Caleb Harris
Of course, we are still recapping and evaluating everything that came to fruition in 2024 NFL Draft. But don’t be ashamed to admit that you’re already looking ahead to 2025 NFL Draft and the crop of high-profile prospects it will deliver.
These are my top 10 defensive prospects in the 2025 class before 2024 college football season.
For those interested in who did this play last year: 10. Dallas Turner, 9. Cooper DeJean, 8. Laiatu Latu, 7. Barrett Carter, 6. Chop Robinson, 5. Johnny Newton, 4. Leonard Taylor III, 3. JT Tuimoloau, 2. Kool-Aid McKinstry, 1. Jared Verse
Honorable Mention: Elijah Roberts, EDGE, SMU
Last year, I put Trice in this position after he led college football in pressures. Trice triumphantly led the nation in that category for a second season in 2023 and was a third-round pick by the Falcons despite being undersized and testing worse than expected at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Guess who was immediately behind Trice in snaps last season? Yes, Roberts from SMU. He had an impressive 71 of them on just 383 pass rushes. I don’t care what conference you’re attending – if you’re generating pressure on 18.5% of your opportunities, you have my attention. And sure, SMU hasn’t been a factory of defensive prospects, but that shouldn’t matter anyway. However, it has a fascinating history.
10. JT Tuimoloau, EDGE, Ohio State
Tuimoloau stepped onto campus in Columbus, Ohio, to be the Buckeyes program’s next epic edge rusher. He was the #2 recruit, regardless of position, in the high school class of 2021, behind only Quinn Ewers. After a sophomore season in 2022 with 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 32 pressures on 264 pass rushes, it looked like Tuimoloau’s Ohio State career would pick up in 2023 before he declared for the 2024 draft.
It’s not like Tuimoloau will be bad as a junior in 2023; it’s just that the crescendo wasn’t seismic enough to essentially push him out the door and into the NFL. He had just 5.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss, and his pressure generation rate went from 12.1% to 10.9%. Elite edge rusher prospects are typically in the 15-20% range. Despite the drop in productivity — and for Tuimoloau, hopefully just a blip, and not him regressing from his ceiling in 2022 — he’s still listed at a sculpted 6-foot-2, 269 pounds with seemingly endless arms and a set diversified range of quick-pass movements. The Ohio State star has the God-given assets to ascend this list with a bounce-back season on what should be a loaded Buckeyes club in 2024.
9. Harold Perkins Jr., LB/EDGE, LSU
O 5th overall recruit in the 2022 class, who was an instant hit as an 18-year-old for the Tigers in 2022, Perkins is one of the most athletically gifted and ubiquitous defenders I’ve watched in a long time. And it’s not just a matter of LSU’s coaches trusting him to play defense anywhere; is that he flourishes regardless of his pre-snap alignment.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Perkins played more than 240 snaps as a box linebacker, on the defensive line as an edge rusher and at cornerback for the Tigers in 2023. Insane. He had 3 more tackles than his true freshman season (75 vs. 72) and recorded another 13 tackles for loss after the same number in his rookie SEC campaign.
Used more as a pure edge rusher as a sophomore as opposed to a stand-up blitzer on the interior as a freshman, Perkins’ pressure rate went from 25% to just over 14%, but his future isn’t strictly on the outside. in the NFL. And all you have to do is watch an LSU defensive series to realize how incredibly explosive and flexible Perkins is. His movement abilities pop off the screen, as if he were playing 1.5x everyone else.
8. Ben Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
Morrison is one of the few members here who doesn’t have a dazzling recruiting profile, even though he was a four-star in the 2022 class at the cornerback position. Listed at 6-foot-1, 186 pounds with deceptively long arms, Morrison fits the exact size prototype teams want on the edge these days. NFL.
And he has been nothing but a fundamentally sound pass disruptor since joining the Notre Dame program. In 2022, he was rightfully named a Freshman All-American thanks to a 6-interception rookie campaign that also featured four pass breakups. There was no significant regression last season either. Morrison got 3 picks and completed another 10 passes, as well as 3.5 tackles for loss. The smooth athleticism and additional elites are obvious in the film.
7. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
A former five-star recruit and The nation’s #1 recruited “athlete” in 2022, this is where Starks should be. And the bright lights of the SEC weren’t overwhelming for him early in his college career. From his safety spot, Starks has 5 interceptions and 14 pass misses in his true freshman year.
