NFL Draft 2025: Ranking the AFC Rookie Classes

Thor Nystrom analyzes the complete rookie classes for the AFC teams after the NFL Draft and UDFA signing process.

Welcome to Part 2 of my annual Draft Haul rankings! If you missed Part 1 (NFC), you can catch up here: 

Draft Haul rankings seek to quantify the total talent that each team acquired during the NFL Draft process—combining draft and UDFA hauls—in order to compare that against draft equity spent to give us an ROI metric on each team’s 2025 performance. 

In simple terms: Which teams maximized their resources best during the 2025 NFL Draft process? 

Below, you’ll see how each team ranked this draft process in a variety of metrics—draft class, UDFA class, combined Draft/UDFA talent acquired, draft equity spent, and, finally … overall draft process ROI (total draft/UDFA talent acquired against equity spent). 

Teams below are listed in ranked order of their draft process ROI. 

Baltimore Ravens

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 11 | Draft Equity spent: 26 | Overall ROI: 1

NFL Draft Grade: A+

Another year, another dominant Baltimore draft.

R1 S Malaki Starks is a perfect fit. Starks’ skillset is extremely complementary to Kyle Hamilton’s. Starks is a Swiss Army knife defender with supreme versatility. Starks’ testing metrics didn’t flatter him during the pre-draft process, but his foot quickness on film is undeniable.

Starks is at his best in coverage playing downhill, with his eyes on the quarterback. Starks jumps passing lanes by hitting his NAS button trigger before the ball has left the quarterback’s hands. He’s a ball-hawk who makes legitimate plays on the ball. An AI-learning processor of the field who has the picture of the play in his head a beat after the snap, Starks has a trigger so fast it can appear he’s cheating. 

Over the past two seasons, Starks was 90th-percentile in PFF run defense grade. He is an exceptional tackler in space, a wrap-up disciple who hits the target square and drives through. Starks had a 6.9% career missed tackle rate over 201 career tackles.

With its next pick, Baltimore stopped the stunning slide of EDGE Mike Green, whose off-field concerns proved to be more concerning to the NFL than was reported. If nothing else, Green will enter a strong locker room culture where he will be held accountable.

A sawed-off 6-foot-3, 251-pounder, Green has eye-popping burst off the snap. One of the coolest aspects of his game is the instant speed-to-power nuclear reaction this leads to. He takes the lead in a rep early, and, when you force your hand to stop him, Green uses your movement against you to win in another way. 

Green was the only EDGE defender in the FBS to receive PFF grades higher than 90.0 as a pass rusher and in run defense last season. He finished 95th-percentile in PFF True Pass Rush Grade and 99th-percentile in Run Defense Grade. His furious first step sets the table for a cornucopia of pass-rushing moves—the dips, the spins, the humps, the chops. 

Green’s unorthodox game, borne out of necessity to overcome a smaller frame and a lack of length, feels like an echo through time to his high school days as a standout wrestler—the hand usage, core strength, and understanding of leverage are all upper-tier on their own as isolated traits. 

Green led the FBS with 17 sacks in 2024. He’s a better run defender than you’d think because of his ability to shoot gaps and pull the pin out of the play’s grenade before it has begun. Green is far more of a havoc-wreaker than an edge-setter, but his team will learn to live with that.

Over the next three picks, Baltimore added developmental depth pieces for the offensive line in Emery Jones Jr. and Carson Vinson, and an underrated second-level defender in LB Teddye Buchanan.

UFA class rank: 15

LB Jay Higgins was easily the top prospect that Baltimore signed. Higgins earned consensus All-American honors in 2024, the second-straight year he earned All-American recognition. He was the only FBS defender to have at least 100 tackles and four interceptions in 2024. 

Higgins utterly lacks measurables, the reason he went undrafted. But he is an instinctual, lunch-pail presence in the middle of a defense. He fills run gaps on time with clockwork reliability, and he’s always in perfect positioning in his designated area with eyes on the quarterback in zone coverage. He doesn’t have a ton of range, but his instincts gave him access to all of it.

I wouldn’t bet on Nebraska DT Nash Hutmacher making the Week 1 active roster. But if the Ravens don’t drag a wrestling mat to the front of the auditorium during the rookie talent show in camp this summer for Hutchmeier to take on starting C Tyler Linderbaum, then we’ve all lost. 

In high school, DT Nash Hutmacher went 166-0 as a wrestler and was the nation’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight. At Nebraska, Hutchmacher wrestled and played football—he’d drop 40 pounds to get beneath the NCAA’s 285-pound weight limit, then gain it back for football. Let’s see how he does on the gridiron when he doesn’t have to radically change his body composition twice per year. 

Northern Iowa’s Jared Penning is the younger brother of Saints 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning. Jared Penning brings guard/tackle versatility with him to camp in his bid to win a roster spot.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 18 | Draft Equity spent: 28 | Overall ROI: 3

NFL Draft Grade: A-

R1 DT Derrick Harmon played in the 320-330 pound range at the beginning of his career for Michigan State. Harmon’s pass-rushing effectiveness spiked at Oregon in 2024 after he cut to 310 pounds.

Harmon led all FBS interior defensive linemen with 39 hurries and 55 pressures in 2024, while finishing 99th percentile in PFF pass-rush win rate. Harmon is long-legged and naturally plays a bit high, but his length and strength are formidable weapons in helping him stand his ground in the run game. You can line him up nearly anywhere on the line. 

And say this for the pick: Pittsburgh recognized that interior defensive linemen were flying off the board on Thursday night, and secured themselves the final of the top-four consensus iDLs in this class.  

I think the Steelers got a future star out of their R3 pick in Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. Johnson is an exceptional zone back.

While Johnson ran only a 4.57 forty at the NFL Combine, he hit a max speed of 22 mph on that run, the same top speed that Iowa’s GPS tracking system clocked him at last season. Johnson’s 40 was killed by a 7th-percentile 1.62 10-yard split. 

Johnson is able to mitigate the lack of explosion and give himself a runway to access his high-end top speed on stretch-zone concepts. These are the runs where Johnson looks like Le’Veon Bell, a player Johnson studies and admires – and who Johnson will now attempt to follow in the footsteps of.

Johnson baits and switches second-level defenders, forcing them to declare first, sucking them into a muck of bodies as he escapes into space. This gives him a higher preponderance of clean holes through which to build up speed. When Johnson has a head of steam, he’s a speed-to-power locomotive. 

Johnson is a threat to take it to the house when he gets into the third level. He did this plenty in 2024, finishing 90th-percentile in breakaway rate. Johnson assumes an upright sprinter’s stance with open grass in front of him, his legs close together. 

Johnson doesn’t go down on first contact, and he has very good feet. Last season, between the guards, he had 131 carries for 839 yards, good for 6.4 yards per carry. Johnson finished with an identical 6.4 YPC over 240 total carries. Johnson has filthy contact balance, particularly for his angular running style. Per PFF, Johnson was 94th-percentile in yards after contact per attempt. 

Pittsburgh continued to pound the defensive front with their next two picks, getting really good values on both EDGE Jack Sawyer and Johnson’s collegiate teammate DT Yahya Black, a huge occupier.

Hilariously, I comped QB Will Howard to Mason Rudolph. My biggest issue with Howard’s NFL evaluation was sloppy lower-body mechanics for an older prospect (24 as a rookie). Howard’s accuracy and placement had always suffered because of that.

