Every April, as the NFL draft gets closer and I start to lock in my final Big Board rankings, I like to pick my favorite prospects at every position for the class. It has become a tradition, highlighting players I like more than the consensus, regardless of when they get drafted and where I have them ranked at their position.
What follows is not a list of the best overall prospects in the 2025 class, nor is it a list of the guys I consider the best at each position. I try not to go too obvious; in fact, none of these guys will be first-rounders. Instead, these are the prospects I’ve rated higher than other evaluators or higher in close debates within position groups. I’ve watched their tape over and over because I love the way they play the game. They are all underrated ballers.
Let’s start with a Day 3 passer — and I’ll project the range that each prospect is likely to be picked when the draft kicks off Thursday.
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Quarterback
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Gabriel is a winner. He won 46 of his 63 career starts over time at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon. There is a lot of good football on his tape. And Gabriel was terrific in 2024, throwing for 3,857 yards with 30 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He also ran in seven scores.
At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Gabriel is a rhythm passer with pinpoint accuracy and really impressive timing. He sees the field well, makes quick decisions and gets the ball out on time and on target. He completed 72.9% of his throws last season (third in the nation), and he was off target 6.1% of the time (second best). And Gabriel doesn’t throw interceptions or turn the ball over. In six seasons, he has never thrown more than seven picks. Gabriel is sort of a poor man’s Tua Tagovailoa in the way he plays (and not just because they are both lefties).
I probably should also mention Shedeur Sanders here. The Colorado quarterback is a Day 1 pick, so I went with Gabriel. But I am higher on Sanders than other evaluators, as he’s my QB1 in the class — even above Miami’s Cam Ward. He’s tough, accurate and surgical in how he picks apart a defense. He’s going to be a very good pro.
Projection: I think Gabriel ends up going in the fourth or fifth round. He’s my No. 8 quarterback right now, but he has the traits to emerge from the Day 3 group.
Running back
Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
This is a deep running back class, so it’s hard to pick just one guy to highlight. I like Syracuse’s LeQuint Allen a lot and thought about him. But I just love watching Sampson take off when he gets into space; he’s a home run waiting to happen every time he touches the ball. He had 12 runs for 20 or more yards last season — tied for 15th in the country — en route to 1,491 rushing yards and 22 rushing TDs.
I see burst and conviction on the tape — he sees the hole, commits and explodes through the gap. At 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds, Sampson runs with fierceness and contact balance, with 820 of his yards coming after first contact. Those traits are also useful at the goal line, where he can power in for six points. Inside 3 yards, he scored on eight of his 11 carries last season.
To top it all off, Sampson catches the ball well out of the backfield (37 receptions over the past two seasons) and is willing to step up as a blocker. That gives him some third-down upside in addition to his rushing ability.
Projection: Sampson will be a really good third- or fourth-round pick for a team that needs a boost in the run game. He’s the RB6 on my current board, which will be finalized early this week. You know what you’re going to get with Sampson. He’s consistent. Consider that he had at least 100 rushing yards, averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry and scored at least one TD in eight of his 13 games last season.
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Marcus Mbow’s NFL draft profile
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Wide receiver
Savion Williams, TCU
Williams can do a lot of different things on offense, and a savvy NFL offensive coordinator will find ways to get him the football. TCU lined him up out wide on both sides of the field, in the slot and even as a Wildcat quarterback. He runs hard after the catch and breaks tackles, and he ran a solid 4.48-second 40-yard dash at the combine despite his big (6-foot-4, 222-pound) frame. Williams caught 60 passes last season, totaling 611 yards — 419 of which came after the catch — and six TDs.
Turn on the tape from the Horned Frogs’ October game against Texas Tech to see all he can do. In the first quarter, he scored on a 35-yard run and a 75-yard catch. I think he could return kicks in the pros, too. Having that versatility and size/speed combination makes me think a little about Cordarrelle Patterson.
There are legitimate concerns about his hands, though. He doesn’t always look natural catching the ball, and he has a tendency to body-catch too often. But he’s improving there; I see more consistency.
Projection: We could see a bunch of receivers come off the board on Day 2, and Williams has a chance to go at the end of that run. If not, I think he’s a really solid fourth-round pick as one of my top-10 receivers in this class.
Tight end
Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse
At 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds, Gadsden is basically a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. He catches everything. Gadsden had 73 receptions for 934 yards and seven TDs last season. Forty-six of those catches went for first downs, and 19 of them came on contested plays. He missed most of the 2023 season with a foot injury, but he produced back in 2022, too, with 969 receiving yards.
