2025 NFL Draft Discussion

[yourout]

3 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Way too early, don't hold me to this in any way (but I'll take credit for it if I hit on any):

1st: Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss (replaces Alexander)
2nd: Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss (assuming Watson is not back or still injured)
3rd: Seth McLaughlin, C, Ohio State (assuming Myers is not back or injured)
4th: O'Donnell Fortune, CB, South Carolina (replaces Stokes/Ballentine)
5th: Jack Nelson, OT, Wisconsin (replaces Dillard/upgrades Telfort)
6th: Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo (assuming Slaton is not back)
7th: Joshua Gray, OG, Oregon State (competes with Glover/Telfort)
7th (comp): Teddye Buchanan, LB, Cal (assuming at least one of Wilson/McDuffie is not back)

I would not take Nelson that high.

[LouisEly]

1 minute ago, yourout said:

I would not take Nelson that high.

Overall PFF grade of 78 this year, credited with only one sack and no QB hits.  Played a lot better this year with Blazek as coach.  OL coach last year was a disaster.  I think 5th is about where he will go.

[Joseph Zarr]

Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl Practice reports began trickling in this past week. Feel free, any and all, to post anything of intrigue. We know the Packers absolutely love their Senior Bowl performers and I believe (?) they have a heavy staff presence this year.

[Joseph Zarr]

Early reports at the Senior Bowl have NDSU's Grey Zabel literally lining up at, what appears to be, every spot across the OL and performing well at each location. I don't know that I've seen him line up at RG but I have seen clips at RT, RG, C, and LT. We all know the Packers love that type of versatility. I find it hard, at this point in time, to fathom he slips past the 2nd Rd at this juncture.

Welp, apparently he did rep at LG:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Marshall Edge Mike Green is another name repeatedly showing up at Senior Bowl practices across the Draft media landscape:

Unfortunately, it certainly appears he has now moved into the Top 20. I was hoping the small school and smaller stature bias would keep him pigeon-holed in the 20's (where he was ranked for the majority of the past few months). I don't think there's a way he lasts past the Top 20 in this year's draft. He's too versatile with way too many tricks in his bag. Sigh.

[Joseph Zarr]

Daniel Jeremiah's Top 12 Senior Bowl Practice Week Standouts

(Both Green and Zabel in here)

[LouisEly]

At this point, there isn't anyone I'm really sold on at #23.  I don't think there's much if any difference in talent between #23 and #38.  I wouldn't mind if they traded down a little and got an extra 2nd round pick or a 3rd that they package with their other 3rd to move up into the 2nd.  Plenty of talent projected to go in the 2nd at positions of need:

CB: Barron, Amos, Porter

WR: Bech, Higgins, Harris

Edge: Jackson, Scourton, Tuimoloau, Burch, Ivey

DL: Harmon, Walker

OL: Milum, Jackson

[jay87shot]

1st=CB Benjamin Morrison   I think CB is our biggest need and there should be a couple great options at 23. For now I like Morrison based on size and tape.

2nd= OL Grey Zabel   The versatility and and amazing Senior Bowl might end up making him a 1st rounder but I will hope for 2nd at this point. 

3rd=WR Tai Felton   WR from Maryland have been underrated, Felton had a great year and if he shows decent athleticism has high potential. 

4th=NT Nazir Stackhouse   With Slaton potentially gone to FA a replacement run stopper would be nice. Guty seems to draft a Georgia defender or two every year.

5th=LB Danny Stutsman   He always seemed to be around the ball at OKL, this could help if we loses McDuffie or just long term if we don't pick up Walker's option year.

6th=CB Zah Frazier    I am not going to pretend to know the later round CB well at this point, Frazier seems to be rising so he might be long gone but he looks the part of a big projectable CB.

7th=TE CJ Dippre    With Musgraves injuries it would be nice to have a little TE depth, Dippre should be a solid practice teamer who can be ready to play as a rookie if needed.

7th DE= Ahmed Hassanien   22 sacks at Boise the past 2 years and I haven't seen him ranked in the top 200 anywhere. At 6'3" 277, this might be my sleeper of the draft right now, I would take him as high as the 4th. A lot will depend on workouts.