UDFA class rank: 7

This is more or less a one-man class—but that prospect was good enough to propel Pittsburgh to a top-10 overall UDFA haul. The Steelers got themselves a keeper in DB Sebastian Castro. Castro is better than the R7 prospect that Pittsburgh drafted for nickel depth, Donte Kent.

Both acquisitions, along with the signing of Juan Thornhill, point to Pittsburgh’s clear offseason emphasis of adding two-way safeties who get after it in run defense. This feels like scar tissue from the lopsided Round 1 playoff loss to the Ravens in which the Steelers gave up 299 rushing yards. Adding run-defending safeties is a step toward not having to schematically steal from Peter to pay Paul, and not having to tip your hand as blatantly pre-snap to the offense through personnel substitutions. 

I believe Pittsburgh found a long-term roster cog in Castro, a prospect I believe had middle-round talent. Over the last three seasons, Castro was 99th-percentile in PFF coverage grade at safety, and 85th-percentile in the slot. He was also 90th-percentile for his position in run defense grade, and 99th-percentile in run stop rate. 

In addition, Castro played 348 career special teams snaps and projects to fill multiple roles on an NFL special teams unit. Castro fell out of the draft due to mediocre measurables. But he’s an instinctual, refined, versatile defensive back who will back up multiple secondary spots while adding special team value.

One deep sleeper to monitor? Minnesota-Duluth OL Aiden Williams. A former zero-star recruit from Alaska, Williams entered college as a TE but ultimately gained 50 pounds to become a three-year starter on the offensive line. If he can show something in camp, Williams should earn an NFL redshirt year on the practice squad.

Cleveland Browns

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 1 | Draft Equity spent: 2 | Overall ROI: 5

NFL Draft grade: A

GM Andrew Berry channeled his inner Sonny Weaver Jr. during a wild 2025 draft – beginning with a shocking trade out of the Travis Hunter Jr. pick. Early on, it appeared the car could careen over the guardrails – but Berry’s vision ended up coalescing in a strong class that includes the acquisition of Jacksonville’s 2026 R1 pick.

Mason Graham ended up being the pick in the 1.5 hole – I ranked Graham No. 5 overall on my big board. Graham is a two-way bully of a three-technique. He gets after the quarterback and is a disruptive force against the run. 

Graham was utterly dominant the past two seasons, finishing 96th percentile or higher in all six of these categories: Pass Rush Grade, True Pass Rush Grade, Pass Rush Grade w/o Play Action, Pass Rush Win%, Run Defense Grade, and Run Stop%.

The high school wrestler knows how to grapple, and he always wins the leverage game. Graham has violent hands and rock-em-sock-em shock-absorbing core strength. He gets nitpicked for small hands and short arms. In his defense, Graham’s wingspan is longer than Byron Murphy, Jer'Zhan Newton, and Braden Fiske from the last class.

Cleveland’s rare quarterback two-step began with the shocking decision to take Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders in Round 3 – only to circle-back to Sanders two rounds later.

Gabriel is a pint-sized left-handed timing passer who’ll run your scheme for you. A 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist, Gabriel ranks No. 2 all-time in FBS passing yardage behind Houston’s Case Keenum. His processing, accuracy, and ability to follow a passing script and stay on time gave him the look of a long-term QB2 in the type of West Coast-type system that Cleveland runs.

Gabriel has the high floor. Sanders has the high ceiling. Sanders’ accuracy is an elite trait. He can put the ball wherever he wants it, to any sector of the field, shielding it from defenders. Sanders maneuvers his receivers to clean catch points through placement, leading to primo YAC opportunities.

Last season, Sanders’ 81.8% adjusted accuracy percentage—five points ahead of Cam Ward’s 76.3%—ranked No. 2 amongst FBS quarterbacks, per PFF. Sanders was also 97th percentile in avoiding negative throws/dropback, per PFF. Last season, he ranked No. 3 in turnover-worthy play rate (1.2). 

If Sanders shows up humbled, he could press for playing time immediately – he is clearly the most gifted quarterback on the roster. If he shows up defiant, his NFL career will be short-lived. The NFL seemed pretty intent to deliver that messaging.

With the first pick Friday night, the Browns took UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger. Schwesinger was a rotational reserve and core special-teamer until last season, when he entered the lineup and exploded, earning First-team All-American honors.

Schwesinger processes information quickly and thus tends to threaten blocking schemes faster than superior athletes. Schwesinger has a bag of tricks to breach the moat and storm the gates, timing his entry into the gap and contorting through cramped quarters to free himself into daylight. He’s not an upper-echelon athlete, but Schwesinger is a fluid one, an economy-of-movement type whose appendages are connected to his eyes and processor. 

Out in coverage, Schwesinger’s fluidity and brains stood out. In instances where the offense gets him isolated in space, Schwesinger typically stomps out brush fires with a swift tackle. Over 33 receptions allowed in 2024, Schwesinger had 14 PFF-charted “stops”— constituted as a loss for the offense based on down and distance— against only four missed tackles.

Three slots later, the Browns kept RB Quinshon Judkins in the state of Ohio. Judkins immediately becomes the team’s bellcow running back. Judkins runs with short choppy steps and has a herky-jerky style, creating indecision in defenders coming downhill. Judkins can string together extremely sudden micro-cuts.

Judkins is blessed with explosive acceleration, including out of cuts, allowing him to burst through direction changes. The trait of Judkins’ that his coaches fixate on is his vision. If a cutback lane opens, he’s going to see it. He instantly reacts to defenders' movements in his peripheral vision. Over his three-year career, Judkins forced 197 missed tackles, good for 81st-percentile missed tackles forced/attempt. 

Judkins’ burst is sufficient to steal the corner. At the combine, Judkins finished tied for No. 2 among RBs with a 1.51 10-yard split. The 6-foot, 221-pounder also opened eyes with a 4.48 40-yard dash. Judkins’ 38.5-inch vertical was top 5 at the position, and his 11-foot broad jump led the group.

Over his career, Judkins caught 59 balls with only three drops, posting a strong 4.8% drop rate. His route portfolio did not consist of much more than checkdowns and swings, but he’s adequate in those departments.

I liked Cleveland’s Round 3 idea of pairing undersized Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr. with David Njoku. Last season, Fannin shattered single-season FBS records for the TE position in both receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,550). He also set three different PFF-era records: yards after contact (868), missed tackles forced (32), and receiving grade (96.5). 

Bowling Green pounded Fannin with targets short and intermediate to leverage his after-the-catch skills. He outruns linebackers, and safeties need help getting him to the ground. Fannin’s career 2.99 YPRR number is more than a half-yard higher than any other tight end in this class. 

Fannin flashed skills in traffic in 2024, catching 54.5% of contested balls. Fannin is a zone-coverage killer who posted an outrageous 4.4 YPRR against zone last year. He’s also a threat up the seam who has shown a natural ability for tracking balls over his shoulder. For his career, Fannin only dropped 2.2% of his catchable targets, an incredible number for the volume of targets he received.

UDFA class rank: 29

This is the second-consecutive process where Cleveland’s UDFA class finished exactly No. 29 overall in my metrics.The Browns didn’t sign a player in my pre-draft top-400. But they did sign five from my 500 board, including three defensive backs. 

That’s notable because Cleveland has had success with UDFA safeties in particular in recent years, with D’Anthony Bell, Ronnie Hickman, and Chris Edmonds. The favorite to add his name to that list is Pitt S Donovan McMillon. 