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It doesn’t matter if the ball is throw high, low, off target, whatever … he’s likely going to bring it in. But blocking will be a question mark in his evaluation. Gadsden needs to get stronger and play with more physicality when aligning in-line and taking on pass rushers.
Projection: His father, Oronde Gadsden, played receiver for the Dolphins from 1998 to 2003. He went undrafted, but his son looks like an early-Day-3-pick to me. I actually have him ranked with my H-backs right now, second on that list behind Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr.
Offensive tackle
Charles Grant, William & Mary
I’ve been high on Grant since the preseason. His upside is really intriguing. At 6-foot-5 and 311 pounds with long 34¾-inch arms, he is a true left tackle. Grant wrestled in high school, and you can see that background in the way he plays. He has explosive movements and is physical at the point of attack.
Despite 41 career starts, Grant’s game is still raw. He will need time to develop and get coached up in the pros. Grant also hasn’t played against elite competition in the FCS, and a knee injury kept him out of the Senior Bowl. But I just love watching him play, and I think he has the traits to make an impact on an NFL offensive line. Grant allowed just two sacks over his final three seasons.
Projection: Grant is a sleeper, but I had him in the three-round mock draft that Field Yates and I did last week. As one of the top 10 offensive tackles in this class, I see him as a third- or fourth-round pick.
Guard
Marcus Mbow, Purdue
Mbow has played right tackle for the past two seasons after playing primarily at right guard in 2022. So he has some versatility, but I have Mbow as a guard in the pros. He has 32-inch arms on his 6-foot-4, 303-pound frame, and his traits align better with blocking inside.
He’s fun to watch. Mbow has really good movement traits, and he can wreck defenders downfield once he pops to the second level. He hits moving targets really well. But what makes his tape so entertaining is his urgency. Mbow attacks every single play and never quits, playing right through the whistle.
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Andrew Mukuba’s NFL draft profile
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Mbow has played 36 career games, starting 32 of them. Over that time, he allowed five sacks, and he “blew” just nine run blocks according to ESPN tracking.
Projection: Yet another player who should go in the third or fourth round. Mbow’s draft range really depends on how quickly the guards come off the board. He’s in the top five at the position on my Big Board.
Center
Willie Lampkin, North Carolina
Lampkin is a smaller prospect at 5-foot-11 and 290 pounds. But he is a fierce competitor with a ton of versatility. I’d want those kinds of players on my team.
Over 61 starts and five seasons, Lampkin has played significant snaps at both guard positions and center — and he even saw 72 snaps at left tackle back in 2020. Over that time, he allowed just one sack. Lampkin levels defenders, but he’s never on the ground himself. He got after it every single snap while facing some tough ACC defensive tackles. His technique is sound, and he plays in balance in pass protection. I just want to see fewer lapses in concentration.
You might scan my interior offensive line rankings and not be able to find Lampkin. Well, check the fullback/H-back list, where he’s No. 4. Similar to how Baltimore’s Patrick Ricard has been used at both defensive tackle and fullback, I think there’s a case for Lampkin to see some fullback snaps in the NFL.
Projection: Lampkin is a late-Day 3 prospect, likely going somewhere in Rounds 5-7. He will make a team.
Defensive tackle
CJ West, Indiana
The low man often wins at the line of scrimmage, and West has a low center of gravity and strong hands to get into linemen. His tape shows excellent technique, power and tenacity, which make him difficult to block. And at 6-foot-1 and 316 pounds, he gets enough push to collapse the pocket. I even see some pass-rush upside, though he had just two sacks last season. He ran a solid 4.95 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, so he has the speed to get home on the QB.
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West, who transferred from Kent State to Indiana before the 2023 season, was a big part of the Hoosiers’ run to the College Football Playoff. His run defense was solid, with 12 run stops and 8.5 tackles for loss. In fact, it was the fourth straight season that West had at least seven tackles for loss and double-digit run stops.
Projection: Early Day 3 makes sense, even though I snuck him into our three-round mock draft last week, giving him to the Eagles late on Day 2. He’s the DT8 on my Big Board at the moment.
Defensive end
Ashton Gillotte, Louisville
Here’s one of my “Orange Crushers” from the “First Draft” podcast. Gillotte is going to be a good pro. The 6-foot-3 264-pounder displays good bend, strength and a powerful punch when he engages blockers. Plus, he closes fast, showing sustained intensity all the way through the play.