[JosephC]

Bunch of mocks posted at NFL.com-

Chad Reuter

Round one = Mykel Williams/DE/Georgia

Round two = Shavon Revel Jr/CB/East Carolina

Round three = Omarr Norman-Lott/DT/Tennessee

Cynthia Frelund

Round one = Walter Nolan/DT/Mississippi

Lance Zierlein

Round one = Shemar Stewart/DE/Texas A&M

Eric Edholm

Round one = Josh Simmons/OT/Ohio State

Bucky Brooks

Round one = Jahdae Barron/CB/Texas

Daniel Jeremiah

Round one = Shemar Stewart/DE/Texas A&M

[Joseph Zarr]

Shemar Stewart sure fits that classic Gutey uber-athletic under-productive profile he seems to absolutely crave on the roster with his premium picks. 4.5 total Sacks from a 'pass rusher' over three years but with major athletic projections feels like a classic Gutey Packers 1st Rd pick. Frankly, it makes me nervous.😅 I personally keep hoping, of the realistic pass rushers in the Packers area, James Pearce Jr. falls to us. I could get quite excited about adding him to the pass rush group. He's a stud.

[LouisEly]

Before this "Gutey drafts athletic players with no production" gets out of control, Lukas Van Ness had 13.5 sacks (plus 20 TFLs) in two seasons (RS freshman and RS soph years, redshirted true FR year) and led the team both years.  Gary had 6 sacks his true soph year (plus 12 TFLs), but only 3.5 his junior year (plus 8 TFLs) due to injury.

[Joseph Zarr]

5 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Before this "Gutey drafts athletic players with no production" gets out of control, Lukas Van Ness had 13.5 sacks (plus 20 TFLs) in two seasons (RS freshman and RS soph years, redshirted true FR year) and led the team both years.  Gary had 6 sacks his true soph year (plus 12 TFLs), but only 3.5 his junior year (plus 8 TFLs) due to injury.

What is this absurdly reasonable take?!

[CheezWizHed]

18 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Before this "Gutey drafts athletic players with no production" gets out of control, Lukas Van Ness had 13.5 sacks (plus 20 TFLs) in two seasons (RS freshman and RS soph years, redshirted true FR year) and led the team both years.  Gary had 6 sacks his true soph year (plus 12 TFLs), but only 3.5 his junior year (plus 8 TFLs) due to injury.

But by comparison to players taken around them, there is a clear athleticism over production profile. Gutey certainly shoots for upside in his first-round picks.  

This the main reason I'm hoping for a DL by trade or FA... because we can't seem to find a difference maker ourselves.  And typically, a DL at #23 isn't going to be a difference maker on day 1. 

Per Brugler's top 100 NFL draft picks (yes, it is early and yes it will change), there seem to be mainly OTs, DLs, and WRs in the 20 range.  Most of the CBs are back in the second round (late 30s-50).  

Might this be the year we go WR with #1? Or more Gute-esque... trade back? 

[JosephC]

On 2/11/2025 at 1:01 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

Shemar Stewart sure fits that classic Gutey uber-athletic under-productive profile he seems to absolutely crave on the roster with his premium picks. 4.5 total Sacks from a 'pass rusher' over three years but with major athletic projections feels like a classic Gutey Packers 1st Rd pick. Frankly, it makes me nervous.😅 I personally keep hoping, of the realistic pass rushers in the Packers area, James Pearce Jr. falls to us. I could get quite excited about adding him to the pass rush group. He's a stud.

Asked a football nut at work today about Stewart and he described him as a prototypical 5-technique defensive end.  Not super agile but has good play strength and can really run for a big guy.  Does not give up on plays and, from what he's seen, seems like a good effort guy.  He projected Stewart as a guy who should be plus-plus against the run but does not figure to be much of an edge rusher.  Should still rack up some sacks here and there. 

I kind of get the impression of a poor man's Vonnie Holliday.

I looked at some highlights on YouTube, generally don't draw too many conclusions from that because it's only highlights.  But the thing that struck me is that he looks more around 270 when just eye-balling him.  If he's really been playing at 290, he's really put together well because he sure doesn't look it.