McMillon had back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons the last two years at Pitt. McMillon has all the physical tools and aggressiveness that he needs to enjoy a long NFL career, and he’s a special-teamer. 

McMillon’s post-snap play recognition is the area he needs to show progress on this summer in order to stick. He doesn’t quickly decipher passing concepts, and he gets late downhill jumps against the run. In both phases, he misses too many tackles.

All of which makes him at present an uneasy fit at both free safety and in the box. If the right coach can get through to him, McMillon could prove to be a diamond-in-the-rough. If these issues in his game aren’t addressed, he’ll be finding a new vocation soon.

Indianapolis Colts

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 13 | Draft Equity spent: 15 | Overall ROI: 9

NFL Draft Grade: B+

The Colts telegraphed all spring that they were going to use the 1.14 pick on a tight end – they were thrilled that Tyler Warren fell. Warren is an offensive chess piece who plays with a fiery, die-on-the sword ethos. 

You can line Warren up anywhere on the field. Your only mandate is to get him the ball. Warren is an absolute berserker with the rock. He wore the No. 44 at Penn State because he grew up idolizing John Riggins. Warren runs fearless, with a violent bent. He is a menacing Wildcat quarterback in short-yardage situations. Last season, Warren averaged 8.4 YPC as a runner—with 5.0 after contact. 

At the snap, Warren detonates off the line. When sent up the seam, you’d see him blow by a creaky-hipped linebacker, or draw a strong safety whom he dwarfed. The former basketball player has a natural gift for boxing out and playing above the rim—he meets the ball at its highest point and brings it down.

The improvement in Warren’s hands was one of the most striking things about his 2024 breakout. In 2023—Warren’s first as a starter—he had a troubling 15.0% drop rate on 49 targets. In 2024, he slashed that all the way down to an exceptional 2.8% drop rate over 135 targets. 

One area to continue the improvement: While Warren shows admirable extension on downfield throws, he has a weird habit of sometimes trapping balls on short throws while he’s on the move, seemingly more focused on the run after the catch. That nonchalance didn’t cost him in 2024, but we saw him flub freebies the previous two years.

Warren’s route-running has steadily improved the past three years— remember, he didn’t start learning the position until he arrived at Penn State. The big, long-legged moose doesn’t have snappy natural agility, and there is rounding at route breaks. 

But he seems to have a good feel for the defender’s point of view, baiting his man with upper-body deeks that mimic the initial movement of routes run earlier in the game. Another area where Warren’s football IQ shines through is against zone coverage, which he deciphers quickly.

Warren’s rapid development the past few years portends additional growth to come—that’s a scary thought, considering how special he already is with the ball in his hands. He is crucial to the effort of salvaging Anthony Richardson.

Indianapolis had an up-and-down Day 2. The pick of EDGE JT Tuimoloau made sense, and it came at an acceptable price point. I was surprised by the selection of Minnesota’s Justin Walley in R3. A lack of measureables may prevent his game from translating apples to apples to the NFL.

On Day 3, I liked the developmental shot on Iowa State OT Jalen Travis, my favorite sleeper OT in this class. Travis is enormous and athletic, and he has length for days. His technique needs a lot of work – but you can’t ask for a more tantalizing ball of clay to work with.

Indy got sensational value on RB DJ Giddens, who opened eyes at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.43 forty. You can see this juice on tape. Last year, Giddens finished No. 4 in breakaway yards and No. 2 in breakaway rate. Giddens, Ashton Jeanty, and Kaleb Johnson were the only three backs in the country last year to average more than 4.0 yards after contact per attempt with above a 50% breakaway rate. 

Giddens has good patience and vision—especially for a guy who didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year in high school—and he’s bouncy with sudden footwork in a phone booth. Giddens doesn’t have much present utility in the passing game – but his value as a runner more than justified the cost of his acquisition.

QB Riley Leonard is a poor man’s Daniel Jones. He’s a good athlete, a tough runner, and adept in the short passing game. But Leonard utterly lacks arm strength, and can’t be trusted throwing over the middle downfield. He will need to show more as a thrower to have a chance to be an NFL QB2.

UDFA class rank: 27

This is the third-consecutive process that the Colts have finished No. 22 or lower in my UDFA class rankings. Indianapolis’ ownership doesn’t invest in this phase—the most guaranteed money that the Colts reportedly paid a UDFA this process was the $30,000 pittance promised to UTSA DT Joe Evans. The price of doing business for sought-after UDFAs is nearly 10-times higher than that in guarantees. Evans enters camp as NT4 and faces an uphill climb.

If you’re shopping in the UDFA clearance aisle, Troy WR Landon Parker is the archetype of the profile you’re looking for. Parker is a ludicrous athlete. His 9.97 RAS this process came over the full-gamut of tests, including a 4.40 40 at 211 pounds. Parker’s athletic profile at the receiver position ranked No. 14 out of 3,815 WR prospects in the RAS system to test during the pre-draft process since 1987.

Indianapolis’ projected starting trio of WRs Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce is locked in, as is 2024 R2 pick Adonai Mitchell. It would appear WR Ashton Dulin is close to that status as well after getting $3 million in guarantees to re-sign this offseason. 

That likely means that we have a heads-up battle for WR6 in camp between Anthony Gould—a R5 pick out of Oregon State last year —and Parker. Going for Gould: More draft capital invested, far better college player, one year experience on the roster, and a natural stylistic backup slot behind Josh Downs. 

Going for Parker: The measurables Gould can only dream of. Parker is going to need to legitimately flash as a pass catcher, because he played only 33 special teams snaps in college, and Dulin and Gould are special-teamers. But Gould struggled last year—getting pulled from punt-returning duties and never establishing a role with the offense—opening the door for the uber-raw Parker to make his case.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 3 | Draft Equity spent: 3 | Overall ROI: 12

NFL Draft Grade: A

To draft unicorn Travis Hunter Jr., Jacksonville’s new administration traded Nos. 5, 36, 126, and a 2026 R1 pick to Cleveland for Nos. 2, 104 and 200. Using trade charts, many have argued that the Jags overpaid. I’m here to tell you they got a bargain.

Travis Hunter would have been the WR1 or CB1 in this class if he was isolated to either position – the Jaguars just got a star-caliber starter at both spots, which were acute areas of need heading in. 

Hunter’s ludicrous ball skills are all over his tape, on both sides of the ball. Last year, on defense, he defended 11 passes and only allowed 23 completions. Hunter’s PFF coverage grade spiked from 74.7 to 90.3. His QB rating against was a microscopic 39.9, and he allowed a minuscule 17.1 YPG receiving in coverage.

This guy is a touched-by-God athlete. On offense, Hunter keeps a dizzying speed in and out of cuts. It tricks your eyes. On defense, Hunter has all the athleticism he needs to stay with the feet, propulsion, and route-running of any receiver. 

He has a knack for triggering at the opportune time to get involved at the catch point—the ball rarely beats him to the spot. Hunter erases the efficiency of the receiver across from him. Beating him short or intermediate is exceedingly difficult.

He plays bigger than his 6-foot, 188-pound bill as a receiver. Hunter’s wingspan is solidly above-average for NFL cornerbacks, and is only one inch south of pterodactyl Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan. Hunter is an acrobatic contortionist at the moment of truth, turning poorly thrown balls into completions. He’s a contested-catch virtuoso and a downfield assassin. Last season, he went 11-for-18 in contested situations. 

We haven’t seen anything quite like Travis Hunter enter the NFL over the past decade. He will be a two-way player in the NFL. He was the best prospect in this class, and worth the price paid to acquire him.