Vitally, too, Starks has proven himself to be one of the country’s most reliable defenders. He missed a total of 8 tackles in nearly 1,600 snaps he took at Georgia. Most highly athletic, ultra-aggressive safeties like Starks struggle to play under control and get involved in tight spaces. Not Starks.
6. Nic Scourton, EDGE, Texas A&M
While Scourton wasn’t a monster haul for Purdue a few years ago, his production for the Boilermakers led to him being 247 Sports’ #1 transfer portal advantage.
During his breakout in 2023, Scourton had 10 sacks, 15 missed tackles and a pressure creation rate of nearly 16%. It was new Aggies coach Mike Elko’s first major accomplishment in College Station. And he’s one of the top draft prospects in the country due to his listed measurables and thickness at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds.
There are nasty spin moves and impressive victories in Scourton’s film. He looks like a NFL defensive end today. Another great season, this time in the SEC, and he will be one of the first defenders off the board in the 2025 draft.
5. Travis Hunter, CB, Colorado
Hunter was the #1 overall recruiting in the country who famously moved from Florida State to Jackson State to play for Deion Sanders and, of course, followed Coach Prime to Colorado.
Unfortunately, an injury setback curtailed what was a spectacular start to his Colorado career in 2023, which in all featured 3 interceptions and 5 pass breakups to go along with all the receiving production he had – 57 receptions for 721 yards and 5 TDs – as one of the true two-way players in college.
Hunter is not a ridiculous cornerback coach with immense size. It’s his quickness and pure speed that make him tempting as a cornerback prospect. He exudes upside and it will be fascinating to see how Sanders utilizes him in 2024.
4. Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
There were many moments when Graham was the most disruptive force on a star-studded Michigan defense en route to winning the national title. Listed at 6-foot-3 and nearly 320 pounds, the stocky but energetic interior rusher recorded 29 pressures on just 251 passing snaps, good for an 11.5% pressure creation rate. Anything in double figures for a defensive tackle is spectacular.
What’s also critical about Graham’s game is this: He’s strong against the run. While there were a few missed tackles on film in 2023, he rebounded with a bevy of tackles near or behind the line. In all, he had 35 of them, with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks in not even 450 defensive snaps. He has the movement off the line, pass-rush moves and low center of gravity power to win any way he wants on offense.
3. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Johnson was the 4th cornerback recruited in the country in 2022, so he is used to higher revenue. In two seasons as Michigan’s top cornerback, Johnson allowed 2 touchdowns in his zone coverage. Very good. He also intercepted 7 passes and defended 7 more on just 88 total targets. That’s insane productivity.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, Johnson has an intimidating Sauce Gardner-type frame and slides in close to receivers on all three levels of the field. It will be interesting to see how Johnson performs after Michigan lost so many defensive backs to the NFL, but if his first two years in Ann Arbor are any indication, he will stick like glue to wideouts and make routine football plays on his way to being labeled a Elite cornerback in the 2025 class.
2. Deone Walker, DL, Kentucky
As an evaluator, I no longer place much value on huge nose tackles, but I’m still putting Walker second on this preseason list. He was just as good in 2023 and is a special athlete at about 6-foot-3 and 340-350 pounds.
It’s easy to forget how big he is, because his nimble feet, loose hips, and all-around explosiveness can make you think you’re watching a gigantic individual, likely destined for the 0 or 1 coaching position in the NFL. He generated 51 pressures on 425 passing snaps in 2023, which is a whopping 12% pressure creation rate. That’s high volume and efficiency from Walker. He epitomizes the Boy Scout term “dancing bear,” and his pass-rush victories are not slow sprints. Slide, stick and even some curves while working around the edges of guards and centers, Walker has it all. And, yes, he plays with as much force as you would expect at his size.
1. James Pearce, EDGE, Tennessee
A season of SEC productivity from Pearce, and that productivity was of the elite variety. In just 246 opportunities to rush the passer, Pearce pressured the quarterback 52 times, which represents an astronomical pressure generation rate of 21.1%. However, he doesn’t appear to be a tremendous, ultra-weird athletic specimen.
But he’s long, powerful beyond his years, and knows how to put together pass-rush moves — all of which has made him a nightmare for SEC offensive tackles in 2023. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 242 pounds, it’s scary that he’s had a year to add more weight to your body. Pearce has the refined skill set and measurables to be the first defenseman off the board in the 2025 draft.
