Insider notes on Purdue and Rutgers: Draft grades for top prospects ft. Devin Mockobee, Ian Strong, and more

Last season was miserable for Purdue, as the team finished with just a single win. The end result was the entire coaching staff getting axed and their top talent transferring from the program or entering the draft. Meanwhile, Rutgers won seven games and had three players selected in April’s draft.

Purdue

The pickings are slim at Purdue, as not a single player has a draftable grade on my board. Some scouts believe Devin Mockobee could be a late-round pick, as the senior is a hard-charging ball carrier with an aggressive style, yet he’s small as well as slow and one-dimensional.

A pair of senior transfers, cornerback Tony Grimes and pass rusher CJ Nunnally, are solid football players with limited upside.

Purdue Prospects
Grade	Rnd	Pos	Full Name	Yr	#
3.11	FA	RB	Devin Mockobee	5Sr	45
3.02	FA	CB	Tony Grimes	5Sr	0
3.01	FA	DE	CJ Nunnally IV	6Sr	91
3.01	FA	CB	Chad Brown	5Sr	24
2.96	FA	OLB	Mani Powell	4Sr	16

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Rutgers

Rutgers had three seniors selected on the final day of the 2025 draft, and heading towards next year’s event, the top prospects are underclassmen.

If you’re looking for a dominant, game-controlling wideout with playmaking ability, Ian Strong is someone to put on the radar. The Scarlett Knights receiver caught 43 passes for 676 yards and five TDs last season, overwhelming opponents. He’s tall, strong and possesses a lot of natural pass-catching ability. Strong wins out for contested catches and makes the difficult reception with defenders draped on him. He now becomes the primary wideout at RU with Dymere Miller in the NFL, and he has the tools to rise up draft boards.

Bo Mascoe is a smallish but explosive safety with terrific speed and quickness. He covers a lot of area on the field, plays with great explosion and is developing a complete game.

Florida Atlantic transfer CJ Campbell Jr. is a lot like Kyle Monangai, the former Rutgers running back selected in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears. He’s small but quick, smart and incredibly instinctive. Besides being a very productive ball carrier at FAU, Campbell was also a terrific receiver out of the backfield and has the ability to line up as a third-down back on Sundays.

Dariel Djabome is an underrated linebacker who is effective defending the run and covering the pass. Djabome is athletic, plays with terrific speed as well as quickness and covers a lot of ground on the field. He flows to the action, shows ability in pursuit and plays with a violent nature.

Rutgers Prospects
Grade	Rnd	Pos	Full Name	Yr	#
3.49	4-5	WR	Ian Strong	3Jr	9
3.42	5th	S	Bo Mascoe	3So	3
3.34	6th	RB	CJ Campbell Jr.	5Sr	5
3.32	6th	ILB	Dariel Djabome	4Sr	28
3.18	FA	WR	DT Sheffield	5Sr	0
3.18	FA	DE	Eric O'Neill	5Sr	99
3.12	FA	TE	Colin Weber	5Sr	18
3.02	FA	QB	Athan Kaliakmanis	5Sr	16
3.02	FA	C	Gus Zilinskas	5Sr	53
3.01	FA	G	Bryan Felter	5Sr	65