The concern might be the production. Gillotte was eighth in the nation in 2023 with 11 sacks. Great. But then he managed just 4.5 in 2024. Teams will be looking at that closely. I’m not really worried about it because Gillotte actually got more consistent pressure last season, even if he didn’t finish as often. His pressure rate jumped from 12.0% to 14.7%, and his 50 pressures ranked eighth in the nation.
Projection: I’m high on Gillotte, but he’s be an underrated third- or fourth-round pick for a team that needs help off the edge. He cracks my top five defensive ends in the class.
Outside linebacker
David Walker, Central Arkansas
I’ve talked about Walker a lot this year (and really much longer than that). He played at Division II Southern Arkansas before moving to Central Arkansas, and he dominated at both levels. In fact, I think he could have played on a Power 4 team and made an impact. He proved that at the Senior Bowl, where he looked the part. Over three seasons with the Bears, Walker had 31 sacks and 63 tackles for loss. He just has a knack for getting after the QB.
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Simply put, the 6-foot-1, 263-pound Walker jumps off the tape. He is a problem for offensive tackles off the edge because of his power, leverage, explosion, bend and speed. I particularly like how he mixes up his pass-rush moves to keep blockers guessing. Walker is turning 25 years old, but NFL coaching staffs will like that maturity and experience.
Projection: Walker is another really good late-Day-2, early-Day-3 prospect to watch. If he does go in Round 3 (or earlier), he would become the highest-drafted Central Arkansas player ever; cornerback Robert Rochell is the current high as a 2021 fourth-rounder. I have Walker ranked as OLB7, but I might bump him up on my final Big Board this week.
Off-ball linebacker
Nick Martin, Oklahoma State
Martin is a late riser as we near the draft. Everyone has been sleeping on him because he missed most of the 2024 season with a knee injury. But this guy can play. Martin is built like granite at 6 feet tall and 221 pounds. He flies around the field with 4.53 sideline-to-sideline speed and lands some hard hits on ball carriers. His explosion showed up at the combine, where he posted solid jumps — 38 inches in the vertical and 10-foot-3 in the broad.
And if you want production, he’s your guy. His 135 tackles in 2023 ranked sixth in the FBS. His 21 run stops tied for eighth. He chipped in six sacks and two interceptions that season, too. And even though he was limited to five games in 2024, he still put up good numbers (47 tackles). One of my favorite games to watch on his film is the Arkansas matchup in early September. Martin was all over the place, with 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and five run stops.
Projection: He’s climbing my board quickly. I think I will have him in the LB4 range when all is said and done. I projected him to Tampa Bay at No. 84 in the recent three-round mock draft, but he’s probably more likely to hear his name early on Day 3. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy raves about him, and some team will land a really good player in the middle part of the draft.
Cornerback
Upton Stout, Western Kentucky
Stout is a classic overachiever. He’s only 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds. But he maximizes his talent, and he’s tough to get off the field because he prepares well and has an impressive skill set. Stout allowed 2.4 yards per pass attempt on throws his direction last season, which was sixth in the nation among defensive backs with 200-plus coverage snaps.
He diagnoses well and displays a good feel for the position; his instincts are terrific. That helped him to six interceptions over the past three seasons, though four of them came in 2022. Stout has a sixth sense for being around the ball.
That goes for run defense, too. Stout closes well with 4.44 speed, and he is a reliable tackler in the open field. He had 10 run stops and 7.5 tackles for loss last season, playing primarily in the slot for the Hilltoppers.
Projection: Let’s say Round 6. There are a lot of good corners in the middle rounds this year, and teams might favor more size. But Stout could be a Day 3 contributor for a roster.
Safety
Andrew Mukuba, Texas
He might be the last name listed here (because I went by position), but he was one of the first I wrote down. I love Mukuba’s game. (And I know Louis Riddick does, too — Mukuba also made his list of sleepers.)
Mukuba is 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds, but he hits like a linebacker. He’s a heat-seeking missile from the deep parts of the secondary, using his 4.45 speed to drive top-down and hit ball carriers like a ton of bricks. He lays the wood. There were multiple times when I watched his tape where I found myself wondering where he came from to all of a sudden make a play. He explodes to the football. Mukuba sort of reminds me of Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu in play style, though he’s not as big and probably doesn’t have that sort of ceiling.
Mukuba had five interceptions last season, his first year with the Longhorns after playing at Clemson from 2021 until 2023. Overall, he holds up well in coverage, and you’ll even see him creep down and line up over the slot at times.
Projection: I say Round 3 at the latest. Mukuba is a top-five safety on my board, and plenty of NFL defensive coordinators are going to love his tape. He went 70th to Jacksonville in the three-round mock draft that Field Yates and I did last Tuesday.
