Big Board
12/6/24
9 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Early Ranking Top 10 EDGE Defender Prospects
The 2025 NFL Draft presents plenty of questions at the premium positions.
The quarterback class has many feeling uneasy and on edge about the outlook beyond (and including) the top two passers. The offensive line class never really saw a tackle emerge and separate from the rest of the pack. Cornerback saw Michigan's Will Johnson endure an injury-riddled season, and the prospect of adding Travis Hunter as a cornerback comes with the question of whether or not he'll insist on adding more time and energy to playing wide receiver in the pros.
No such issues exist with the pass rush room. The saying goes that the pathway to winning games in the NFL consistently stems from having a quarterback, protecting said quarterback, and disrupting the opposing quarterback.
This year's collection of pass rusher talent is where it's at for the 2025 class. Our most recent big board update for the 2025 class included nine EDGE defenders in the top 30 ranked prospects. The group is strong — so let's meet the current top contenders.
Early Top 10 2025 NFL Draft EDGE Rankings
#Georgia EDGE/OLB Jalon Walker vs. Texas
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 20, 2024
• 8 Tackles
• 3 Sacks
• 1 FR
Burst, closing speed, draft stock 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/PEc4ixNSoI
1. Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia 
Walker's emergence came at the perfect time for his leap to the pros. Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme is currently all the rage across the league.
The Macdonald pressure-sim scheme looks to attack with a non-traditional collection of four rushers to create miscommunications and breakdowns in offensive assignments. For this to work consistently and efficiently, your defenders on the edge need to showcase some ability to drop and play in space for coverage spacing — and Walker fits this mold perfectly.
Don't assume this means he can't rush the passer, though. Walker is an absolute terror rushing the quarterback. He can do it as a pressure player from depth on the second level, and he can provide it off the edge. His explosiveness and power are apparent when you watch him play.
An explosive first step is one thing, but pairing it with the power to collapse angles is something else entirely.
Jalon Walker's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
2. Abdul Carter, LB, Penn State
Abdul Carter has been a consensus top-10 overall player in draft circles since the summer, and rightfully so. He is still within my top 10 overall prospects eligible for the 2025 class despite not ranking at No. 1 on this list.
Carter's first year playing full-time on the edge got off to a bit of a slow start in non-conference play, but he's found another gear (and then another) as conference play has pressed onward and the Nittany Lions find themselves poised for a possible playoff run.
These tests will be big for Carter, whose dominant showing against Ohio State came at the expense of guard Donovan Jackson, who played left tackle due to injuries. There's no doubt Carter has dominant pass-rush tools.
I do have some questions about how well he plays the run on the edge, and I am eager to see how he rises to the occasion in the Big Ten Championship game this weekend against Oregon. The Ducks boast two NFL tackles in their starting lineup and like to play forward in the trenches.
Abdul Carter's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
3. James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
50 plus pressures in each of the last two seasons for Pearce Jr. tells you all about his consistency in getting to the quarterback. Only six FBS players have exceeded 100 total pressures in the last two years combined; Pearce Jr. currently sits at 104.
This is a player who knows how to get into the backfield. He's not as dense or powerful as Carter or Walker — a differentiator that may leave him with more limited snap opportunities early in his career.
But Pearce Jr. is already operating with fewer opportunities than his peers.
Of the pass rushers to surpass 100 total pressures during the last two seasons, none have faced fewer opposing dropbacks than Pearce Jr. — a testament to just how good he is rushing the passer. He's logging pressure on more than 22 percent of his total rushes.
The tide turns when you shift the conversation to his ability to play at the point of attack, but that's not why a team is drafting Pearce Jr. early.
4. Shemar Stewart, DL, Texas A&M
No such "point of attack" concerns exist with Shemar Stewart, the goliath of a defensive end who has made huge strides toward his potential in 2024.
Stewart still hasn't found the kind of elite production that would offer more assurances about a premium pick—more often than not, "proof of concept" can go a long way in easing the mind. Stewart is absolutely a projection pick. However, he's got all of the uncoachable elements of the position and has a high floor, thanks to his stellar ability to defend the run.
If you piece it all together, it isn't hard to see why a freak athlete like Stewart gets his name called early in the draft. He's front-diverse thanks to his size, his pressure ability translates thanks to his ability to collapse the pocket, and he's twitched up in the opportunities he has to get off the ball and attack.
Donovan Ezeiruaku 2024 Highlights pic.twitter.com/7B4UwUDnDS
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) December 4, 2024
5. Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
This dude has got a bag of tricks, unlike anyone else on this list. Ezeiruaku, along with Marshall's Mike Green, are the two prospects with the deepest collection of pass-rush counters that I've come across thus far.
