The college football season is in full swing as week one of the college football season in the books. Florida State, a preseason favorite to win the ACC and make the 12-team college football playoffs, has started off 0-2 with both losses to ACC opponents and Oregon struggled to a 10-point victory over FCS opponent Idaho on Saturday. So, the season is off to an exciting start.
This week, SNS will take a look at some of the top defensive prospects who may be available in next April’s NFL Draft.
EDGE
(Abdul Carter / Edge / Penn State)
Ashton Gillotte / Louisville
Patrick Payton / Florida State
Harold Perkins (EDGE-LB) / LSU
James Pearce / Tennessee
Mykel Williams / Georgia
Nic Scourton / Texas A&M
JT Tuimoloau / Ohio State
Jack Sawyer / Ohio State
Abdul Carter (EDGE-LB) / Penn State
Jordan Burch / Oregon
The 2025 NFL Draft figures to be loaded with potential difference making Edge rushers who can get after the QB and hold their own in the run game. Gillotte has the frame and length desired at 4-3 DE. He is coming off a break-through year in 2023 when he recorded 11 sacks and 14.5 TFL in helping lead the Cardinals to a 10-win season. Payton has put on good weight in the off season and now fills out his 6’5” frame with good mass. He has ideal length and improved last year after being a Freshman All-American in 2022. Payton recorded 44 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, and seven sacks in 2023. Perkins burst on the scene as an 18-year-old freshman but lacks the desired size to be an every down Edge and plays now as an off the ball LB. He remains a work in progress as a LB but his pass rushing skill is still his best asset. He possesses elite twitch and the bend and burst to get after the QB. Whether or not his future is at Edge is still to be determined. Pearce looks the part – good height, length, and an athletic build with the room for more mass. He holds the edge well in run support and he is a productive pass rusher having recorded 10 sacks in 2023. Pearce is a likely Top 10 pick next April. Williams, a 5-star recruit who was the consensus best defensive recruit in the nation, has a near perfect skill set for an Edge – he has size, length, speed, twitch, agility, and the instincts to become a premiere NFL pass rusher. When Williams enters the draft, he is a likely candidate to go #1 overall. Scourton, a transfer from Purdue, was a big-time commitment by the Aggies last spring. The leading sack artist last year in the Big Ten (10 sacks), Scourton has the size desired at either 4-3 or 3-4 DE to hold the edge in the run game and the size to slide down to DT and provide an inside push in certain packages. Tuimoloau and Sawyer entered Ohio State together and now begin their third season as the best Edge rushing tandem in the nation. Tuimoloau is a power rusher who is one of the best run-stopping Edge prospects in FBS. He has steadily improved during his time in Columbus. Sawyer, a 5-star recruit, was the more ballyhooed high school prospect but he had not reached his potential until the latter half of last season when he displayed the instincts and closing burst to go along with the frame and length that every NFL team covets at DE. Carter, a converted LB playing full-time Edge for the first time, is generating comparisons to former Nittany Lion Micah Parsons. And those comparisons are not inaccurate, Carter is a twitched-up athlete with the agility, bend, and burst to scare every QB and offensive coordinator in the NFL. He will be a sought for prospect whenever he declares for the draft. Burch is the biggest of the top Edge prospects in the 2025 draft (6’6” / 290) and has the size that odd man front defenses want on their lines but the strength and finishing ability to play as a traditional 4-3 DE. Burch may get consideration as a 3T in even fronts due to the combination of size and speed.
IDL
(Howard Cross / IDL / Notre Dame)
Howard Cross / Notre Dame
Mason Graham / Michigan
Kenneth Grant / Michigan
Tyleik Williams / Ohio State
Bear Alexander / USC
Nazir Stackhouse / Georgia
Deone Walker / Kentucky
Dontay Corleone / Cincinnati
There are several intriguing interior defensive linemen potentially available next spring. The group is diverse with guys with size, strength, quickness, agility, and athleticism. NFL teams utilizing even and odd man fronts will find prospects that will be able to contribute immediately. Cross is undersized and will not fit every defensive system but he is quick, plays balanced and with great leverage, and is solid in both run and pass defense. He might be the best interior pass rusher in the 2025 draft. Graham was a 3-star recruit that forced his way on the field as a true freshman and proved to be an impact player from the start. The junior is well-rounded and typically wins with power but shows the agility and athleticism to thrive in the NFL. He looks like a Top 10 pick next April. Grant provides a physical force in the middle of Michigan’s defensive line. His power and nastiness fits what defensive line coaches like in their DTs. Grant looks like a first-round pick, it just may be 2026 before he enters the draft. Williams has a great frame and mass and typically requires double teams to handle. He may never produce great sack numbers in the NFL but he is a force that needs to be accounted for on each play. Alexander, a transfer from Georgia, has ideal physical dimensions and lines up very low and shoots out quickly and aggressively to penetrate the LOS. He’s a disruptive force who could be special at the next level. Stackhouse is an extremely experienced and productive inside player for the Bulldogs who is solid and consistent, an integral part of the dominating Georgia defense. His size and strength are NFL-ready. Walker is a massive man who offers the frame, size, and reach few IDL can offer. He moves well for such a big man and must be schemed for or he will wreak havoc. He regularly requires double teams. Corleone is wide and strong and pushes the pocket with power. The “Godfather” is better against the run than pass but looks like a starter early in his NFL career.