Admittedly, I just don't watch enough football to give a good opinion.  Stewart sounds like a player who would be a great round one pick with the way they played 20 years ago.  But if a team is in nickel/dime and anticipating pass 70% of the time, is this really a guy you want.  Sound like his pass rush skills would need an upgrade to make him worth a first rounder.  But you never know, if he plays as a 3-technique on passing downs, he might end up being a pretty good pass rusher from there.

[CheezWizHed]

14 hours ago, JosephC said:

Asked a football nut at work today about Stewart and he described him as a prototypical 5-technique defensive end.  Not super agile but has good play strength and can really run for a big guy.  Does not give up on plays and, from what he's seen, seems like a good effort guy.  He projected Stewart as a guy who should be plus-plus against the run but does not figure to be much of an edge rusher.  Should still rack up some sacks here and there. 

I kind of get the impression of a poor man's Vonnie Holliday.

I looked at some highlights on YouTube, generally don't draw too many conclusions from that because it's only highlights.  But the thing that struck me is that he looks more around 270 when just eye-balling him.  If he's really been playing at 290, he's really put together well because he sure doesn't look it.

Admittedly, I just don't watch enough football to give a good opinion.  Stewart sounds like a player who would be a great round one pick with the way they played 20 years ago.  But if a team is in nickel/dime and anticipating pass 70% of the time, is this really a guy you want.  Sound like his pass rush skills would need an upgrade to make him worth a first rounder.  But you never know, if he plays as a 3-technique on passing downs, he might end up being a pretty good pass rusher from there.

In general, I do think the Z-Smith player profile is one that would be nice to replicate.  Someone that can rush inside and outside.  On obvious passing downs, he can replace a DT and put a dedicated pass rusher (i.e. the too light against the run, lightning quick) on the outside.  

When we had Z-Smith, he was a good player himself, but also elevated others because you could move around and confuse the OL.  His versatility was great... too bad he wasn't a great teammate...

[BrewerFan]

On 1/11/2025 at 7:03 PM, LouisEly said:

1) Genuine question - if Tom is better than Walker, why is Tom playing RT and Walker LT?

B) I'll argue that an average LT is harder to find than a good RT.

 

1-This was the year that Bakh was going to be back at LT. He was "progressing well," and started week 1 at LT.

Tom was the fill in at LT as a rookie the year before, so I think it was just timing.

So Tom was getting all the reps at RT(actually battling for the job...which is a bit amusing) and they were using NIjman as the backup...and then even when Bakh got hurt, they kept playing both until Walker took the job and ran with it.

There's LITTLE doubt Tom can play LT, but I think they just thought by that time, it better to leave Nijman/Walker at LT rather than flip them for positional value.

 

2-Yeah, you're right of course. But RT is becoming as important. The best DL are starting to line up on their left(So over the RT)...more and more. Josh Simmons would be an unpopular pick given the Josh Morgan pick(which I still think was a good pick, but when a guy doesn't perform Yr1...fans get anxious) but I'd be more than find with it.

 

Unless something fluky happens and a guy like Jeanty is available, I'd take the best OL/DL/CB available. Looking at this draft waay too early, moving down 15 spots and adding two seconds or even moving down to the end of the 1st and adding a 2nd/3rd would be ideal.

 

Josh Simmons did look really good at times. Revel, Morrison, there are a few guys in this draft with enormous upside who were potential top 10 picks but missed the past year due to injury. The combine will play as big of a role as ever this year...and many Packers fans will likely be upset as we drft a long lanky CB who was injured, another extremely talented edge who is raw and didn't have great college stats or an a OL who...may not step in and start year 1.

[BrewerFan]

On 2/12/2025 at 8:14 AM, CheezWizHed said:

But by comparison to players taken around them, there is a clear athleticism over production profile. Gutey certainly shoots for upside in his first-round picks.  

This the main reason I'm hoping for a DL by trade or FA... because we can't seem to find a difference maker ourselves.  And typically, a DL at #23 isn't going to be a difference maker on day 1. 

Per Brugler's top 100 NFL draft picks (yes, it is early and yes it will change), there seem to be mainly OTs, DLs, and WRs in the 20 range.  Most of the CBs are back in the second round (late 30s-50).  

