The first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft are officially in the books, with Miami quarterback Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up to acquire two-way threat Travis Hunter and the Las Vegas Raiders selecting game-breaking running back Ashton Jeanty.
Here are the best available players remaining in this year’s NFL Draft:
Sanders improved his play this season, especially with his feel in the pocket and timing that he plays with on concepts. Sanders is tough, has a good arm and is more than willing to challenge defenders on tougher throws like in-breakers over the middle. When in rhythm, he can let his pass catchers thrive because of his friendly ball placement. Sanders has below-average size and is also just an average athlete, which shows up when asked to create. He has markedly better pocket movement (although he still has a tendency to drift backward). — Nate Tice
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It is fair to wonder exactly what his ceiling is, but sliding to Day 3 is extreme. — Charles McDonald
Full scouting report | Player comp: Kirk Cousins, Teddy Bridgewater
Mbow played tackle at college but should transition inside because of his build and the 32-inch arm length he measured in at the combine. (It should be noted that he measured with 33-inch arms at the Senior Bowl — just to make it really fun and easy on us evaluators.) Mbow is an explosive and violent athlete who can fire out of his stance and can quickly close on defenders in space because of his athleticism and balance. Mbow still needs to add bulk and play strength, especially his lower half, to be able to hold up on the inside against more powerful defenders. He could still get bull-rushed by stronger and longer defenders in college, but moving inside won’t expose him as much on an island, even though defenders are even bigger and stronger there in the NFL. — Nate Tice
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Mbow isn’t the biggest offensive lineman out there, but he’s a fluid mover and has the frame to gain more weight and strength — which he will need to do at the NFL level. He’ll probably be a guard in the NFL and projects well to a zone-blocking scheme that gets their guys on the move. — Charles McDonald
Full scouting report | Player comp: Jake Matthews
Sawyer is a (forgive me here) Jack-of-all-trades for the Buckeyes’ defense. He can play the run, rush the passer or drop into coverage and fill multiple roles throughout the front seven. Sawyer is a solid athlete with strong hands who consistently bursts off the snap, and his hands are constantly working and that helps him win over and over again against blockers. He might not have a singular standout trait, but Sawyer’s ability to align across the defensive front on any give down will make him an interesting skeleton key-type player for a creative NFL defensive coordinator. — Nate Tice
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Steady, if somewhat unspectacular. Jack Sawyer is the type of player who can add some serious depth to a pass rusher unit, but he’s not a depth guy. Still, a well-rounded player who would fit in well in a rotation with some established pass rushers. — Charles McDonald
Full scouting report | Player comp: Kyle Van Noy, George Karlaftis
Bradyn Swinson, Edge, LSU
Swinson has the combination of length, bend and competitive style that makes him intriguing as a silky Day 2 prospect. He dominates TEs trying to block him, and is able to collapse them into the backfield and into the ball carrier at times. He doesn’t have overwhelming strength and can get knocked off against double-teams and strong offensive tackles. But his length and quickness still make him viable against the run and not an outright negative. Overall, Swinson plays with a high motor, has real NFL athleticism and size (6-4, 255 pounds), and has production to point to in his final season. He can play winning rotational snaps early in his career with a path and upside as a starting edge defender, ideally in a three-down scheme. — Nate Tice
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Player comp: Shaun Phillips
Damien Martinez, RB, Miami
Unlike most power-driven backs, Martinez isn’t a magnet for contact. He has the quickness, agility, and balance to make tacklers miss with a cut as well as running over them. Overall, Martinez has the combination of vision, strength, and burst to take the majority share of early down touches in an NFL backfield. He’s not a home run hitter, but he’s not a slug, either. Martinez is going to get every yard that’s blocked for him, and then some, too. — Nate Tice
Game script (and the existence of Cam Ward) kept Martinez from getting the bulk of carries his talent called for. For teams that want and miss out on Omarion Hampton, Martinez is a great consolation prize. He’s a strong, powerful runner with good vision and speed. There’s legitimate starting potential here. — Charles McDonald
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Player comp: Marshawn Lynch
Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee
Despite having just adequate size (5-8, 200 pounds at the combine), Sampson has the contact balance, pacing, and willingness to work between the tackles of a much bigger back. Sampson is an electric runner who can quickly get to top speed and to the second level, but stays more disciplined with his cuts than most smaller and speedier backs. Sampson is also currently a poor pass protector. While he shows the competitiveness and toughness to try and fit up blitzers, Tennessee’s lack of structure and rules often put him at a disadvantage and he has a long way to go in that area, with his lack of size limiting his upside, too. — Nate Tice
