2025 NFL Draft: Introducing Our Top 10 Players
The college football regular season is in the bag. What comes next is five months of intense scouting as players head into the college football playoffs or their pre-draft process.
Many have opined that the 2025 draft class is weak. There’s some truth to that in terms of top-end talent. There isn’t a player in this class that would rank ahead of Caleb Williams or Aidan Hutchinson or Bijan Robinson as former top prospects, but there is great depth in the group of players we’re evaluating for the NFL.
But what about those top-tier players? Who comes in at the top when looking not just at college production, but taking into account future development and position-specific traits?
Today we’ll lay out our top 10.
10. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado (6-2, 215)
A four-year starter—two at Jackson State before following his dad Deion Sanders to Colorado—Sanders is experience, confident, accurate and tough. But scouts are worried about on-field and off-field behaviors. Sanders has been involved in multiple on-field scuffles and was recently seen pushing an official. He has never been coached by anyone other than his dad, leading to concerns about coachability. As a player, Sanders has to speed up his process as he often trusts his arm strength and incredible field vision to save him when making late decisions. What’s remarkable is that it usually works out. He has 62 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions in the last two seasons and is completing 74.2 percent of his passes this year. Scouts must get to know the person—to find out if Sanders is coachable—to buy in. The passing traits are impressive enough to warrant that investigation. He’s a surgical passer with starter-level velocity and good pocket escapability. And while he doesn’t project as a future top 10 starter in the NFL, Sanders’ traits and confidence will combine to make him a good starter if he buys into the NFL program.
Key Stat: 132 career touchdown passes
Player Comparison: Geno Smith
9. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State (5-9, 215)
A three-year starter, Jeanty has been college football’s best player in 2024. He leads the nation with 2,288 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns on the ground. Jeanty excels at contact balance—bouncing off tacklers and using his agility and long speed to pull away for big runs. He has enough speed to rip off 77-yarders and beat defenders to daylight. Jeanty hasn’t been used as much as a receiver this year, but had 43 catches for five scores in ‘23. As a pro running back prospect, Jeanty may not have game-changing speed but he’s a pinball getting through the defense. He’s great at making defenders miss, too. He projects as a high-end NFL starter.
Key Stat: 12 straight games of over 125 yards rushing
Player Comparison: Jahmyr Gibbs