Might this be the year we go WR with #1? Or more Gute-esque... trade back? 

There's definitely a profile over-production trend with him...and then you talk about fans being upset...they're going to be upset almost no matter what. Three of the players who are very viable picks in Rd1, Revel, Morrioson and Simmons, all guys who could have been top10(may still be) if not for injuries...well, they had injuries and missed much of the year.

So if they don't come out of the gates strong, it'll be how Gute picks guys with injury histories(another issue with Gary).

I'm certainly with you on the DL for reasons I've gone into. They impact the other 10 players more than any other defender if they're elite.

 

On 2/10/2025 at 7:10 PM, LouisEly said:

At this point, there isn't anyone I'm really sold on at #23.  I don't think there's much if any difference in talent between #23 and #38.  I wouldn't mind if they traded down a little and got an extra 2nd round pick or a 3rd that they package with their other 3rd to move up into the 2nd.  Plenty of talent projected to go in the 2nd at positions of need:

CB: Barron, Amos, Porter

WR: Bech, Higgins, Harris

Edge: Jackson, Scourton, Tuimoloau, Burch, Ivey

DL: Harmon, Walker

OL: Milum, Jackson

No, I particularly dislike Tuimolau. I think he'll be a bust. Ivey is stiff and we've already got LVN who is more of an elephant in the 4-3, good vs the run, but doesn't have the best bend around the edge.

I love Barron if he can be a boundary CB and I don't think he can.

Revel, Simmons and Morrison, lets see how they test, but I'm good with those three, but if they test well, they're likely gone.

Walker is one of my favorite players, but I'd look at moving down to 40 and pick him up. He has upside,

OL, Zabel could be a day 1 starter and a Travis Frederick type Center(just in that he's moving to Center and a big of a surprise to go Rd 1).

 

I see you have Scourton on there but no Stewart.

DL-Kenneth Grant is another guy who could be available. I see a lot of Kenny Clark similarities.

[JosephC]

I just did a compilation of various top prospect lists, all updated in February following the Senior Bowl.  Lists include Dane Brugler at The Athletic (top 100), Daniel Jeremiah at NFL.com (top 50), Trevor Sikkema at Pro Football Focus (top 150), Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News (top 100), Chris Trapasso at CBS (top 50), Ourlads (top 35) and Lance Zierlein at NFL.com (combine ratings, top 146).  1 point for the player at the bottom of the list and then add 1 for each spot above (so for a list of 100, top player gets 100 points).

I'm going to type this out without proofreading (because I am lazy), so you will have to forgive the typos.

Round One-

1.  Travis Hunter/CB/Colorado

2.  Abdul Carter/EDGE/Penn State

3.  Mason Graham/DT/Michigan

4.  Ashton Jeanty/RB/Boise State

5.  Will Campbell/OT/Louisiana State

6.  Tyler Warren/TE/Penn State

7.  Tetairoa McMillan/WR/Arizona

8.  Will Johnson/CB/Michigan

9.  James Pearce Jr./EDGE/Tennessee

10. Cam Ward/QB/Miami, Fl

11. Luther Burden III/WR/Missouri

12. Mykel Williams/EDGE/Georgia

13. Walter Nolan/DT/Mississippi

14. Kelvin Banks Jr./OT/Texas

15. Malaki Starks/S/Georgia

16. Mike Green/EDGE/Marshall

17. Josh Simmons/OT/Ohio State

18. Colson Loveland/TE/Michigan

19. Armand Membou/OT/Missouri

20. Shemar Stewart/EDGE/Texas A&M

21. Emeka Egbuka/WR/Ohio State

22. Matthew Golden/WR/Texas

23. Tyler Booker/OG/Alabama

24. Jalon Walker/LB/Georgia

25. Shedeur Sanders/QB/Colorado

26. Kenneth Grant/DT/Michigan

27. Nic Scourton/EDGE/Texas A&M

28. Jihaad Campbell/LB/Alabama

29. Josh Conerly Jr./OT/Oregon

30. Jahdae Barron/CB/Texas

31. Shavon Revel Jr./CB/East Carolina

32. Donovan Ezeiruaku/EDGE/Boston College

[JosephC]