Sampson is an explosive, decisive runner who can get downfield in a hurry when he has a crease. He’s got a compact frame at 5-8, 200 pounds, but ran a 4.42 40-yard dash that backs up the athleticism shown on the field. Sampson will have to adjust to running in an offense that isn’t as spread out as Tennessee’s, but there’s a lot to like about his game. — Charles McDonald
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Player comp: Bucky Irving
Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State
Every Skattebo touch feels like it’s to win the Super Bowl. He has no quit in his game and wins with overwhelming toughness, balance, and strength. While Skattebo lacks long speed and can be a little too keen to run toward contact, he is an agile athlete that can get surprisingly skinny through holes and away from defenders. Skattebo is willing and able to take the hard touches, but he is also a natural pass catcher who is a viable receiving threat and safety valve for quarterbacks. — Nate Tice
Skattebo is a workhorse back who is a tough between-the-tackles runner with great contact balance. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, having reportedly run in the mid-4.5s to mid-4.6s in the 40 at various points this draft process, but he should be a strong piece of a rotation and take a heavy workload. He was the core piece of Arizona State’s offense and should be able to play a similar style of punishing football, within reason, in the NFL. — Charles McDonald
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Player comp: James Conner
Shifty is how I would describe Neal. The classic “quicker-than-fast”-type athlete, Neal has just average long speed, but he is a strong runner with good balance and vision. Neal has a great feel for setting up his blocks and knowing when to plant his foot and accelerate through the hole. He is constantly finding ways to get effective yards and knows how to pace his runs on a variety of run concepts (even being frequently used as a wildcat QB at Kansas, too). On passing downs, Neal is a natural pass catcher who knows how to stay friendly to the QB and can get upfield after the catch quickly. He is also a good pass protector already, with both his eyes constantly going to the right assignment and his build, technique and strength allowing him to stonewall blitzers. — Nate Tice
Full scouting report | Player comp: Kareem Hunt, David Montgomery
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford
Ayomanor is a big receiver (6-2, 206 pounds) with long arms (32 3/8 inches) and large hands (10 inches). He wins with his play strength and fluid athleticism and build-up speed. Ayomanor plays strong and is one the most competitive blockers that you’ll ever see at the WR position. He is not a refined route runner at this point, and can be loose with his route breaks and get stuck at the top of routes. It’s something that I’m willing to give him some leeway for considering his lack of extensive experience at the position. — Nate Tice
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Player comp: JuJu Smith-Schuster
I’m likely going to be one of the higher people on Leonard. I do think there is a lot to like and tools to work with for a Day 2 dart throw. Leonard has good size and is an excellent athlete who is a weapon on designed runs and in the open field. He has a good feel in the pocket (but can bail outside a bit too quickly at times) with an ability to mitigate sacks and pressure, something he has now shown behind two shaky offensive lines at Duke and then behind a — forgive the pun — green Notre Dame unit. Leonard is an accurate thrower underneath with some real flashes of layering throws (and some downright excellent throws like at the end of the game against Indiana in the CFP), but his deep ball remains a gigantic question mark. Some of that was Notre Dame’s iffy receiving core, but Leonard did shy away from pushing the ball at times.
Leonard’s tools, toughness and ability to avoid negative plays make him intriguing to me, and his overall passing has picked up as the season went along as Notre Dame’s offense – and personnel – started to mature. But he still has to show that he can execute those complex throws on a more consistent basis, which might never happen and will make him more just an interesting backup option. — Nate Tice
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Full scouting report | Player comp: Ryan Tannehill
Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky
If Deone Walker consistently played to what his physical skill set suggests he can do, he would be much higher on this list. At 340 pounds, he is a behemoth on the line of scrimmage with some real athleticism to play all over the line. However, he runs hot and cold and the consistency makes it tough to slot him much higher than this. He’s the perfect boom-bust dart throw for teams that have some stability up front and on their coaching staff. — Charles McDonald
Player comp: Eddie Goldman
Other potential picks:
Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State
Billy Bowman, S, Oklahoma
Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse
Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State
Cameron Williams, OT, Texas
Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State
Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State
Mitchell Evans, TE, Notre Dame
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