NFL Draft
1/14/25
11 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Biggest Sleepers At This Year's Senior Bowl
The 2025 Senior Bowl roster is as star-studded as it’s ever been. Fourteen players in the top 50 of the consensus board have accepted invites, with more likely to be announced after the National Championship game. Now that underclassmen are eligible, the pool of talent has expanded greatly, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see a record number of Senior Bowl participants get selected in the first round.
Headliners like Shemar Stewart and Walter Nolen will garner most of the discussion leading up to the week, but every year, a handful of players emerge from relative obscurity and boost their draft stock with strong performances.
These are my favorite prospects at the “bottom” of the Senior Bowl roster who should be getting more attention. Many of these players are already highly regarded by NFL teams, but I’m focusing on players outside of the top 200 on the media consensus board.
2025 Senior Bowl Sleepers
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
DL Darius Alexander – Toledo 
Consensus rank: 219
My rank: 82
Darius Alexander is a powerful and explosive three-technique who has flown under the radar in a stacked defensive tackle class. His pass-rushing production isn’t eye-popping, especially against Group of 5 competition, but the flashes of dominance might convince a team to select him on Day 2.
Alexander has arguably the heaviest and most violent hands of any defensive lineman in this class. He fires his punch with authority, dismantling the blocker’s anchor and creating an entry point into the pocket. He has a sudden first step and arm-over to generate quick wins and does a good job setting up moves with his initial footwork.
He’s a consistent playmaker in the run game and recorded at least one run stop in every game this year. He has 40 run stops in the last two seasons, the 10th most among FBS defensive tackles. However, his high pad level results in a shaky anchor that even MAC offensive linemen could expose.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 13, 2025
OT Logan Brown – Kansas
Consensus rank: 276
My rank: 88
As a five-star recruit in the Class of 2019, Logan Brown didn't establish himself as a full-time starter until his sixth year in college. He committed to Wisconsin out of high school, tore his labrum and redshirted in his first season, and played a reserve role in 2020 and 2021. He began the 2022 season as Wisconsin’s starting right tackle but was benched for Riley Mahlman after three games. He was dismissed from the program a few weeks later due to “an internal incident” and transferred to Kansas, but a lower-leg injury caused him to miss most of 2023.
This year, he finally locked down a starting job and showed why he was such a coveted recruit. He’s a gifted athlete with a long frame and exceptional movement skills. His balance and agility allow him to make difficult recoveries in pass protection and secure blocks at the second level.
He’s a truly special run blocker who can execute every assignment in every scheme. He bulldozes defenders off the line of scrimmage on drive blocks, eliminates targets as a puller, and pulls off some absurd reaches and backside cutoffs.
Kansas’ offense makes it tough to evaluate offensive linemen in pass protection because they get the ball out quickly and don’t take many deep sets, but Brown was effective in limited opportunities. His performance in the 1-on-1 pass-rushing drills will have an outsized impact on his evaluation.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
EDGE Oluwafemi Oladejo – UCLA 
Consensus rank: 243
My rank: 110
Oluwafemi Oladejo was miscast as an off-ball linebacker for his entire career but finally moved to his natural position in Week 4 of the 2024 season. He had a solid first year as an edge rusher, recording 33 pressures and 7 sacks, but he’s just scratching the surface of his potential.
Oladejo is a pro-ready run defender and should find immediate work on early downs. He’s a destructive block shedder with heavy hands and violent upper-body torque. He has the burst and pursuit range to shoot gaps and make chase-down tackles.
He needs time to develop as a pass rusher, but he’s at a solid starting point. The cross-chop is his only reliable move, and while it was fairly effective in the Big Ten, better tackles were able to pick up on his one-dimensional plan and neutralize him:
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
When he attempts other moves, his hands are inaccurate and poorly timed. He has some hand pop to create knockback as a bull-rusher, but he stands up during the drive phase, which nullifies his power output.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
OL Jalen Rivers – Miami
Consensus rank: 218
My rank: 117
Jalen Rivers has played more than 1,000 snaps at left tackle and left guard but will likely move inside in the NFL. He’s densely built (6’4”, 325 pounds) but has very long arms, so he fits the prototype of both positions, with the square power of a guard and expanded reach of a tackle.
Rivers is one of the strongest pass blockers in this class, delivering punishing strikes and rarely giving ground into the pocket. He has excellent core power and lower-body flexibility to sink his hips and lock out a bull rush and should be able to match the strength of NFL defensive tackles. He’s also capable of sudden anchor drops to respond to a late surge or hesitation bull rush.
Rivers amplifies his reactive power with forceful hand usage to proactively counter his opponent. He fires his punch with violence and precision to stall the rusher’s burst upfield.
His pocket range is below average by NFL tackle standards, and he struggled at times to protect the corner against more explosive speed rushers. Moving to guard full-time will limit his exposure to deep pass sets and hide these issues.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 10, 2025
CB BJ Adams – UCF 
Consensus rank: 214
My rank: 125
Adams is an imposing press corner with a wiry frame and extremely long arms. He’s probably the most scheme-dependent player on this list, and some teams might not even have a draftable grade on him, but he has the talent to thrive in the right system. Pete Carroll wishes he was still in the NFL so he could take this dude in the fifth round.
