NFL Draft
11/29/24
11 min read
2025 NFL Draft: 1 Prospect At Each Position Rising Up Boards This Season
The 2025 NFL Draft will be one of the more entertaining classes in recent years. There's so much uncertainty after the top 10 picks that chaos is surely coming. The names we expected to become first-round stalwarts have yet to all work out, opening the door for risers to emerge.
We're still months away from the all-star circuit and NFL Scouting Combine, but the best riser candidates reveal themselves every game. The film doesn't lie, and there's a chance for guys routinely mocked outside of the first round to become stars at the next level. However, these risers have a better shot to be taken earlier than anyone expected before the season.
Whether moving from an undrafted grade to a mid-round projection or a Day 2 talent into Round 1, we have one major riser in the 2025 NFL Draft at each position. Who has risen the most?
Rising 2025 NFL Draft Prospect at Each Position
Penn State goes for it on 4th down AGAIN and gets it AGAIN!
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) November 23, 2024
Allar to Warren seals the win for @PennStateFball. pic.twitter.com/i1nYT36g0v
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State 
Stats: 187/259, 72.2% completion, 2,497 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs
The improvements across all of Drew Allar's advanced stats aren't huge, but they are significant in the aggregate. Allar was already a statistically efficient starter in 2023 beyond his 59.5 percent completion rate, and it was impressive given Penn State's lack of weapons around him. However, this year has combined the best of Allar's immense physical traits with a play style that reflects a high-IQ approach.
Blessed with a cannon for an arm and quality athleticism for being 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Allar is experienced under center and operating traditional passing concepts. He avoids mistakes as well as anyone in the nation, boasting stellar marks in throwing turnover-worthy rate (1.1 percent) and pressure to sack rate (11.7 percent). It's not hard to see Allar having a Bo Nix-esque path in the NFL.
The difference is that Allar is even more physically gifted than Nix and a little more aggressive. We'd like to see Allar go to an offensive scheme and surrounding cast that offers more reprieve than Penn State's, where he only has Tyler Warren to trust. Allar should garner serious first-round consideration for his tools and penchant for sustaining a productive and efficient offense.
Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa
Stats: 223 carries, 1,490 yards, 21 TDs
Ashton Jeanty gets all of the love, and deservedly so, but Kaleb Johnson hasn't been far behind. Trucking defenders is Johnson's specialty, as he's forced 62 missed tackles on the year. Mind you, this is nothing new, as Johnson forced 51 missed tackles on 151 carries in 2022 and then 19 on 117 carries in 2023.
A whopping 1,004 of his yards have come after contact, and he's gashed defenses for 69 first downs. This isn't the result of a veer offense that takes advantage of light boxes, either. Johnson is operating with a non-functional passing game and a complete lack of other options across the Iowa roster.
Despite everyone knowing what's coming, Johnson has averaged an absurd 8.8 yards per carry on outside-left-tackle runs and 7.1 yards outside of the right tackle. He's also a hammer on interior runs, owning the A gaps with 5.3 yards per carry to the left and 7.5 yards to the right.
Johnson is equally dangerous whether he's bolting past linemen and linebackers or bulldozing defensive backs. He's a great candidate to immediately become an impact starter and top-40 pick in the 2025 class.
Kaleb Johnson's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
So much creativity in Kyren Lacy’s game before/after the catch. Ceiling is immense for another name out of the LSU WR pipeline. pic.twitter.com/qKfhEHZVcH
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) October 27, 2024
Kyren Lacy, WR, LSU
Stats: 55 receptions, 825 yards, 8 TDs
Receivers who can play inside and outside, win at the catch point, and create after the catch are increasingly hard to find. This class has small, speedy options and bigger-bodied possession types. But Kyren Lacy is one of the few stout but versatile playmakers.
The 6-foot-2, 213-pound senior is a bit of a bowling ball for LSU. Catching just less than 57 percent of his targets with an impressively deep 14.6 yards per target, Lacy is handling the team's primary target role better than ever. He's spent almost a quarter of his snaps from the slot and averaging four yards after the catch.
The lone weak spot on his resume is his struggles in contested catch situations, converting only four of 20 targets. Though a closer examination shows a good number of those were uncatchable, this is an area you'd expect a thickly-built receiver to win more often. However, this isn't enough to keep Lacy as a projected Day 3 pick.
Now, it's hard to imagine the Tigers star from making it beyond the top 100 picks of the draft.
Tell us you're an All-American, without telling us you're an All-American. 🤩
— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 26, 2024
Congrats to Harold Fannin Jr. on being named a finalist for the @JohnMackeyAward! @fannin_jr | @BG_Football | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/nTS7KiH1Gm
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Bowling Green 
Stats: 92 receptions, 1,295 yards, 9 TDs
Of course, the nation's most productive tight end has boosted his stock. Harold Fannin Jr. is far more than your average in-line tight end, more resembling a hybrid H-back who can move anywhere on the field. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder is quick, powerful, and boasts incredibly strong hands.
With 111 of his snaps coming in the slot and 136 in-line, Fannin's versatility demands respect. Bowling Green doesn't have to work hard to spring him into space, often isolating him against linebackers and defensive backs and letting him power through them. He's forced 29 missed tackles while winning 10 contested catches this season.
NFL teams don't always love these hybrid talents, largely due to their blocking ability. That won't be as concerned with Fannin, who has graded as an above-average blocker in the run game on 233 snaps. He's been called for only seven penalties over 587 run snaps throughout his career, and his blocking has improved every season if PFF is to be believed.