And Ezeiruaku can win and get to the quarterback with any of them. He finished the regular season as the FBS leader in sacks this season (16.5 total) and narrowly missed a bunch more.
How impressive is his rush profile? Only one FBS player has logged more hits on opposing quarterbacks during the past two seasons than Ezeiruaku (42), which is in addition to him being the country's sack leader.
The question for Ezeiruaku stems from his functional power. He's not the most overwhelming speed-to-power player, and tackles that offer good framing and disciplined hands could test him early in his pro career. His ability to reduce angles is lesser than his ability to win and slip past first contact — but sometimes you have to be able to go through a blocker to re-create the angle.
I trust he'll prove ready to execute that in time, but it could cause some early transition in his game and impact some of his ability to finish rushes.
Donovan Ezeiruaku's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
6. Nic SCourton, EDGE, Texas A&M
Nic Scourton is another of the buzzy names from the summer who has done well to live up to the hype. A transfer from Purdue, Scourton has found SEC play plenty inviting as a new landscape to showcase his talents.
He's a part of one of the most physically talented fronts in the country, but there's no question that he's got an NFL game. Scourton offers good power and surprising wiggle and slipperiness when he's rushing the passer. He should be considered a front-diverse talent and someone fully capable of playing from both two and three-point stances to explode off the ball or, conversely, attack the point of attack with heavy hands.
Although he lacks the dominant traits of some of the players who also made this list, Scourton is one of the more well-rounded players to make the cut.
Nic Scourton's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
7. Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Mykel Williams is a player folks just simply aren't going to be able to quit. He's got freakish athleticism with surreal length, giving a "Create A Player" vibe with his stature and profile at the line of scrimmage. Surely you remember the viral clip from the beginning of the season that showed just how much reach he offers, right?
Your ability as a rusher to influence the quarterback when you have this kind of extension and reach is a superpower. However, Williams is going to need to stay on the field and play more to reach his full potential. No defender on this top-10 list has played fewer snaps in the last two seasons than Williams. As of this publish, he's had less than 700 total snaps in the last two years combined.
Teams aren't afraid of betting big on low sample sizes and elite traits, but this does add more variance to a player's resume and potential outcomes—which is exactly why Williams isn't higher on this list.
8. Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss
Four of the names on this list are logging pressures on at least 19 percent of their pass rushes during the last two seasons:
- Jalon Walker, UGA: 19%
- Abdul Carter, PSU: 20.1%
- James Pearce Jr., TENN: 22.8%
- Princely Umanmielen, MISS: 19.2%
Umanmielen is likable for his first-step explosiveness and motor. This isn't the most physically stout point-of-attack player; he profiles similarly to Pearce Jr. in that fashion.
Princely isn't as bendy and flexible as Pearce Jr., so the ceiling as a rusher still isn't necessarily all that high. Nevertheless, he still has easy gas on the edge and a great rip-and-dip combo to turn tight corners as a speed rusher.
9. LANDON JACKSON, DL, ARKANSAS
Landon Jackson may have eight defenders at the position ranked in front of him, but this may have been the player I had the most fun watching.
You don't expect to see 6-foot-6, 280 pounds break out a euro-step cross chop, but it's one of Jackson's go-to moves, and he's actually very good at generating tight corners with it.
Because of his build, Jackson is a little more tightly wound as an athlete in the hips, restricting his short-area ability to flash and react to the ball carrier or mirror in space. Still, he offers heavy hands and elite length to compress blockers and play on the plus side of the line of scrimmage.
In linear situations, he's very explosive. I think he will be a high-floor player for a long, long time in the pros. Even if that means he never enjoys the double-digit sack seasons that some of his colleagues will go on to post.
Landon Jackson's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
10. JACK SAWYER, EDGE, OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Sawyer still feels like he's overlooked a bit in this class despite a consistently strong body of work during the course of his time in Columbus.
He isn't necessarily the most dynamic sack artist in the country, and he certainly doesn't have the best physical traits. But he's a well-rounded player who should see the field regularly in all kinds of down and distance combinations.
He's a strong run defender and a capable pass rusher — teams looking for snap-takers on the edge with a high floor shouldn't shy away from a player like Sawyer.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Ashton Gillotte, Louisville Cardinals
- Jihaad Campbell, Alabama Crimson Tide
- LT Overton, Alabama Crimson Tide
- Mike Green, Marshall Thundering Herd
- Jared Ivey, Ole Miss Rebels