I appreciated Jacksonville’s adherence to slot value from there. DB Caleb Ransaw is an athletic nickel defender with all-day starter traits. OL Wyatt Milum – most experienced and decorated offensive linemen in this entire class.-- projects as a future starter at guard. The collegiate tackle lacks the length to stick there in the pros. A solid athlete who plays hard and smart, Milum is a strong run-blocker who finished 90th percentile the past two seasons in PFF positively graded run-blocking plays.

RB Bhayshul Tuten is an Isiah Pacheco clone with breakneck speed and a breakneck style. His 4.32 forty matched the time of De’Von Achane, who Tuten outweighed by 18 pounds. Tuten's vertical and broad jumps were both 96th-percentile. Tuten is a home run hitter who finished No. 8 in the FBS in breakaway yards last fall. 

Tuten’s hard cuts in space at high speeds make him a tough target to square up. Tuten runs low to the ground and is fearless, building up to a speed-to-power element that snaps arm tackles early in runs and usually leads to extra yards at the end of them. Tuten’s biggest question as a runner is ball security—over the past two seasons, he fumbled nine times. 

R6 Navy S Rayuan Lane III was on my shortlist for top special teams sleepers in this class. He’ll be a core special-teamer immediately. 

R7 C Jonah Monheim has extremely short arms (30 ⅛), but he’s a good athlete who takes out second-level defenders in the run game. Monheim is bendy for a big fella and generally wins the leverage game. His kryptonite is war-daddy nose guards who can bully him with power.

UDFA class rank: 21

The aggression that the Liam Coen/James Gladstone/Tony Boselli trio showed during the draft was not as apparent during the UDFA period.

CB Jabbar Muhammad was an interesting signing in that he was a very good collegiate cornerback who utterly lacks measureables. Muhammad may not be physically gifted, but he’s an extremely skilled cover man who is difficult to shake in the intermediate area. 

Over the last two seasons at Oregon, Muhammad accumulated 26 pass breakups. Muhammad has the feet, fluidity, and know-how to stick in the NFL—he simply needs to prove this summer that his physical profile is not nullifying of an NFL future.

Memphis QB Seth Henigan will take on John Wofford for QB3 duties behind Trevor Lawrence and Nick Mullens. Henigan is the all-time AAC career leader in both passing yards (14,266) and passing TDs (104).

Buffalo Bills

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 19 | Draft Equity spent: 21 | Overall ROI: 13

NFL Draft Grade: B-

The Bills needed help at boundary corner and got the NFL Combine’s fastest player—CB Maxwell Hairston—near the end of R1 to address it. Hairston’s speed is all over his film. Nobody is faster than Hairston, and he knows it. He never panics, and he’s not grabby, staying sticky through the route break with footwork. 

When he’s playing downhill with the ball in the air, Hairston’s burst vaporizes distance in an instant, earning him extra invitations to the catch point party. Hairston is thin, but he possesses decent height and good length.

Bigger, stronger receivers can paper-cut Hairston on the short stuff, seizing leverage through muscle. The lack of bulk hurts him in run defense—he’ll never be better than mediocre in this phase.

DT T.J. Sanders is  a toolsy, projectable interior player—a spot where Buffalo was crying out for depth. With the next pick, the Bills got a player in R3 that I saw as a second-rounder. And, hilariously enough, I comp EDGE Landon Jackson to AJ Epenesa—now the doppelgangers join forces. 

Jackson is a north/south load who sets a clean edge in the run game. Jackson isn’t a twitchy freak, but he was a productive pass rusher in the SEC due to his length—the longest wingspan of my top-30 ranked EDGE defenders—active hands, and variety of pass-rushing moves.

Next came the elephantine DT Deone Walker in Round 4. When Walker plays with a semblance of leverage, he can be unblockable. Too often, he pops up at the snap and invites offensive linemen into his pads. Can that be fixed?

Buffalo got good value on TE Jackson Hawes. Hawes was the best “third offensive tackle” inline blocker we had in this class. Last year, he finished No. 5 among all FBS tight ends in the PFF run-blocking grade.

UDFA class rank: 20

The Bills brought in Canadien QB Taylor Elgersma – the winner of Canada’s Heisman last season – for a tryout. Elgersma left town without a deal and ultimately signed with the Packers.

The deep-sleeper flier of Buffalo’s that I most appreciated was New Hampshire S Wande Owens. Owens is a freakish athlete with a thick build who played 2,626 defensive snaps and 506 special teams snaps as a standout four-year starter in the FCS (he spent the three previous seasons at Yale).

Kansas City Chiefs

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 22 | Draft Equity spent: 25 | Overall ROI: 15

NFL Draft Grade: C-

Kansas City was the perfect team to take OT Josh Simmons. Simmons, coming off a season-ending knee injury suffered against Oregon in October, would have gone higher had he finished the season healthy.

He’s a smooth operator with quick feet. Simmons allowed only one sack over 601 pass-blocking reps during his time at OSU. He has a good feel for angles and winning the space game in pass-pro. Simmons has the athleticism for second-level blocking, but he lacks violence and pop in the run game.

The Chiefs generally finish higher in my post-draft grading methodology, but they were ultimately dinged for what they did on Friday. 

DT Omarr Norman-Lott had a sect of maniacal fans in the draft community this spring – and it turned out the Chiefs front office was amongst their ranks. If he could translate his per-snap numbers in 2024 over a full workload, why didn’t Tennessee give him one? I also wasn’t high on the picks of EDGE Ashton Gillotte and CB Nohl Williams in the slots they were made. 

I did like what the Chiefs did on Saturday, getting strong value on WR Jalen Royals and LB Jeffrey Bassa.

Royals is sleek, with easy acceleration and speed. He’s a strong route-runner with good feet—he slams on the breaks, cuts clean angles, and accelerates back to top speed in a few steps.

Royals’ ability to win separation in the intermediate area and run after the catch forces defenders to play up on him. But he’s also good deep, with wheels and a feel for racking-and-stacking.

Royals could continue working on his release package. Because of his suddenness and strength, Royals didn’t face much resistance in the Mountain West. He’ll want to add more variety for the next level.

UDFA class rank: 5

Historically, the Chiefs have finished well in my UDFA metrics, including the No. 1 overall class in 2024. This process, Kansas City finished No. 6 overall.

WR Elijhah Badger was a mid-round prospect. Badger got pushed out of the draft after an odd college career. He stuck around at Arizona State too long after the recruiting scandal and played on a couple dead-end teams before going through the Graham Mertz/DJ Lagway shuffle his one year at Florida.

Florida’s shift to Lagway turned out to be a good thing for Badger—but it also relegated him to a one-trick-pony deep-ball role (which he excelled in, becoming one of five FBS WRs to average 20+ YPR while not dropping a single ball on 61 targets).

Badger, I’m told, was not aided by his interviews during the pre-draft process. But with all options open to him in free agency, he made the right call in picking Kansas City. The Chiefs are low on WR depth after several free agent defections this offseason. Badger has 4.43 speed, he’s got legitimate ball skills, and he can gobble up YAC yards quickly if you lead him into space. 

The on-field concern with the profile is Badger remains a raw route-runner despite spending five years in college. He rushes up the stem, and is undisciplined and inefficient at the break—making it easier than it should be for defensive backs to stay close. And since he didn’t play much special teams in college, Badger is going to have to make it as a receiver alone. He’s got the talent to do that, but it’s now-or-never time to polish the finer-point elements of his game that never got it in college. 