Harold Fannin's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
The offensive tackle class is decent at the top but quickly falls off as Day 2 rolls around. There will be a flood of tackles who are projected inside because of length concerns, leaving only a few well-built and qualified blockers as pure tackle options. Despite being only 6-foot-4, Josh Conerly Jr. should be viewed as a tackle first.
The star left tackle has yet to pick up the steam he deserves after breaking out this season. He's only allowed two sacks throughout his 972 career pass block snaps, but his overall efficiency has improved each season.
Per PFF, Conerly has allowed only six hurries all season, giving up an insane 99.1 pass block efficiency rate. Last year, he allowed 17 pressures and eight penalties.
When combining his effectiveness improvement with only three penalties allowed this year, it's clear that Conerly has addressed his key issues of the past. His athletic frame provides plenty of power in the run game, and his footwork in pass pro is much smoother and balanced than in 2023. Overall, he looks like a top-50 pick.
Omarr Norman-Lott, DT, Tennessee
Since transferring from Arizona State to Tennessee, Omarr Norman-Lott has redefined himself in the eyes of evaluators. It's easy to see why. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder has been unleashed to get after the quarterback more than ever, and there's no question he's embraced his physicality as he's found more success.
It's impressive enough that Norman-Lott is within the top 25 tackles in terms of quarterback pressures. However, it's an even better sign that of all 40 tackles with at least 20 hurries, Norman-Lott is the only defender with fewer than 333 snaps. He's outpacing the competition despite playing only 191 snaps this season, while projected Day 2 picks like T.J. Sanders, Dontay Corleone, and Zane Durant have needed twice as many.
That's the type of hyper-efficiency NFL teams want to see from Day 2 picks who can be role players early in their careers. Norman-Lott can play in 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, so he'll be booming when it comes to the spring risers list.
Several newcomers in my updated top-50, including Marshall edge rusher Mike Green (6-3 1/4, 250).
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 13, 2024
Explosive off the snap, relentless motor and more physical vs. the run than expected. Stock 🔼player.
Full top-50: https://t.co/nEyXyI7OXY pic.twitter.com/gX8OuVNNfp
Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
While Mike Green ended up at Marshall, he's not someone who simply flew under the radar and was a huge scouting miss. Virginia Tech, Kentucky, and Kansas State courted him. Now, Green is the nation's most productive pass-rusher, notching 15 sacks and 56 quarterback hurries.
The 6-foot-4, 248-pounder will blow up the combine as well. He's been timed as a 4.57 40-yard dash sprinter, can squat 525 pounds, and bench 405 pounds. A rush 3-4 linebacker by trade, Green is the ideal Day 2 pick who checks all of the boxes of an impact starter but gets knocked down due to level of competition concerns.
It might be unfair to punish Green for that. With 20 tackles for loss and 43 run stops, Green's resume is ridiculously loaded. He's not quite Khalil Mack as an athlete, but the second round no longer seems impossible for Green's projection.
Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
A physical specimen at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, Sonny Styles in thriving in his first full season at linebacker. His transition from safety and a hybrid Jack position was rough at first, but he's quickly settled into his assignments as a force defender who crashes into contact and overwhelms blockers. Simply put, Styles can do what few other athletes can.
The Buckeyes' defense asks a lot of Styles in terms of assignments. He's logged 13 quarterback hurries and four sacks while finishing with 30 run stops. The majority of his production has come over the last two months, showing he's growing in his role and getting more comfortable despite the rising competition.
There's still meat on the bone. Though Styles isn't quite comfortable in space, he's allowed only 19 receptions on 29 targets for 149 yards. He's holding his own in his weakest areas and expanding his strengths.
Styles might not declare this draft cycle since he's only a junior, but it'd be awfully tempting to project him in the top 100 as teams bank on his raw gifts.
Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas
This cornerback class is getting more intriguing the more we examine it. Overlooking a familiar name in Cobee Bryant would be a mistake, though. I gave him an early Day 3 grade when he entered the 2024 class, but Bryant returned to Kansas and was even better before the 2025 draft.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder is thin, but he's seen massive jumps where it matters most. Able to play in off man and zone, he's shrunk his missed tackle rate from 17.9 percent in 2023 to a measly 6.8 percent this season. He's forced four interceptions this year, giving him 13 over his career, and has allowed only 25 receptions on 44 targets.
While he's not a lockdown man coverage option, Bryant is experienced, athletic, and has gotten less grabby this season. He's a lock to land on a roster and stick for years to come. The right scheme will give him the chance to be a solid No. 2 option.
Bud Clark closes on this ball from Donovan Smith perfectly. pic.twitter.com/NdpCFZUaS4
— Ian Valentino (@NFLDraftStudy) September 17, 2023
Bud Clark, SAF, TCU
You might remember Bud Clark's name from TCU's magical 2022 season breakout. He was stellar in TCU's secondary, emerging as a ballhawk who defined the Horned Frogs' 3-3-5 defense. However, the program crumbled in 2023, and he was forgotten along with the program.
This season has brought the best out of the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder. Rangy and instinctive, Clark's looming presence has expanded to become a force in the box. He's set career-bests in coverage, tackle efficiency, and passer rating against as he's logged his most snaps between the box and true free safety role instead of the slot.
With three years of film in two very different roles, Clark inspires confidence that he'll excel as a highly intelligent and versatile playmaker. There's a lot of talent in this safety group, but Clark stands out as someone who will find his place regardless of the scheme he's thrust into.
