Ryan's Big Board 1-20

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While his best position is up for debate, there is no argument that Hunter is a unicorn of a prospect and a true game changer for the league. Players with his ball skills and athleticism are rare for either side of the ball, and Hunter plays both. His football IQ is off the charts. Hunter plays with natural instincts and always seems to be around the ball. Wildly fast and explosive, he also has good length, outstanding agility, and elite burst in short areas. This is truly a special and unique talent. 

While he is currently more technically advanced as a corner, there is little to suggest he can’t develop into an elite wide receiver as well. The real debate is where to play him in the majority. Every team will likely see him differently. Any team that drafts him will be doing themselves a shameful disservice to limit him to a one way player. 

My opinion is to start him full time as a corner, and moonlight as a wide receiver, and let him show you if he has more to give as far as snaps. 

Calling Card - ball skills

Weakness - strength 

Penn St. moved Carter from off ball linebacker to edge in 2024, and created a monster. Carter absolutely dominated opposing tackles to the tune of 66 pressures, 43 hurries, 12 sacks, 23.5 TFL’s and earning a 91.3 overall grade from PFF. 

While Carter is currently battling a shoulder injury and a small stress fracture in his foot, early indications are that he will not require surgery. 

Carter is lightning fast off the snap. He shows terrific agility and bend that are ideal to flatten out and turn the corner. He has an incredibly advanced bag of pass rush moves, considering he’s only played in that role for one year. He offers some positional versatility in coverage thanks to his days spent as an off ball linebacker, although he’s may be wasted in that role. Carter has the athleticism, tenacity and potential to be a game wrecker and likely pro bowl caliber player. 

Calling Card - explosion off the snap

Weakness - experience as an edge

Jeanty’s insane 2024 numbers really should have yielded a Heisman in any normal season. Some of the statistics are just insane. For example, 1,970 of his 2,601 rushing yards were after contact, which by itself was more rushing yardage than anyone in college. He also set an NCAA record with 164 missed tackles. Damn near the only thing he didn’t do was break Barry Sanders rushing yardage record. 

Jeanty has a rare combination of vision, speed, power, mutant-like contact balance and ability to make defenders miss. He is a good pass catcher and a potential elite pass blocker for a back. There is little to nothing that Jeanty doesn’t offer as a feature back and his work ethic, game awareness and ball security all but assure his floor. While there may be concerns about how ridiculously overused he was in 2024, he has the upside of an elite running back at the next level, with the added benefit of a discounted draft slot for a neglected position.

Calling Card - contact balance

Weakness - potentially mileage (nitpicking)

Graham is going to be a massive headache for interior offensive linemen. He may not have ideal measurables, particularly in arm length, but Graham flat out knows how to win. Graham has excellent burst off the line of scrimmage, matched with violent hands, terrific lateral agility, and a relentless motor. He reminds me of a young Tommie Harris coming out of Oklahoma. 

Graham may be the highest floor player in the class. While he lacks some of the freakish physical traits of most perennial all pro’s, he will immediately start and play at a high level because of his tenacious play style. 

Calling Card - explosion off the snap 

Weakness - length

For a true 3 year starter at the SEC level who’s only allowed 4 career sacks, few players have been more scrutinized in this class. Are his arms too short for a tackle? Probably. Is he best suited to play guard? Most likely, yes. However, when you turn on the tape you just see a damn good player that understands the game almost like an on-field coach. When you hear him talk about the game, this becomes even more apparent. 

Campbell moves like someone 50lbs lighter and is an excellent athlete. He is a weapon as a run blocker, showing tremendous athleticism to get to the next level and clear lanes. His quickness, strength and balance in pass pro is excellent, but he occasionally gets beaten to the punch by longer defenders and loses leverage. Those length deficiencies are significant, and would make him a massive outlier at the tackle position, which begs the question, “how high are you comfortable taking a guard?” He’s a rare talent, potential all-pro guard, and future captain of an NFL team with fantastic leadership skills. 

Calling Card - football IQ and athleticism 

Weakness - length

Warren is a rare do-it-all prospect for the tight end position that just put up an all time season in terms of production for Penn St. His build is too big for DB’s to tackle and his straight line athleticism is too much for off ball linebackers to stay with. There is very little that Warren doesn’t offer as a tight end prospect. Warren is well above average as a blocker and is comfortable as an in-line tight end. In fact, he’s comfortable everywhere, as Penn St. utilized him as a wing back, full back, wide out and in the slot. He’s got the ideal build for a modern day tight end. Warren has terrific hands and is a weapon after the catch. He has a knack for making acrobatic catches and excels under pressure. 

There are moments when he doesn’t finish his blocks. There are moments where he doesn’t create separation due to a little bit of stiffness and nuance in his route running. But overall, this is an obvious mismatch type of tight end that instantly makes your offense a threat in multiple facets of the game.