I was one of the lowest in the media on Clemson TE Jake Briningstool, and it turns out the NFL was with me. Briningstool is a stretched-out, lengthy target who looks the part, with a big catch radius. But he’s a Quadruple-A tweener, lacking the play strength and leverage for inline work, and the athleticism to become an NFL big slot. 

WKU RB Elijah Young has a very interesting analytical profile as a receiver, a primary reason he ultimately cracked my top-500 overall board. Young probably should have picked another team—Kansas City stole one of the draft’s best receiving backs in R7 with Brashard Smith. Young isn’t beating out Smith.

OT Esa Pole could be a hidden gem. Despite not beginning his football career until 2021, Pole had developed into one of the FBS’ most-reliable pass-blocking left tackles by the time he left campus. Pole allowed zero sacks last year for Washington State and was a top-25 PFF-graded pass-blocking offensive tackle in the FBS.

New England Patriots

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 5 | Draft Equity spent: 5 | Overall ROI: 16

NFL Draft Grade: C+

OL Will Campbell is a superb athlete who plays with a revved-up motor. He has very strong hands, throwing with bad intentions but refined technique. Plays with good core strength and knee bend. 

Campbell is a people-moving power in the run game, but can come into the point of attack too hot and slip off blocks. He has the shortest arms (32 5/8 inches) of my top-20 ranked OTs—there is zero precedent for standout NFL offensive tackles with shorter than 33-inch arms. 

The past two seasons, at left tackle for LSU, Campbell was 56th -ercentile in PFF pass-block grade. I believe he’s a guard or a center in the NFL. For those reasons, this pick felt like a reach.

RB TreVeyon Henderson, taken in the 2.38 slot, is a perfect complement to Rhamondre Stevenson – Henderson can continue to be deployed the way he was last year at Ohio State, while Stevenson will be used for the between-the-tackles dirty work that Quinshon Judkins handled for the Buckeyes. 

Henderson runs with his torso upright and his knees bent like coiled springs. He can accelerate from 0-60 in a blink, and is bursty through holes. A track star in high school, Henderson ran a 4.43 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Henderson doesn’t have juke-machine agility—he has a little hip stiffness—but he’s extremely sudden laterally when he needs to be. That springy lower half of his has teleportation qualities east/west—Henderson can pull out the reverse Uno card with a hard foot in the dirt when confronted by immediate penetration and hit the gas down the line the other direction.

Many backs with Henderson’s athletic profile are finesse air/space archetypes who dance/evade and toggle speeds. Not Henderson. Henderson’s north/south explosion juices him with legitimate speed-to-power electricity, and he’s fearless running downhill, accelerating into contact. 

Henderson’s appetite for contact can also be seen on his blocking tape. There are flashes of beautiful violence, where Henderson immediately spots the free rusher, steps up, squares, and flattens the guy. A gifted receiver, Henderson has good hands—he had 45 catches with only two drops the past two seasons. More impressively, on the topic of hands, Henderson had zero career fumbles on 667 touches.

The Patriots got the class’ best pure center in R3 with Georgia’s Jared Wilson. He’s a ridiculous athlete—98th-percentile RAS while completing every test of importance except the 3-cone—in a prototypical frame. Wilson boasts an 80” wingspan, the longest of my top-8 ranked centers. 

A Duke Manyweather pupil with a polished game, Wilson’s hand use is extremely advanced for his experience level. Last season, Wilson finished No. 1 among centers in this class with a minuscule 1.4% pressure rate allowed (five pressures over 511 pass-pro snaps). 

He allowed zero sacks and finished 98th percentile in pass block grade on true pass sets. Wilson needs to keep improving his play strength for additional gains in the run game. He declared after his third year and is on the younger side—there is plenty of potential to be untapped here.

I believe that R3 WR Kyle Williams will start immediately. Williams had the best release package of any receiver at the Senior Bowl.  He is extremely sudden off the line, with blur-fast feet working towards a purpose.

Williams has mediocre measurables. But he manages to create opportunities for his quarterback thanks to the reliability with which he gets off the line and into his route, and the separation he tends to gain through the route-break phase. Williams’ sublime 4.39 YPRR against man-coverage and 88th-percentile PFF separation percentile against single-coverage tell the tale of his down-in, down-out reliability.

New England did slick work on Day 3. I couldn’t believe the back-to-back values that the Pats got on DT Joshua Farmer and Bradyn Swinson. Both have the tools to develop into NFL starters.

UDFA class rank: 22

TE CJ Dippre has projectable traits as an inline tight end. His physical gifts have not yet translated to consistency as a tight end—he doesn’t win down the field, and he’s not rock-solid reliable short or intermediate. As a blocker, he wins reps with angles and movement, but is consistently stymied by power.

All that said, I’m pretty confident in saying that Dippre will make this roster. That’ll be because he projects as a core special-teamer. Dippre has extensive experience on special teams, with 529 collegiate special teams snaps. I like his odds to make the team much better than fellow UDFA TE Gee Scott Jr, a WR/TE tweener.

The Patriots won what a source told me was a spirited bidding war for FCS RB Lan Larison, one of the better receiving backs in this class. Larrison is a discount version of Raiders 2024 R5 pick Dylan Laube. The Patriots also shelled out a big guarantee for OG Jack Conley. Conley has a shot to hang in lieu of the team’s shoddy offensive line depth.

WR Efton Chism III was destined to sign with the Patriots. He’s a slot receiver who plays and looks exactly like you’re thinking in your head. The Patriots WR room is wide-open—if Chism impresses in camp, he’s going to steal a job and fulfill the next phase of his destiny.

New York Jets

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 9 | Draft Equity spent: 9 | Overall ROI: 17

NFL Draft Grade: B-

The Jets’ roster still has miles to go – but at least the Jets can now cross “offensive tackle” off the needs list for the next decade. Armand Membou was picked to take over at RT as the bookend for last year’s first-round pick, LT Olu Fashanu. 

Membou started at right tackle all three years he was on campus at Missouri. He’s a little sawed-off, but Membou has the long arms and athleticism to hang on the boundary at the next level. 

Membou has very smooth feet – it’s very difficult to beat him with movement. Membou was utterly dominant in 2024, allowing zero sacks en route to a 96th-percentile PFF pass-blocking grade last season. Membou is still only 20 years old, with upside left to untap. His selection will have both short- and long-term stabilizing effects on the offensive line.

The Jets, rumored to be interested in Tyler Warren or Colson Loveland at 1.7, instead saved that position for R2 in the form of LSU’s Mason Taylor, the son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and the nephew of Hall of Famer Zach Thomas. 

Taylor has plenty of experience, a three-year starter. He’s an above-average inline blocker for this class, and he has plenty of experience in the slot. He gives you a hard chip off the line before getting into his route on play-action concepts. Taylor was as reliable as it gets, dropping only one ball on 79 targets. 

Over his career, around 70% of Taylor’s catches came within five air yards of the line of scrimmage. That usage should have led to strong after-catch yardage numbers … but it didn’t. Taylor broke a mere four tackles and averaged a meager 4.6 YAC in. 

I liked the Round 3 value that the Jets got on CB Azareye'h Thomas, who fell because of long-speed questions. But he’s a big, skilled boundary corner with length who plays a physical brand of press coverage.

The Jets paid a premium for WR Arian Smith’s speed in Round 4. Smith’s viability in the NFL will be determined by two things: 1) Can he stay healthy? 2) Can he clean up his issues with drops?

