NFL Draft
11/11/24
7 min read
Mason Graham 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Michigan Wolverines DL
Height: 6030 (unofficial)
Weight: 318 lbs (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Christian Wilkins
Scouting Overview
Michigan Wolverines DL Mason Graham is a scheme-transcendent talent who can afford value to any and all defensive ideologies. Graham is a stout point-of-attack defender who can win with leverage, hands, instincts, or first-step quickness and penetration.
He has a pass rusher, he showcases a variety of ways to attack interior pass sets and figures to continue to develop as a budding disruptor in the pass game. Teams looking for a high floor, high ceiling tone setter on the interior will undoubtedly be drawn to his consistent teach tape in the middle.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Plays with heavy, violent, and dynamic hands to deconstruct blocks
- Refined football instincts, which have been apparent since his freshman season
- Expanding pallet as a pass rusher gives him a continued ceiling to tap into and justify lofty draft status
Negatives
- Is more of a disruptor than a finisher currently as a pass rusher
- Consistency of pad level can, at times, betray his point of attack anchor
- Length appears to be sufficient — which narrows the margin for error with hand usage to ensure control of blocks
Background
Graham was born in Los Angeles, CA, and played his high school football at Servite HS in Anaheim. There, he was featured on both sides of the football as a defensive lineman and an offensive tackle. Graham was also a standout heavyweight wrestler.
His football achievements were modest prior to a dominant senior season, in which he logged 14 sacks. Graham entered his final season at Servite with just one Power 5 offer, from Oregon State. However, that breakout senior season included being named the LA Times HS Football Player of the Year and a spike in offers. Graham would go on to commit to Michigan shortly after taking a visit.
Graham cracked the rotation for the Wolverines quickly as a true freshman in 2022. He played in 14 games and was named a Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus. His sophomore season saw a jump in both production and snaps — his usage went up nearly 50 percent.
Graham would go on to be named First-Team All-Big Ten, Second-Team All-American, and the Defensive MVP of the 2024 Rose Bowl for his efforts in helping Michigan win the National Championship. Graham’s reputation was, at this point, well-established. He entered the 2024 college football season as a consensus Top-10 prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Tale Of The Tape
What a delight Mason Graham is to watch play in the trenches. He’s nimble, fluid, and powerful.
You see the instincts kick into high gear often — offering the picture of a player who “gets it.” He doesn’t have all the prototype physical attributes, but as a late bloomer coming out of high school, you can see that growth coming from fundamentals, technique, and football IQ. That, plus a hot motor and enough athleticism? He’s got something to offer everyone.
Graham shined early in his career as a rotational player, but you could have easily justified him taking all early downs with his ability to play the run. He’s got a compact punch and a naturally compact frame — some will allude to his stature as a negative, but I think it actually plays in his favor in two ways against the run: how he leverages blocks and a center of gravity that affords him sudden change of direction skills. Graham is built compact, but much of his mass lives in his hips and legs. He isn’t a top-heavy belly bumper in the middle that offers zero gravitational pull in the middle.
Graham’s hands will jolt and create knockback at the point of attack. He’s frequently playing on the plus side of the line of scrimmage. This aids his angles when looking to laterally play off of blocks or crash into a gap. He’s quick to accelerate out of a static anchor at the point of attack as well, which pairs with those heavy hands to give him a big area of influence at the point of attack to process the play and attack the football.
I’m impressed with his finishing ability despite not having a massive wingspan. Graham doesn’t often let opportunities in his general vicinity run by him and get onto the second level, even if he’s only challenging the ball carrier from the side with an angle as compared to fully uncovering in the hole.
As a pass rusher, Graham has shown some steady growth, and I believe he has his best days ahead of him. He’s quick out the blocks to stress sets and has developed an effective arm-over move to cross-face after inviting the guard to set him outside. Graham shows sufficient lower body flexibility and mobility in these reps to accelerate at an angle out of the counter and into the face of the quarterback.
Offensive linemen who patiently wait him out and force him to commit to half a man will then be challenged with power. You can beat him to first contact if you’re a longer blocker, and in those instances, this is where Graham needs to grow and evolve his game. He’ll try to rip through contact and turn the corner but lacks the dynamic athleticism in these reps to consistently stress the outside shoulder and turn the corner to the target. As a result, you’ll get disruption reps without a finish.
Graham’s burst comes with an expiration date. Plays that get deeper into the rep or quarterbacks that successfully flush off the spot and roll outside the pocket can stave off his charges. I wish he had the juice for longer to try and chase some of those plays down. It isn’t for a lack of effort, but the quick-twitch element of his game only stands out in close quarters.
Additionally, pad discipline is a phase for more consistency. Despite his natural leverage, linemen who can get onto his breast plate or root him out with a double team can raise his shoulders and generate some push off his spot. Graham typically has the recovery skills to split the double, but it comes at the expense of valuable real estate at the point of attack.
Graham has played up and down the defensive line, and teams should have no qualms about playing him at a 1T, a 3T, or as a 4i. He’s got the hand usage to handle all of these roles. Although, you’re watering down his potential impact if you consistently play him in the A-gaps.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Graham has alignment and scheme versatility, which should help see him quickly off the board in April. He’s a capable A-gap defender but shines in the B-gap, where he can stack guards and read blocks before attacking either upfield or scrape laterally in pursuit of outside runs.
Teams that run games inside will reap the benefits of his low build and could potentially free up more penetration production as a rusher. Graham is growing in that area, but he's not as developed as he is in the run game. Still, this is a Day 1 NFL starter.
Grade: 86.50/100.00, Top-10 Overall Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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