Calling Card - versatility 

Weakness - change of direction

I have to admit, I was not expecting to like this player as much as I did before watching him. A former tennis player and wrestler whose parent immigrated from Cameroon, Membou has the cleanest tape of all the tackles I watched for this class. The footwork, balance and body control are elite. He plays with outstanding leverage and technique. Membou is strong and thick, particularly in his lower half. His hand placement and punches are refined, consistently getting inside guys pads and killing the rush. He’s an outstanding athlete, showing great burst off the snap in both the run and pass game.

The question with Membou is going to come down to whether or not he meets teams’ size threshold’s to stay at tackle or reduce down to guard. 

Calling Card - body control

Weakness - length

I see a lot of prospect fatigue surrounding McMillan and several analysts bumping him down to the 20 range. I am yet to see anything that justifies that drop in value. McMillan is a massive receiver with great bounce and a tremendous wingspan who offers quarterbacks lot of room for error in 50/50 scenarios. He won 60% of his contested catch opportunities and is surprisingly elusive after the catch, backed up his 29 missed tackles forced (3rd best in the nation). He is deceptively fast and has a more extensive route tree than he gets credit for. There is a lot to like here and the added value of being a high floor/minimal risk selection. McMillan has been extremely consistent for three years and is a 6 point downfield threat against single coverage.

Calling Card - length/catch radius

Weakness - bulk

Johnson has a very enticing combination of size, instincts and athleticism. His ball production and ability to read and react, particularly in zone coverage, are special. He’s a smooth athlete with excellent hip fluidity, who is sticky in man coverage. He doesn’t show great long speed, and we may not have a true idea of what that 40 number will be until his pro day, if ever.

Johnson suffered a turf toe injury against Illinois and missed the final six games of the season. He also wasn’t quite as dominant as he was in his 2023 campaign. In ‘24 he allowed 16 catches in 6 games as opposed to the 17 he allowed in 12 games the previous season. In addition, his tackling and angles in pursuit were particularly poor at times. 

Will Johnson has big time playmaker potential. The biggest concern for me was the deficiencies in the run game, that really should be coached out of him. The arm length came in very short at the combine, which is a significant concern for a press man corner. The injury is not significant, and the speed concerns are overblown.

Calling Card - ball skills

Weakness - length

Stewart is a polarizing player in that his production never matched his athletic gifts. Listed at 290lbs at Texas A&M, he arrived at the combine at 267lbs and lit it up. Stewart is truly a special and unique athlete that just needs to refine his game by defining his pass rush plan and counters to take the next step. 

If you were to build an edge rusher, he would look like Stewart. He’s tall, built like a rock and has ridiculous arm length. Stewart possesses elite speed to power ability. This a player that has all the physicality, demeanor and athleticism to warrant being drafted high based on projection. It’s not a stretch to bet on him developing into an elite pass rusher.

Calling Card - overall athleticism and length 

Weakness - counter moves

Starks 2023 tape is awesome but he had a bit of a down year in terms of production in 2024. I’m betting here on his 2023 tape. Starks is a clean prospect with decent size and natural coverage skills in a variety of roles. He can play deep in a cover 1, come down into the nickel position to matchup against most slots in man coverage, and is a decent defender in the run game. He makes big plays in all of those roles, showing ideal versatility, which is a huge bonus in today’s NFL. He is not a phenomenal athlete and did not test very well at the combine in the short shuttle or 3 cone, but he looked very smooth in multiple drills and plays faster than he tested. He’s got good ball skills, excellent awareness and adequate length to create PBU’s and turnovers. Overall, this is a prospect with bags of big game experience that has elite instincts and feel for the game. 

Calling card - football IQ and versatility

Weakness - average speed in man coverage

One of my favorite players in this class, Nolen is a lot of fun to watch. An extremely disruptive presence, particularly in a 3 technique, both in the run and pass game. He explodes off the snap and has terrific body control to fight through contact. His hands are very powerful and violent and he can move even the biggest guards off their mark. 

Nolen is still developing a pass rush plan, and what he lacks in technique and in his pass rush arsenal, he makes up for with terrific athletic ability. If he continues to develop, he could be an elite player in the right scheme. 

Calling Card - explosion off the snap

Weakness - leverage

 Walker at this rank is very much based on athletic ability, character and projection. Georgia used him in a variety of roles, both in an off ball and edge role. When Georgia used him as an obvious pass rusher on the edge, he was contained too often, in particular if his initial move didn’t win. However, as an off ball blitzer, Walker popped. His suddenness and acceleration through gaps was much more problematic for offenses in this capacity. Walker plays with incredible closing ability and range. I believe he offers the most upside as an off ball linebacker that can plug rushing lanes with his incredible explosiveness, and the added bonus of being a plus blitzer. 

Walker has tremendous work ethic and leadership ability. With good coaching, there is nothing physically or mentality-wise to indicate he couldn’t eventually develop into an excellent player as a pure pass rusher. 