UDFA class rank: 22

The Jets had a spray-the-board UDFA strategy. New York strayed from bidding wars for this year’s top-rated undrafted prospects, but ended up collecting nine UDFAs on my pre-draft 500 board.

RB Donovan Edwards spent his Michigan career as the 1B back behind Blake Corum and then Kalel Mullings. He’s well-known, thanks to his huge 2023 national championship performance and subsequent appearance on the cover of the CFB25 video game.

Edwards is a good athlete, but he lacks vision and feel—hence my comp of “Skinny Kalen Ballage.” Ballage ran a 4.46 at 6-1/228 coming out of Arizona State. Between that and his receiving utility, Ballage drew plenty of pre-draft hype. But Ballage’s tape was littered with missed opportunities, running into the backs of his offensive linemen and missing holes. Edwards’ film was the same frustrating exercise. 

Edwards only gets to use his long speed when holes open on-time where they’re supposed to. He’s a one-cut-and-go type runner, but his game lacks the decisiveness and creativity you want from that style. Edwards doesn’t run with much power, and he doesn’t make defenders miss. He runs upright, and doesn’t fluidly change directions. The past two years, Edwards posted elusive ratings of 35.9 and 45.0, two of the worst single-season marks in this entire class.

Fortunately, Edwards is a good receiver. He knows how to run a route, and he has strong hands. You can deploy him out of the slot and outside. But due to his ineffectiveness as a pass blocker and his lack of vision as a runner, Edwards is going to need to be a receiving specialist to stick. 

Edwards reportedly flashed in rookie minicamp – pay that no mind, his athleticism has always sizzled in shorts. It’s the decision-making in the moment with 22 padded men on the field that is the question. It was a dubious choice for Edwards to choose to compete for a job with the Breece Hall-Braelon Allen-Isaiah Davis trio for a roster spot.

Las Vegas Raiders

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 8 | Draft Equity spent: 6 | Overall ROI: 18

NFL Draft Grade: B

In my decade doing NFL Draft work, I have never seen a college player who is more difficult to tackle than RB Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty has the contact balance of the spinning top at the end of Inception. He is barely fazed by first contact. Defenders slide off Jeanty like they’ve hugged an electrical fence. 

Jeanty easily led the nation for the second straight year in yards after contact per attempt, with 5.25. His 151 missed tackles forced led the nation by 50 (Cam Skattebo was second with 101)! Jeanty’s 1,970 yards after contact shattered the single-season CFP-era record, and was more than 250 yards higher than any other RB had … in total! Three-quarters of Jeanty’s rushing yards last season came after contact.

Jeanty has a deep bag of tricks to deal with oncoming defenders, including a tornado spin move. In college, Jeanty posted a career missed tackles forced rate of 37.1% with 4.78 yards after contact per rush. Jeanty parries flurries of cuts together in space, painting a herky-jerky mirage for defenders – he is capable of immediately making 90-degree direction changes, or flipping directions violently repeatedly while retaining speed and body control.

In the beat after contact, and immediately out of cuts, Jeanty has an instant-acceleration button to get himself back into space. Jeanty has solid long speed, but it’s not elite. The elite trait is Jeanty’s ability to access top speed in a few steps. 

Jeanty gleefully screws with pursuit angles by toggling speeds, sometimes throttling down to a near jog to allow downfield blockers to wipe out threats before re-punching the gas. This is where you see his hand-above-the-chessboard genius, maneuvering himself like he’s playing a video game and can see all 11 defenders simultaneously. 

He is keenly aware of where the first-down line and end zone are, and you’ll see even more gritty contortionism out of him when he has a shot to cross either. In 2024, 31% of Jeanty’s runs ended in either a first down or a touchdown. 

He’s also a great receiver. In 2023, 65 of Jeanty’s 516 offensive snaps came in the slot or out wide. Jeanty caught 44-of-48 targets in 2023 for 578 yards and 5 TD—with zero drops—good for an elite-elite 91.6 PFF receiving grade. Jeanty was an all-district receiver as a junior in Texas’ highest level of high school football.

WR Jack Bech will start immediately in the slot. Bech has really good ball skills, extending to the ball and greeting it with soft hands. Bech is exceedingly comfortable with company at the catch point, creating space with the ball on its way with his hands and contorting to give himself the best of it. He’s always been strong in contested situations.

Bech played three-quarters of his snaps on the boundary last season. He was a big slot earlier in his career, and that may ultimately end up being his destiny in the NFL.

Las Vegas double-dipped at the position on Day 3 with WR Dont'e Thornton. Thornton made a statement at the NFL Combine, becoming the first receiver taller than 6-foot-4 since 2003 to run a 4.35 or faster. He’s a one-trick-pony deep-ball guy, posting a hilarious 26-661-6 receiving line (25.4 YPC) in 2024. 

I’m intrigued by the Round 3 gamble on CB Darien Porter, an athletic freak with plenty of experience on special teams who is raw as a corner. Porter, though, perfectly fits the archetype of a Pete Carroll cornerback – he’s got an imbedded floor due to the special teams utility, and he could turn into one of the steals of the draft if the Vegas staff can complete his developmental arch.

UDFA class rank: 11

EDGE Jah Joyner, blessed with good length and fluidity off the edge, has a shot to make this roster. There are depth concerns and jobs available behind Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce on the depth chart. Joyner had 12 sacks the past two seasons. 

CB Mello Dotson was a Third-Team All-American in 2024 after picking off five balls. Dotson is an instinctual, aggressive coverman who has the length and ball skills to flip the field at the catch point. 

But for all his ball production in coverage, Dotson’s evaluation was clouded by mediocre athleticism, poor run defense, and a red-flag career 19.1% missed tackle rate. In addition, Dotson doesn’t play special teams. That means he’s going to have to make this roster on the strength of his coverage ability alone. 

LB Jalin Walker followed HC Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana and went buckwild in Bloomington, posting 82 tackles, 10 TFL, two sacks, two interceptions, eight passes defensed, and three forced fumbles in 2024. 

Walker is safety-sized, so it’s no sure thing that his game is going to work in the NFL. But he’s a fiery presence who figures to press the issue by continuing to finish reps around the ball in camp. The Raiders’ LB room is one of the NFL’s very worst, so Walker and his unorthodox game are going to get a long look in camp.

A sleeper to make the team is Old Dominion’s Pat Conroy, an H-back/fullback. Conroy had eye-opening testing numbers during the pre-draft process—posting a 9.98 RAS as the FB position while doing every test—and showed some receiving flashes in 2024. 

Conroy finished No. 8 in this TE class with 8.2 YAC. He was the only FBS TE to have two 75-plus yard receptions in 2024. Can he convince OC Chip Kelly this summer that his versatility will add more to the offense than another backup inline guy?

Houston Texans

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 24 | Draft Equity spent: 24 | Overall ROI: 21

NFL Draft Grade: D+

The Texans entered the festivities in desperate need for offensive line help. It had to be a nightmare watching six offensive linemen go in the top-24. Minnesota’s selection of Ohio State OG Donovan Jackson one slot ahead of Houston’s pick may have been the final straw in the Texans’ ultimate decision to bail its slot.

That certainly was not the preferred outcome heading in – but credit Houston for at least acknowledging the situation it was in and taking strong value via trade as opposed to reaching for the next-best option on its iOL board. 

