As the pre-draft process continues leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, what is the biggest question each of the top prospects in the class need to answer?
The players projected at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft are at the top of their class are all ranked as high as they are for reasons. Many of those reasons for the individual players are already being talked about plenty as the pre-draft process starts becoming the focus at this stage in the NFL offseason.
However, there is no such thing as a perfect prospect. While those players at the top of the board all will enter the NFL with plenty of promise, they come with some questions as well.
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Some of those questions can be tangibly and/or publicly answered, others may be more abstract. Also, some answers may come during the pre-draft process while others may take longer to figure out. Questions could also have different answers from team-to-team.
What are some of these questions? Let’s go prospect-by-prospect through the top of the class…
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado:
What role does he see himself playing in the NFL?
There’s already been some reporting about how NFL teams view Hunter, who has played both wide receiver and cornerback full-time in his college career. Early indications are most but not all teams view Hunter primarily as a cornerback.
However, Hunter’s thoughts on the matter will be a factor too. He hasn’t made clear what he would prefer to do, and how flexible he would be with that preference.
He did speak on the topic on ESPN’s College Gameday in early November, but didn’t give a definitive answer when asked which position he prefers. “A lot of people try to put me in a box if I’ve got to pick a position but – I’ve been doing this since I was playing little league football. So all I know is to go play both ways…I feel more natural doing both,” Hunter said at the time. “Wherever team I go to, wherever they need me, I’ll just go out there and play ball.”
Will Hunter try to play both ways at the NFL level? If so, will teams be comfortable with him doing that? If not, what is his preference? That will likely be a popular topic for him when meeting with teams at the NFL Combine in two weeks, so we may hear some reporting on this sooner rather than later. Hunter has tremendous potential, but just like any prospect that potential will be limited if a team messes up his development plan.
Hunter is officially listed as a cornerback for the NFL Combine next week. However, it’s possible that’s nothing more than a logistical decision based on the Combine schedule to make it easier for him to participate in both defensive and offensive on-field drills.
OLB Abdul Carter, Penn State:
How fast can he develop as a run defender?
Carter might have the clearest development plan of any player in this draft. That’s somewhat surprising for a player who changed positions just last year, going from an off-ball linebacker to a primary edge rusher.
Many of Carter’s skills translated to his new position in 2024, and project to translate further into the NFL. However, right now he’s much further ahead as a pass rusher than a run stopper. For where he’s most likely going to be drafted he’s going to need to have a three-down role to justify the pick. That will mean playing on running downs as much as getting after the quarterback.
Teams should be willing to put up with the growing pains that will come with Carter defending the run early on given what he does as a pass rusher. But if he’s going to fall out of the top three (which is unlikely), this would probably be the main reason why.
DT Mason Graham, Michigan:
Can a defensive tackle be an ‘impact’ player?
For his position, Graham is an elite level prospect in a draft thin on players fitting that description. However, his position itself is the biggest question when it comes to how he’ll be valued by NFL teams in the draft.
No defensive tackle has gone in the top five of the NFL Draft since the New York Jets took Quinnen Williams third overall in 2019. Prior to him, the previous such player was Marcell Dareus in 2011. It’s a rare occurrence. There are a few more instances of defensive tackles going in the top 10 such as Jalen Carter, Ed Oliver, and Derrick Brown.
Given the wide range of needs for the teams picking at the very top of the draft, will any of them feel like Graham can make the kind of impact usually found in those picks, from a position that doesn’t always provide it even with high-level players.
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona:
Just how fast is he?
McMillan is by no means slow, but nobody is going to describe him as a burner either. He’s more quick than fast, and his size and long strides help him move around the field. To this point the best way to describe his speed is probably ‘functional.”
Just how functional? That’s what we’re going to have to wait and find out. He certainly has plenty of other high-level skills that will help an offense but speed is king at the NFL level.
Expect his 40 time at the Combine (if he runs) and at his Pro Day – as well as the tracking data – to be among the most-scrutinized in this year’s class. It could be the difference between him being a top five pick or going later in the first round.
OL Will Campbell, LSU
How long are his arms?
This might be the most well-known of any of the pre-draft questions for the players at the top of the board. Campbell’s arm length has been one of the most-talked about topics in this draft.
Conventional wisdom is that players need to have at least 33-inch arms to play tackle in the NFL, in order to have the length to protect their outside edge. Generally even career college tackles who come in under that number end up moving inside to guard once they reach the NFL.
Experts currently project Campbell to come in right around that number. If he’s at it or just above, he’s the best left tackle in this draft and has a strong case to be a top five pick. If he comes in well under he’ll move inside to guard and could fall outside of the top 10 due to positional value.
The real question is what happens if he’s just under the 33-inch benchmark? That guideline has been reset before – for example Rashawn Slater measured in at exactly 33 inches in 2021 when the benchmark was viewed as closer to 34. He went 13th overall to the Chargers and has been a quality starting left tackle, making two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team. Campbell does seem to have the talent to be a candidate to reset the mark again – if a team is willing to take that risk.