Calling card - versatility, range and athleticism 

Weakness - pass rush plan, positional stability

A very smart and nuanced route runner who separates and shows for the ball. Loveland is an above average athlete for the position, and shows an extensive route tree. An easy prospect to label a security blanket for quarterbacks. Loveland understands how to find space, particularly when plays break down, similar to Travis Kelce in that regard. Loveland has reliable hands that rarely drop the ball and he’s excellent at catching the ball in traffic. More of a move and jumbo slot tight end than a traditional in line guy, he’s a serviceable blocker but he’s never going to be George Kittle in that aspect of his game. 

Loveland possesses excellent movement skills and is clean and sudden out of his stems. He has ideal length and size. He looks like he’s going to be a solid day 1 starter and stick in the league for a long time. 

Calling Card - hands and broken play creativity

Weakness - in line blocking

In a loaded edge class, Pearce is arguably the best pure athlete of the bunch. You don’t see a lot of guys that can move like he does at 245lbs. Pearce posted a 4.47 40, and 1.56 10 yard split at the combine, both elite metrics. His quickness off the ball is exceptional and his pass rush win percentage is as well, incorporating chops, swims and cross arm swipes. If he’s left on an island against tackles, he is going to get pressure more times than not.

He is a little a bit stiff and lacks some ability to bend and flatten out to turn the corner, partially due to how fast he moves. He’s filled out his frame a little, and could still stand to add some muscle, but the slender frame indicates he probably will not get that much bigger. His doesn’t have a lot in his bag in terms of pass rush chops, as he currently is overly reliant on pure athleticism. 

Calling Card - straight line speed

Weakness - counter moves

Campbell is an enticing prospect that has the prototypical build, length, light feet and athleticism for the modern day off ball linebacker. He has the ideal speed, burst and range to attack ball carriers from sideline to sideline. Campbell also has the athletic tools to cover both tight ends and running backs, as he led the nation with 30 coverage stops from an off ball position. In the run game he lacks some play recognition ability and block shedding technique that leads to him getting washed out of plays too often behind climbing guards. However, he is a very good tackler when making contact. The positional versatility to drop in coverage or be a plus blitzer from an off ball position is the most complete for the position in this draft. He could even moonlight as an edge on passing downs, and has shown some really advanced pass rushing chops at Alabama, especially for his age (21).

Calling card - athletic ability and positional versatility

Weakness - block shedding

As well rounded of a back in this class as you’ll find, including Jeanty. Hampton has size, speed, power, wiggle, pass blocking ability and vision. He is also a very serviceable pass catcher out of the backfield. Hampton is an RB1 in most classes. He was the clear focal point of a poor UNC offense in 2024, and still carried them to the tune of 1,677 yards, with 1,244 yards coming after contact. Hampton has an incredibly muscular build and has been a model of consistency in Chapel Hill, with no missed games and no injury concerns. The only real knock on Hampton is that he sometimes rushes things and doesn’t give blocking gaps time to develop. If Hampton were to somehow fall into the second round, he would be an absolute steal for any team.

Calling card - burst and power

Weakness - patience

If it weren’t for a torn ACL in Ohio St.’s fifth game of the season against Oregon, we could very well be talking about Simmons at OT1 in this draft. That’s the type of tape he was putting out there. He’s gotten better every year and was on course to cement himself as a certified top 10 pick. Something to note, he played guard at San Diego State before transferring to Ohio State. At Ohio State he didn’t play the toughest competition in the first 5 weeks, so there are some concerns about whether he has been truly tested. 

Simmons plays with tremendous leverage and burst off the snap. He has quick hands, coordinated footwork and excellent balance. He’s not the strongest tackle in this class and could add some mass. He has starting tackle upside and if the medical checks out, he will likely go in the first half on the first round. 

Calling Card - technique and balance

Weakness - injury and lack elite competition 

At every step in every program he’s been in along the way, Ward has continued to improve. Ward has terrific arm talent and can drive the ball outside of the numbers. He shows elite throwing velocity from different arm angles and excels at throwing on the run. He can make a lot of good plays outside of structure, and he has some escapability. His fundamentals, particularly in his footwork, need coaching. There are valid concerns about the turnover worthy plays and the cross body throws, but he is obviously very talented and almost arrogant in some of the throws he makes. 

In a subpar QB draft, Ward is the clear favorite to be the #1 QB in this class. I have him here as my 19th best prospect, but the QB tax will likely make him a top 3 pick. I view him as a bit of a project that has great upside. He probably would have gone QB6 or 7 in last year’s class with his ‘24 tape, although I don’t view this as a slight on him, just an exceptional class in ‘24. 

Calling card - arm talent

Weakness - turnover worthy plays

People as large as Harmon really aren’t supposed to be able to move like he does. Harmon is explosive off the snap to be the first to establish contact and dictate leverage. He has long arms and wingspan that help him from allowing blockers into his pads, which are naturally high in posture. Harmon has an advanced array of pass rush moves that continue to show improvement as his hands stand out as powerful weapons with swipes to help break contact. He’s has some tendencies to over pursue in run fits, but he’s a good run defender overall. Harmon has the athletic tools and motor to be a large and disruptive presence as a 3 technique in 4-3 fronts. 

Calling card - explosion off the snap

Weakness - over pursuit in run game