Houston picked up No. 99 pick and a 2026 third-rounder from the Giants – who took QB Jaxson Dart – in exchange for sliding down nine slots to No. 34. In that slot, the Texans began their aggressive efforts to fix the receiver room via WR Jayden Higgins. In Round 3, they reunited Higgins with his collegiate teammate Jaylin Noel.

Higgins is a crafty boundary receiver and a fluid mover on film. Rangy and broad-shouldered with long arms, Higgins has a bloated catch radius. His 80-inch wingspan is the biggest of my top-15 ranked WRs. 

Amplifying the effect, Higgins regularly spears balls outside of his frame, and it’s rare to see him drop a ball placed within it. Over 350 targets across a four-year career, Higgins had a microscopic 3.0% drop rate—and he finished his career with three consecutive seasons of a drop rate of 2.2% or less! 

One area for work is the diversification of his release package. Higgins isn’t super sudden off the line, and his releases are fairly straightforward. Physical NFL press corners are going to make him prove it before they back off.

Jaylin Noel was a steal in Round 3. Noel was an extremely productive slot receiver in the Big 12, catching 60 or more passes each of his last three seasons. Noel’s best traits are instant acceleration and body control. He attacks off the line with burst, and his movements are controlled-by-a-joystick precise from there. 

In this way, Noel consistently creates separation. That’s always been a staple of his game. Where Noel has improved is in his hands and his ability to finish plays in traffic. Noel slashed his drop rate from 10% in 2022 all the way to 4.8% last season. He also converted 51% of his career 39 contested opportunities, a tremendous showing for his size. Noel profiles as a high-volume starting NFL slot.

Dismayed by the run on offensive linemen in Round 1, the Texans did well to get strong value at the position in Round 2 with Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery. He’s a dancing bear with an enormous frame and light feet. Ersery drops a cruise-ship anchor in pass-pro. He’s extremely effective zone-run blocker with the mobility to hit his spots and pick off linebackers. 

Needs to continue working on technique and leverage. Long-legged body type makes it naturally harder to play low, making this pursuit all the more important. I assume Ersery is headed inside initially to compete for immediate playing time at guard.

While I loved Houston’s first three picks, I thought they aggressively reached on the USC Trojans they took with their next two picks. S Jaylen Reed, however, was a worthy Round 6 flier. And TE Luke Lachey, taken a round later, might hang around. Lachey lives up to his Iowa pedigree with his blocking technique, but needs to fill out his rangy frame with more muscle and improve play strength before being trusted to regularly tango with war-daddy power ends.

UDFA class rank: 10

The Texans eschewed quantity for quality in the UDFA process, signing a trio of prospects I ranked top-250 overall pre-draft, and a fourth who finished within shouting distance of a draftable grade on my board.

This class is headlined by UNC nickel defender Alijah Huzzie, who went viral at the NFL Combine for a one-on-one interview he did at his podium session while all other reporters in the room flocked to Travis Hunter.

An undersized transfer from East Tennessee State, Huzzie had 14 pass breakups over two years starting at UNC. A rock-solid nickel defender, Huzzie was expected to go in the latter half of Day 3 prior to tearing his ACL at Shrine Bowl practices. Now, he’s a free lotto ticket to Houston, which won’t require a 2025 roster spot to keep—Huzzie will get a redshirt year on IR.

Houston shelled out $200,000 in contract guarantees for DT Junior Tafuna. Even after signing DT Sheldon Rankins and using a R7 pick on Rutgers DT Kyonte Hamilton, the Texans needed more depth along the interior.

The Texans also got aggressive in handing out $250,000 guaranteed to C Eli Cox. The center position was largely ignored by teams during the draft. But Cox, a two-time All-SEC team member, was one of multiple UDFA centers who entertained multiple aggressive suitors on the post-draft open market. Houston’s center two-deep of Jarrett Patterson and Jake Andrews is, to say the least, uninspiring.

WR Daniel Jackson left Minnesota No. 3 on the program’s all-time receptions leader board. He’s a shifty slot with good hands. Jackson lacks long speed, and was viewed by many NFL personnel men as a possession slot—a low-value proposition even if he hits.

This isn’t a great landing spot for Jackson. The Texans added Christian Kirk as a one-year slot solution. Long-term, they hope to get Tank Dell back to his pre-injury form. And third-rounder Jaylin Noel is good enough to potentially push the issue for immediate snaps. Either way, Jackson will get to spend another summer with former Gopher teammate OT Aireonte Ersery, Houston’s R2 pick.

Miami Dolphins

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 23 | Draft Equity spent: 16 | Overall ROI: 25

NFL Draft Grade: D+

The Dolphins badly needed offensive line help, particularly after the retirement of Terron Armstead. But after the class’ top-three consensus offensive tackles all went in the top-9, and after Alabama OG Tyler Booker went No. 12 to the Cowboys, the Dolphins audibiled to the defensive trenches with DT Kenneth Grant.

Grant is a 331-pound load with a nearly 7-foot wingspan. In pre-draft testing, he posted an 82nd-percentile 10-yard split and an 81st-percentile vertical jump. Grant is an interesting evaluation in that his size/athleticism combination screams 0- or 1-technique—ie, between the guards—but his play style evokes more of a three-technique.

Grant has the quickness to shoot gaps, and the pursuit speed and length to short-circuit plays. The last two seasons, Grant was 81st-percentile in PFF pass-rushing grade, a superb showing for a player his size. Over that same span, Grant was 80th-percentile in PFF run-defense grade.

In the run game, Grant is more of a hunter than an occupier, looking to shed and make the play himself, not plant himself like an oak for everyone else to have fun. His flash plays are some of the flashiest in this entire position group. He just needs to play with more consistency—Grant starts to play higher and higher the more tired he gets, making him easier to block.

Miami circled back to the offensive line in R2 with Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea. Savaiinaea will likely kick inside to guard at the next level— fortunately, he had almost one thousand career snaps at guard in college. 

He’s got the body of a nightclub bouncer—wide, thick, and barrel-chested—with quick feet and long arms. When Savaiinaea sets back on his heels in pass-pro, he makes an outside path to the quarterback non-viable. You’ve got to crash the gates inside on him, and that’s where he had help. Over the last three seasons, Savaiinaea finished 83rd percentile or higher in pass-blocking grade on true pass sets, 3-step drops, and 5-7 step drops.

The area Savaiinaea needs to work on is run-blocking. Over his career, he was 13th-percentile in positively graded run plays. He doesn’t have elite play strength, and can get stonewalled on gap responsibilities in particular. Savaiinaea is a much better fit for a zone scheme. But though he has the athleticism to consistently reach his destination, Savaiinaea has a tendency to arrive high and come in a bit hot.

Miami didn’t pick again until R5. I liked the swing on Maryland DT Jordan Phillips, one of the class’ youngest players. I also liked the idea of adding big grinder RB Ollie Gordon to a running back room that had all kinds of speed but lacked physicality.

The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2021 class, QB Quinn Ewers has an adaptable throwing style, with his arm slots running the gamut from true sidearm to near over-the-top. Ewers delivers a tight spiral and a catchable ball, and has shown a feel for touch and layered passing in the intermediate area. Ewers’ unshakable confidence in his arm is likely why he’s never perfected his lower-body mechanics.

Ewers has a habit of starting to sling right when a decision has been made, skipping over the beat it would have taken to set up a proper throwing platform beneath him. This is maddening in clean pockets, because it puts to chance accuracy and placement.

I see a mechanical thinker whose effectiveness wavers the further he goes down the progression line. The 2024 regular-season game against Georgia provided the most extreme example of this.