LB
(Power Echols / LB / North Carolina)
Barrett Carter / Clemson
Marlowe Wax / Syracuse
Power Echols / North Carolina
Cody Lindenberg / Minnesota
Danny Stutsman / Oklahoma
Smael Mondon / Georgia
Nick Martin/ Oklahoma State
The 2025 LB class does not figure to be especially talented or deep, following the trend in recent years. But that is not to say that there are not some NFL starters waiting in the wings on the college level. Carter, enters this season as the highest rated LB by SNS, has multiple years of production at the ACC level and would have been amongst the first LBs drafted if he had entered the 2024 draft. Carter can play either inside or outside LB, is instinctive, athletic, and versatile being used as a match-up piece throughout the Tigers’ defense this season. Wax, like Carter, is an experienced LB with the instincts and range to prosper in the NFL. Wax has improved steadily throughout his time at Syracuse, is a good blitzer, and displays good coverage instincts. Echols is another highly experienced and productive multiyear starter. Echols is a tackling machine with the coverage and leadership skills coveted at LB at the NFL level. His instincts and range are top notch and makes him a candidate to start as a rookie in the NFL. Lindenberg is one of the most fundamentally solid tacklers to come out of college football the last few years. He has the desired size, range, and instincts to be a long-term NFL starter. Stutsman would have been a third or fourth round pick last April if he had declared for the draft after posting 104 tackles and 16 TFLs in 2023. He has excellent size and the versatility to line up at ILB or OLB in the NFL. Mondon has started multiple years in Georgia’s defense, no small feat considering the number of NFL players to come through Athens the last few years. He possesses NFL size, range, and tackling ability and should be starter early in his professional career. Martin recorded 140 tackles in 2023 and mans the middle of the Cowboys’ defense. He sheds blocks well, brings his pads on contact, and follows through to ensure the tackle is completed. Martin may not have enough size to play MLB in the NFL but his range and instincts makes him a long-term starter at WLB.
CB
(Travis Hunter / ATH / Colorado)
Travis Hunter (CB-WR) / Colorado
Tacario Davis / Arizona
Cobee Bryant / Kansas
Will Johnson / Michigan
Denzel Burke / Ohio State
Ricardo Hallman / Wisconsin
Jabbar Muhammad / Oregon
Daylen Everette / Georgia
Woodi Washington / Oklahoma
Benjamin Morrison / Notre Dame
Although it is early, the potential 2025 CB class looks like it could be a great one with at least three true lockdown CBs – Hunter, Johnson, and Morrison – available this coming April and plenty of other intriguing prospects who look like starting caliber NFL CBs. Hunter is the rare two-way player who will get serious draft consideration at both positions – CB and WR. Hunter is an amazing athlete with good height and length, soft hands, ball skills, and a large wingspan. He possesses elite body control, good leaping ability, great deep speed, and a knack for making the spectacular play. It is unlikely that he will be a full-time two-way player and will likely have to decide on which position to play in the NFL. Regardless of position, Hunter looks like a future Pro Bowl player. Davis has rare size and length (6’4”) with a huge wingspan that NFL defensive coordinators covet. His length is his greatest asset but he displays the ball skills and instincts to prosper in either press or zone coverage. Bryant has great ball skills (four INTs last season) and possesses the size and length to line up as a starting caliber outside CB. Bryant looks like a first round pick this next April. Johnson has prototypical size (6’2”) and length with elite ball and sticky man cover skills. He has lined up as Michigan’s #1 CB for three seasons now and looks like a perennial Pro Bowler. Johnson should be drafted within the first ten picks next April. Burke, like Johnson, is highly experienced with multiple years starting for the Buckeyes. Burke has the size and length that NFL teams want in an outside CB with the quickness, agility, and closing burst to be a first-round pick next April. Hallman does not possess the size or length of many of the other top CBs but his elite ball skills (seven INTs in 2023) and quickness make him an ideal candidate to man slot corner in the NFL. Hallman could work his way into first round consideration with another strong campaign in Madison. Muhammad was the starting slot CB for Washington last year and then took a huge NIL deal and transferred to Oregon. Muhammad has the quickness and agility to handle shifty slot receivers and he performs well in the clutch. He may be the best slot CB available next April. Everette is entering his second season starting as an outside CB for the Bulldogs. He possesses the length and quick feet to handle both bigger and shiftier WRs with the fluidity to ride a receiver’s hip and stay in-phase throughout the route. Washington is entering his fourth year as starting CB for the Sooners and has steadily improved throughout his career. Although his ball skills need development, Washington stays in-phase well against both size and quickness and is a quality open field tackler. Morrison is very smooth and covers both size and quickness easily. He is smart, instinctive, and has good ball skills recording three INTs in 2023 and nine over the last two seasons. Morrisson looks like a Top 15 pick next spring.
S
(Billy Bowman / S / Oklahoma)
Malachi Moore / Alabama
Akili Arnold / USC
Xavier Watts / Notre Dame
Malaki Starks / Georgia
Billy Bowman / Oklahoma
The depth of quality NFL-caliber safeties may be lacking in the 2025 NFL Draft but the top of the class looks superb with one or two safeties likely to be selected in the first round of next April’s draft. Moore could have entered the 2024 NFL but decided to return to Tuscaloosa. Moore is versatile – he can line up as a free safety or slide down and cover the slot. In fact, some teams may consider him as a CB due to his coverage ability. Moore looks like a second-round value next spring. Arnold, a transfer from Oregon State, has the look of a classic free safety with the toughness and tackling ability to support against the run. His instincts and range make him a candidate to be a long-term NFL starter. Watts tied for the most INTs in the nation last year (seven) and is a play maker with the speed and range to play as a single high safety. Watts has a great chance of being a first-round pick next April. Starks fits the profile of what NFL teams look for from safety with the size and length to match up with TEs down field and the toughness and tackling to crash down and support against the run. Bowman has adequate size for an NFL safety but his ball skills (six INTs in 2023) and tendency to always be near the ball down field (63 tackles in 2023) are NFL caliber. Bowman’s instincts and aggressiveness are already at an NFL level.
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