022 and has eight interceptions in his first two seasons.
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No. 90 DeVonta Smith
On National Signing Day, the high four-star receiver from Amite, La., picked Alabama over LSU, Miami, Florida State and others. A four-star because he was so lean in high school, Smith finished his college career with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2020 and was the first receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991.
He was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
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No. 89 Budda Baker
Baker picked Washington over UCLA on signing day and then totaled nearly 200 tackles and five interceptions in three seasons with the Huskies. He was an early second-round pick in the NFL Draft.
The high four-star has totaled 737 tackles in his career, all with the Arizona Cardinals.
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No. 88 Chris Lindstrom
A three-star prospect who weighed less than 240 pounds at Dudley (Mass.) Shepherd Hill Regional, Lindstrom committed to Boston College over Old Dominion (his only other offer). He continued to significantly develop physically in Chestnut Hill, starting nearly every game in college before being picked No. 14 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
He’s now 6-foot-4 and 307 pounds.
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No. 87 Haason Reddick
After playing in only four games in his senior season at Haddon Heights, N.J., because of injury, Reddick walked on at Temple and did not have a Rivals profile. In his senior season, Reddick finished with 65 tackles and 10.5 sacks at defensive end after starting out as a running back and linebacker.
The unranked Reddick was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 draft and he’s totaled 410 tackles in his career as he’s bounced around teams.
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No. 86 Saquon Barkley
In the winter prior to his senior season, the Whitehall, Pa., four-star running back flipped his commitment from Rutgers to Penn State. In three seasons at Penn State, Barkley totaled 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns before being the second overall pick in the 2018 draft behind only Baker Mayfield.
The former four-star was the NFL offensive rookie of the year but has dealt with numerous injuries and went from the New York Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
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No. 85 Tristan Wirfs
A four-star who picked Iowa over Iowa State in December of his junior season, Wirfs was also a wrestler and starred in track and field at Mount Vernon, Iowa.
He was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 draft and he’s played in 63 consecutive games since coming to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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No. 84 DK Metcalf
Metcalf was committed to Ole Miss for about 2.5 years before National Signing Day as Alabama and Cal made runs at trying to flip him but his commitment held. He played in only 21 games for the Rebels but still had 67 catches and 14 touchdowns before being a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, where he’s been one of the most physically imposing receivers in the league.
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No. 83 Derwin James
The top-ranked safety and the fifth-best overall prospect in the 2015 class, James committed to Florida State in his freshman season and never really considered other programs. The former Haines City, Fla., standout shined in Tallahassee and even though he had a knee injury, James was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2018 draft.
He’s had 497 tackles, 11.5 sacks and eight tackles in his career with the Los Angeles Chargers.
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No. 82 Montez Sweat
After playing at Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson, Sweat played at Michigan State before transferring to junior college at Wesson (Miss.) Copiah-Lincoln and eventually ending up at Mississippi State.
Sweat was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 draft and he’s had 344 tackles and 62.5 sacks in his career so far.
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No. 81 Kirk Cousins
A low three-star coming out of Holland (Mich.) Christian, Cousins had UConn, Western Michigan and Toledo as his three favorites before Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio and the Spartans offered late in the process. Cousins was a fourth-round pick, he’s been a four-time Pro Bowler and just signed a massive contract with the Atlanta Falcons to be the starter this season.
