The 2024 NFL Draft is finally coming to a close, but draft season never truly ends, does it? In this space, even after going over and grading your most recent haul, it’s never too early to look ahead at what awaits us for the next NFL evaluative cycle.
Next spring has a cornucopia of potential difference-making quarterbacks. There are also potentially plenty of lockdown cornerbacks who can change secondaries with their presence alone. If that weren’t enough, there’s no shortage of quality defenders up front, too. That’s right, aside from a usual fixation on offensive signal-callers, the 2025 NFL Draft is shaping up to be a barn burner on the defensive side of the ball.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the top prospects to watch for next April.
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Sanders (and his father) have helped put Colorado on the college football map. After an impressive first season in Boulder, he should be on the radar of any quarterback-needy NFL teams, provided he takes another significant stride forward.
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Perkins can line up anywhere on the defensive front and is a vicious, relentless pass rusher. Teams build special defenses around players like him.
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Beck plays for a stacked Bulldogs squad, which puts an asterisk on his potential in the NFL, but there’s a lot to like about him as a pocket passer as he enters his second season in Georgia.
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Hunter is the rare player who has the potential to be a star on both sides of the ball. He’ll likely have to pick one position to stick with in the NFL unless a team unconventionally really lets him play on both sides. That’s a good “problem” to have, though.
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The latest great receiver out of college football’s unofficial “Wide Receiver University,” Egbuka is a complete talent who has the potential to be a No. 1 pass-catcher in a top-flight offense.
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A disruptive and explosive game-wrecker, just one more expected step up in production this fall will make Pearce one of the 2025 draft’s more enticing defensive prospects.
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A dominant Georgia defensive lineman? No way. Say it ain’t so.
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Ewers would’ve been a likely late first-round, early second-round draft pick in this year’s class. Instead, coming back to Austin for another season might make him a top-15 selection and the de facto hopeful face of someone’s franchise.
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A physical, big, and athletic cornerback, Burke should be trusted with great confidence on an island at the next level.
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A prototypical cornerback in every sense, Johnson is a lockdown player in coverage and is exceptional run support. He’s exactly what you want in a No. 1 boundary guy.