When Ewers was being hailed as the best high school player in the country, he drew ubiquitous comps to Matthew Stafford because of their mutual side-winding deliveries. But Ewers didn’t have nearly the juice in his arm that Stafford had at Georgia.

The acknowledgment of this can be seen in Texas’ shift in aerial philosophy during Ewers’ tenure. The percentage of deep balls Ewers attempted as a senior in 2024 was slashed by more than 5% from his first year as a starter in 2022. Ewers’ all-arm throwing style doesn’t help him in this area. Balls flutter when he tries to push it too far downfield. In 2024, Ewers completed 38.2% of throws 20+ yards downfield.

UDFA class rank: 8

The Dolphins had two UDFAs make the Week 1 roster last year—CB Storm Duck (342 defensive snaps) and OL Andrew Meyer. The year before, the Dolphins had three. And the year before that, the Fins unearthed a legit UDFA gem in S Kader Kohou.

This time around, with sparse depth in the receiving room beyond Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, Miami was aggressive with UDFA WRs. The Dolphins gave $135,000 guaranteed to Northwestern slot WR AJ Henning, who just missed my position rankings (and thus is not listed in the table above).

The 6-foot-4, 204-pound WR Andrew Armstrong led the SEC in receiving yardage (1,140) last season despite playing in only 11 games. He’s old, however—three years older than Luther Burden. Armstrong, who had a sparkling 3.25 receiving yards per team pass attempt in 2024, offers the starter kit of an NFL possession receiver.

If things break right for WRs Theo Wease Jr. and Sam Brown Jr., you could say that about them. Miami has been looking for a big possession receiver for the red zone and to move the chains on third down—it’s the explicit reason they signed WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

But with bigger fish to fry during the draft, Miami didn’t get around to drafting a receiver. With an open competition for bench spots behind Miami’s starting three receivers, there’s a good chance a UDFA WR cracks the Week 1 roster.

Lastly: I think LB Eugene Asante and TE Jalin Conyers are both making this roster. Asante, a jitterbug of a linebacker, is a strong special teamer who had an eye-popping 727 special teams snaps in college. He’ll flesh out the linebacker depth while assuming a core special-teamer role out of the gate. 

I believe that TE Conyers will see some field time as a rookie. The Dolphins were weak on tight end depth behind Jonnu Smith, and Conyers, who has long arms and a deceivingly large catch radius, has interesting developmental traits.

Denver Broncos

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 25 | Draft Equity spent: 19 | Overall ROI: 24

NFL Draft Grade: C-

The Broncos stunned the draft community by bypassing RB Omarion Hampton – believed to be the apple of their eye – for CB Jahdae Barron. They made the right decision, selecting the superior prospect at a more valuable position. Barron is a destructive tone-setter in a zone scheme.

In 2022-2023, Barron played the nickel role in the base defense. Texas would then shift him all over the place—most commonly to the boundary or into the box as a dime LB. In 2024, Texas moved Barron to the boundary CB1 role in the base defense. But interestingly, the Longhorns continued to use Barron as a chess piece, shifting him to nickel or into the box as needed. 

Barron is a die-on-the-sword kamikaze in run defense, dogged in pursuit and a sure form tackler in space. He’s a gnat off the line, getting his hands on the receiver and funneling him. He’s instinctive and active, deciphering offensive intentions immediately and springing into action. 

Barron is a maestro in zone coverage, making sure that everyone who enters his area gets a chaperone. He likes to play forward and read the quarterback’s eyes—Barron gets great jumps on the ball and gets his hands on plenty. He reminds me so much of Devon Witherspoon.

Over the last two seasons, Barron was 99th-percentile in PFF coverage grade on the boundary. Overall, in 2024, Barron allowed no touchdowns and 272 yards on 65 targets with five interceptions. Only one opponent (Kentucky) generated 35 receiving yards against him in 2024. 

According to PFF’s Wins Above Average metric, Barron was the most valuable defender in FBS football last season. He won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back. Denver had bigger needs at the time of the pick, but you can’t go wrong picking the best player.

I was one of the media’s most bullish on UCF RB RJ Harvey – it turns out Sean Payton was even more bullish than me. Harvey is a home run hitter with 4.40 speed. He runs low to the ground, and, when he gets going, he runs with more power and authority than you’d expect.

In 2024, Harvey posted strong broken tackle (69), elusive rating (122.2), and yards after contact (3.88) metrics. He runs through arm tackles and bounces away from off-angle attempts. I love his bouncy lateral agility behind the line of scrimmage. He smoothly swerves from danger, punches the gas, and reaches top gear in a few steps. 

Harvey is a skilled and proven receiver. He’s one of three FBS running backs in this draft class to catch at least 19 balls with at least 1.25 YPRR each of the last two years. In space, he’s slippery as a banana peel and has a NOS button when he needs it. He’s going to a star in Denver.

While I loved Denver’s first two picks, I wasn’t as big of a fan of the rest of their class. I thought the Broncos reached on a low-ceiling prospect in WR Pat Bryant, and I thought they too aggressively pulled up EDGEs Sai’vion Jones and Que Robinson based on projectable traits.

UDFA class rank: 14

An undrafted free agent has made Denver’s Week 1 roster out of camp in 20 of the last 21 seasons. That’s definitely happening again. The Broncos’ 2025 class was headlined by two offensive linemen whom I had draftable grades on, OG Clay Webb and OT Xavier Truss. They’re former teammates at Georgia.

Webb is a former five-star recruit who blossomed after leaving the Bulldogs for Jacksonville State in the portal. A strong run-blocking guard, Webb was a dream in Rich Rodriguez’s up-tempo, run-heavy system. Webb practiced at center at the Senior Bowl, proving to the NFL that he can handle all three interior positions.

As for Truss—a former four-star who spent his entire career at Georgia— he provides OG/OT versatility. Truss is blessed with length, and he’s a decent athlete. But he lacks play strength and plays naturally high—bully-ball power interior defenders give him fits. 

That’s the issue with the guard projection. The issue with the tackle projection is Truss doesn’t have especially quick feet—speed rushers in the SEC who could counter stole his lunch money on the boundary.

One of Webb and Truss is going to make this roster—and there’s a chance that both do. Webb’s argument is aided by Denver’s sore-spot center position. But the Broncos also lack overall interior offensive line depth—currently consisting of the uninspiring trio of Alex Forsyth, Nick Gargiulo, and Calvin Throckmorton. 

Another area where Denver badly needed to shore up its depth was linebacker. You saw an aggressive strategy with that in the UDFA process, with a big push to sign Utah LB Karene Reid, one of the draft’s top undrafted linebackers. 

It seems clear that Denver believes it will be rostering a UDFA linebacker. The team also gave guaranteed money to Kansas LB JB Brown, and they additionally signed former Wisconsin/Michigan State LB Jordan Turner to a contract after bringing him in for a post-draft tryout.

Turner is more intriguing than your typical rookie camp invite because he was recruited to Wisconsin by former DC Jim Leonhard, now the assistant HC for the Broncos (Leonard on Turner on Signing Day 2020: “Jordan Turner is a dynamic player. I love what he can do physically and he is a great leader on his team. He makes plays all over the field.”). Turner was PFF’s top-graded run-defending FBS linebacker last season, and he can also play special teams.

Cincinnati Bengals

Draft/UDFA Talent Acquired: 26 | Draft Equity spent: 18 | Overall ROI: 28