Round Two-

33. Jack Sawyer/EDGE/Ohio State

34. Derrick Harmon/DT/Oregon

35. Nick Emmanwori/S/South Carolina

36. Donovan Jackson/OG/Ohio State

37. Tyleik Williams/DT/Ohio State

38. Omarion Hampton/RB/North Carolina

39. Benjamin Morrison/CB/Notre Dame

40. Princely Umanmielen/DE/Mississippi

41. Grey Zabel/OT/North Dakota State

42. Xavier Watts/S/Notre Dame

43. JT Tuimoloau/EDGE/Ohio State

44. Carson Schwesigner/LB/UCLA

45. Jack Bech/WR/Texas Christian

46. Landon Jackson/EDGE/Arkansas

47. Azareye'h Thomas/CB/Florida State

48. Aireontae Ersery/OT/Minnesota

49. Mason Taylor/TE/Louisiana State

50. TreVeyon Henderson/RB/Ohio State

51. Trey Amos/CB/Mississippi

52. T.J. Sanders/DT/South Carolina

53. Alfred Collins/DT/Texas

54. Quinshon Judkins/RB/Ohio State

55. Kaleb Johnson/RB/Iowa

56. Dylan Sampson/RB/Tennessee

57. Josaiah Stewart/EDGE/Michigan

58. Tre Harris/WR/Mississippi

59. Demetrius Knight Jr./LB/South Carolina

60. Maxwell Hairston/CB/Kentucky

61. Jordan Burch/EDGE/Oregon

62. Jalen Royals/WR/Utah State

63. Tate Ratledge/OG/Georgia

64. Cameron Williams/OT/Texas

[JosephC]

Round Three-

65. Marcus Mbow/OG/Purdue

66. Isaiah Bond/WR/Texas

67. Jayden Higgins/WR/Iowa State

68. Deone Walker/DT/Kentucky

69. Omarr Norman-Lott/DT/Tennessee

70. Darien Porter/CB/Iowa State

71. Wyatt Milum/OT/West Virginia

72. Elic Ayomanor/WR/Stanford

73. Jaxson Dart/QB/Mississippi

74. Gunnar Helm/TE/Texas

75. Elijah Arroyo/TE/Miami, Fl

76. Jonah Savaiinaea/OT/Arizona

77. Ozzy Trapilo/OT/Boston College

78. Harold Fannin Jr./TE/Bowling Green

79. Kevin Winston Jr./S/Penn State

80. Jalen Milroe/QB/Alabama

81. Kyle Kennard/EDGE/South Carolina

82. Xavier Restrepo/WR/Miami, Fl

83. Tez Johnson/WR/Oregon

84. Lathan Ransom/S/Ohio State

85. Cam Skattebo/RB/Arizona State

86. Savion Williams/WR/Texas Christian

87. Andre Mukuba/S/Texas

88. Emery Jones Jr./OT/Louisiana State

89. Anthony Belton/OT/North Carolina State

90. Jared Ivey/EDGE/Mississippi

91. Darius Alexander/DT/Toledo

92. Barrett Carter/LB/Clemson

93. Sai'vion Jones/EDGE/Louisiana State

94. Jaylin Noel/WR/Iowa State

95. Ashton Gillotte/EDGE/Louisville

96. Sebastain Castro/S/Iowa

97. Shemar Turner/DT/Texas A&M

98. Dillon Gabriel/QB/Oregon

99. Smael Mondon Jr./LB/Georgia

100. Quinn Ewers/QB/Texas

101. Jeffrey Bassa/LB/Oregon

[JosephC]