His length and strike power smothers receivers at the line of scrimmage and creates an impenetrable roadblock when he lands his punch accurately. He’s smooth when opening his hips and transitioning vertically, and he has good recovery speed to blanket the vertical plane.
Many press corners of this archetype are completely dependent on winning at the line of scrimmage to offset athletic limitations, but Adams is just as effective playing soft-shoe press and mirroring the release without making contact. He has rare fluidity for a 6-foot-2 cornerback, which allows him to adjust his technique based on the matchup.
Adams is still somewhat rough around the edges and needs to clean up his technique to reach his full potential. He occasionally misses his punch and allows a clean release. He has a bad habit of stepping into his one-hand jam, which compromises his balance. He can also get manipulated by release fakes into heel-clicking and surrendering leverage.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
HB LeQuint Allen - Syracuse
Consensus rank: 246
My rank: 135
LeQuint Allen is a dynamic receiving back who declared early for the draft as a true junior. Allen has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in back-to-back seasons, but in 2024, he emerged as a weapon in the passing game. He ranked fourth among FBS running backs with 529 receiving yards and ran more routes from the slot than any back in the Power 4.
Allen has incredible burst out of his breaks and creates easy separation on slants and angle routes. He’s an instinctive runner between the tackles with good vision and anticipation of evolving rushing lanes. At 6-foot, 201 pounds, he doesn’t have great contact balance and struggles to drive his legs through tackles. He seems to hit a different gear in the red zone, however, and was actually an effective goal line back this year.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) December 13, 2024
CB Bilhal Kone – Western Michigan
Consensus rank: 315
My rank: 138
Bilhal Kone is a long and fluid cornerback with playmaking instincts in zone coverage. He played in the MAC but took advantage of his opportunities against Power-4 competition, recording three pass breakups against Ohio State and Wisconsin.
He’s patient in press coverage and has light feet to stay square with the receiver’s release. But despite having long arms, he rarely uses his length at the line of scrimmage, and his two-hand jam is flimsy and easily overpowered. This play style could be a conscious choice to avoid getting stacked down the sideline. He’s fast enough to play on the outside, but he takes a while to gear up to his top speed.
Overall, Kone has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. He might lack the short-area quickness for quarters/off coverage, but he has intriguing upside as a boundary corner in a press-heavy scheme.
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
LB Demetrius Knight Jr. – South Carolina
Consensus rank: 264
My rank: 146
At 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, Demetrius Knight Jr. is a throwback linebacker with a level of size and play strength that’s becoming increasingly rare in the modern NFL. According to PFF, there were only seven off-ball linebackers more than 245-pounds that played at least 400 snaps in the regular season, down from 14 in 2020 and 34 in 2015.
Knight’s sturdy build and elite arm length allow him to engage with blocks between the tackles and stay on his feet. In the seven games I watched, he only got put on the ground once. His additional weight also makes him a forceful tackler with exceptional stopping power.
He has serious thud behind his pads and can stand up ball carriers at the line of scrimmage or goal line. While this does come at the expense of speed to a certain extent, his range is still average by NFL standards.
He also has outstanding coverage instincts and zone IQ, although he made more plays on the ball in 2023. His change of direction is a bit limited in man coverage, but he can be a three-down player in a lot of defensive schemes:
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
— James Foster (@JamesFosterNFL) January 14, 2025
LB Cody Lindenberg – Minnesota
Consensus rank: 198
My rank: 163
It’s difficult for linebackers to stand out at the Senior Bowl, so it could take a bit longer for Cody Lindenberg to become a hot name, but if he doesn’t make a splash in Mobile, his combine performance will definitely put him on people's radars.
Lindenberg might be the second most athletic linebacker in this class, behind Jihaad Campbell. According to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, Lindenberg has a 1.51 10-yard split and 4.00 short shuttle, which would rank in the 97th and 98th percentile. He’s listed at 240 pounds, which is 80th percentile historically, but closer to 90th in the modern NFL. The last linebacker with a faster shuttle time at the combine was David Long Jr., who recorded a 3.97 at 225 pounds.
Regardless of what his specific times end up being, Lindenberg’s tape is all you need to verify his athleticism. He’s explosive triggering downhill, fluid changing directions, and rangy flowing sideline-to-sideline. We see multiple linebackers with similar athletic traits in every class, but they don’t usually weigh 240 pounds and have Lindenberg’s level of stopping power and block-shedding ability.
The reason Lindenberg isn’t receiving more hype is that his tape is fairly average. He’s mostly a run-and-hit linebacker who chases the ball and relies on his athleticism to make plays. He doesn’t diagnose run concepts at NFL speed and finished 200th among 440 FBS linebackers in run stop rate. His anchor is surprisingly average, and he ended up on the ground way too often. He’s slow to process route distribution in zone coverage and allowed a lot of open completions.
With all that being said, recent history tells me that Cody Lindenberg will be drafted much earlier than he’s projected. One of the universal truths of the NFL Draft is that teams will take linebackers with average-to-bad tape early if they weigh more than 235 pounds and have elite combine testing.
Troy Andersen (2022), Trevin Wallace (2024), and Brandon Smith (2022) were drafted in the second, third, and fourth rounds purely based on athletic upside, and Lindenberg has better tape than all of them. The hit rate on these linebacker projects isn’t particularly high, but players with that combination of size and athleticism are rare enough that it’s still worth the risk.
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