NFL Draft Day 1 Prospects
I know. It’s been a hot minute. Unfortunately, life does happen. Trust me – it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be. But now I am back. And we are in the full swing of draft season. As of this writing, the PSP guys have discussed the QB position and the RB position; with Wide Receivers on deck for recording today. This draft class is more interesting than most. Not because of the names. Not because of the storylines. There is not a lot of top end talent. I don’t know how many hall of famers will come from this class – that’s impossible to tell. But some years there are some sure fire selections in Round 1. And then there is a drop off. Not this year though. This year I think there are…wait for it…THREE sure fire guys. That’s it.
I know. It’s been a hot minute. Unfortunately, life does happen. Trust me – it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be. But now I am back. And we are in the full swing of draft season. As of this writing, the PSP guys have discussed the QB position and the RB position; with Wide Receivers on deck for recording today. This draft class is more interesting than most. Not because of the names. Not because of the storylines. There is not a lot of top end talent. I don’t know how many hall of famers will come from this class – that’s impossible to tell. But some years there are some sure fire selections in Round 1. And then there is a drop off. Not this year though. This year I think there are…wait for it…THREE sure fire guys. That’s it.
Now that doesn’t mean that this draft class sucks. It doesn’t. None of them ever do. But what this draft doesn’t have in top talent, it has by the loads in depth. For context, the Defensive Tackle position is loaded in terms of guys who will contribute in the NFL. Many years, that position is always considered “light”. But this year you can probably grab a serviceable starter on Day 3. The Running Back position is another one. There’s a scenario where we can get 7-8 starters from this group. I will be keeping my eye on where some of these running backs end up, because the destination will determine the type of success they have (e.g. Zach Charbonnet in Seattle). Tight End is another deep class. They come in all shapes and sizes this year. You have the Tyler Warren/Gunner Helm build, or you can go for the Colston Loveland/Orondo Gadsden build. Or you can try and take the hybrid Harold Fannin/Elijah Arroyo build. No disrespect to Mason Taylor or Luke Lachey, those guys just came to my head first. Depth. That is the sweet spot in this class.
Teams looking to completely transform their team in this year’s draft will come up with coal, but this draft will raise the floor (yes, I used a James Gladstone reference) of these teams. I, personally, have “scouted” 255 players across the board. The most I’ve ever done. It was actually a grueling process, and I can tell you positively I didn’t do the scouting that the Mel Kiper’s and Todd McShay’s of the world do. I have a day job. But usually here at PSP we would put players into “round” grades. 1,2,3, etc. We are switching it up this year. This year, we are doing it by “days”. As in, this player is a “Day 1” player and this player is a “Day 2” player. From this Wednesday until the following Wednesday, a new Day will drop. And then the following day, you will get a Mock Draft corresponding with the previous day’s release. Meaning tomorrow we will drop a Round 1 mock. And next week we will drop our Day 2 rankings and then a Rounds 1-3 mock.
As I mentioned at the top, there isn’t a ton of top end talent this year. So when you see there are only 26 Day 1 prospects for me, don’t be shocked. They will compensate in the later groups. There won’t be any blurb on the player or sort (again, day job). But I will give you a “best fit” for what I think of the player and the system they would thrive in. Again, my personal opinion. Not fact. I went back and forth with number one. But spots 1-3 are very, very, very close. Spots 4 and 5 are a smidge behind – and then from 6 on I think there is a drop off. Not large enough to really say they shouldn’t be drafted in Round 1, but I think some of them would be pushed out of Day 1 in another year’s draft. So here we go – Day 1 Prospects, 2025. Have at it folks.
Day 1 Prospects 2025 (PSP Edition)
Abdul Carter (Edge – Penn State) Best Fit: Tennessee Titans
Travis Hunter (Wide Receiver/Cornerback - Colorado) Best Fit: Cleveland Browns
Ashton Jeanty (Running Back – Boise State) Best Fit: Chicago Bears
Mason Graham (Defensive Tackle – Michigan) Best Fit: Jacksonville Jaguars
Will Campbell (Offensive Tackle – LSU) Best Fit: New England Patriots
Tyler Warren (Tight End – Penn State) Best Fit: New York Jets
Jihaad Campbell (Linebacker – Alabama) Best Fit: Atlanta Falcons
Tetairoa McMillan (Wide Receiver – Arizona) Best Fit: Las Vegas Raiders
James Pearce Jr. (EDGE – Tennessee) Best Fit: Carolina Panthers
Jahdae Barron (Cornerback – Texas) Best Fit: Pittsburgh Steelers
Tyler Booker (Offensive Guard – Alabama) Best Fit: Seattle Seahawks
Malachi Starks (Safety – Georgia) Best Fit: Cincinnati Bengals
Mike Green (EDGE – Marshall) Best Fit: Dallas Cowboys
Grey Zabel (Offensive Tackle – North Dakota State) Best Fit: San Francisco 49ers
Luther Burden III (Wide Receiver – Missouri) Best Fit: Arizona Cardinals
Walter Nolen (Defensive Tackle – Ole Miss) Best Fit: Buffalo Bills
Jaxson Dart (Quarterback – Ole Miss) Best Fit: New York Giants
Jonah Savaiinaea (Offensive Tackle – Arizona) Best Fit: Kansas City Chiefs
Josiah Stewart (EDGE – Michigan) Best Fit: New Orleans Saints
Jalon Walker (Linebacker – Georgia) Best Fit: Los Angeles Rams
Kelvin Banks (Offensive Tackle – Texas) Best Fit: Miami Dolphins
Armand Membou (Offensive Tackle – Missouri) Best Fit: Houston Texans
Will Johnson (Cornerback – Michigan) Best Fit: Green Bay Packers
Colston Loveland (Tight End – Michigan) Best Fit: Indianapolis Colts
Kaleb Johnson (Running Back – Iowa) Best Fit: Denver Broncos
Tre Harris (Wide Receiver – Ole Miss) Best Fit: Los Angeles Chargers