Round Four-

102. Charles Grant/OT/William & Mary

103. Chris Paul Jr./LB/Mississippi

104. Joshua Farmer/DT/Florida State

105. Jacob Parrish/CB/Kansas State

106. Barryn Sorrell/EDGE/Texas

107. Cobee Bryant/CB/Kansas

108. Jared Wilson/C/Georgia

109. RJ Harvey/RB/Central Florida

110. Bhayshul Tuten/RB/Virginia Tech

111. Will Howard/QB/Ohio State

112. Cam Jackson/DT/Florida

113. David Walker/EDGE/Central Arkansas

114. Jordan Phillips/DT/Maryland

115. Ty Robinson/DT/Nebraska

116. Jordan James/RB/Oregon

117. Damien Martinez/RB/Miami, Fl

118. Jalen Rivers/OT/Miami, Fl

119. Mitchell Evans/TE/Notre Dame

120. Devin Neal/RB/Kansas

121. Ty Hamilton/DT/Ohio State

122. Danny Stutsman/LB/Oklahoma

123. Dominic Lovett/WR/Georgia

124. Oluwafemi Oladejo/EDGE/UCLA

125. Tory Horton/WR/Colorado State

126. Kaimon Rucker/EDGE/North Carolina

127. Riley Leonard/QB/Notre Dame

128. Que Robinson/EDGE/Alabama

129. Jake Briningstool/TE/Clemson

130. Nohl Williams/CB/California

131. Joshua Gray/OG/Oregon State

132. Mello Dotson/CB/Kansas

133. Kyle Williams/WR/Washington State

134. Thomas Fidone II/TE/Nebraska

135. Jonas Sanker/S/Virginia

136. Jamaree Caldwell/DT/Oregon

137. Billy Bowman Jr./S/Oklahoma

138. Terrance Ferguson/TE/Oregon

139. Elijhah Badger/WR/Florida

[JosephC]

Round Five-

140. DJ Giddens/RB/Kansas State

141. Jackson Hawes/TE/Georgia Tech

142. Tyler Shough/QB/Louisville

143. Quincy Riley/CB/Louisville

144. Miles Frazier/OG/Louisiana State

145. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins/DT/Georgia

146. Warren Brinson/DT/Georgia

147. JJ Pegues/DT/Mississippi

148. Ollie Gordon II/RB/Oklahoma State

149. Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson/OT/Florida

150. Elijah Roberts/EDGE/Southern Methodist

151. Chase Lundt/OT/Connecticut

152. Dorian Strong/CB/Virginia Tech

153. Tommi Hill/CB/Nebraska

154. Denzel Burke/CB/Ohio State

155. Kobe King/LB/Penn State

156. Trevor Etienne/RB/Georgia

157. Willie Lampkin/OG/North Carolina

158. Bradyn Swinson/EDGE/Louisiana State

159, Ahmed Hassanein/EDGE/Boise State

160. Jack Kiser/LB/Notre Dame

161. Woody Marks/RB/Southern Cal

162. Antwaun Powell-Ryland/EDGE/Virginia Tech

163. Zy Alexander/CB/Louisiana State

164. Kalel Mullings/RB/Michigan

165. Oronde Gadsden II/TE/Syracuse

166. Brashard Smith/RB/Southern Methodist

167. Rylie Mills/DT/Notre Dame

168. Jaydon Blue/RB/Texas

169. Jacory Croskey-Merritt/RB/Arizona

170. Aeneas Peebles/DT/Virginia Tech

171. Eugene Asante/LB/Auburn

172. Tyler Batty/EDGE/Brigham Young

173. Howard Cross III/DT/Notre Dame

174. Benjamin Yurosek/TE/Georgia

175. Pat Bryant/WR/Illinois

176. Jarquez Hunter/RB/Auburn

177. Mac McWilliams/CB/Central Florida

178. CJ West/DT/Indiana

 

[JosephC]

Round Six-

179. Drew Kendall/C/Boston College

180. Luke Kandra/OG/Cincinnati

181. Jaylin Lane/WR/Virginia Tech

182. Tyler Baron/EDGE/Miami, Fl

183. Nick Martin/LB/Oklahoma State

184. Kobe Hudson/WR/Central Florida

185. Shemar James/LB/Florida

186. Alijah Huzzie/CB/North Carolina

187. Jaylin Smith/CB/Southern Cal

188. Simeon Barrow Jr./DT/Miami, Fl

189. Ulysses Bentley IV/RB/Mississippi

list ends there

189 players, not one Badger.

[LouisEly]

 

[JosephC]

Zierlein has added Huber and Wohler to his rating list.  Nelson still not given a grade.  Huber, surprisingly, currently sits in the late round four area, but likely gets knocked down to round five when other players are added.  Wohler is likely round seven after all players are added.  Nelson is a combine invite, so he should be given a grade in the near future.