The 2025 offensive line cycle is on track to be one of the best ever

One of the most evident evaluation storylines to this point in the 2025 cycle is the remarkable number of high-end prospects along the offensive line.

This week’s update to the 2025 On300 rankings has three five-star offensive tackles within the top ten. Twelve offensive linemen rank inside the top 50 overall prospects, with several more within the top 100. In my years of evaluating high school prospects, and even following recruiting, I can’t recall a cycle as flush with top offensive line talent, particularly prior to the senior season.

Up until the past few years, the recruiting industry has historically struggled to evaluate and rank offensive line prospects. Things appear to have turned around drastically, with the first-round hit rate on five-star offensive lineman more than tripling from the 2014-2018 recruiting cycles to 2019-2021.

While the influx of talent varies cycle to cycle, at least a good bit of the improved hit rate can be credited to improvements in evaluating and projecting the position. That includes understanding physical and athletic thresholds that we see in top NFL Draft picks at the position along with position-specific factors like the developmental nature of offensive linemen and the types of qualities and skills to look for on film.

Given what we know and have learned about the position, the 2025 group has a multitude of prospects that project at a high level in college football and beyond.

Three 5-star tackles lead the way

Three offensive tackles currently rank as five-stars and top ten prospects according to On3: Notre Dame commit Will Black (No. 5), David Sanders (No. 6) and Ty Haywood (No. 8). All three combine high-end physical traits and athleticism with outstanding junior film.

A native of Canada who attends boarding school at Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall, Will Black grew up playing hockey and is relatively new to football. His skill level and overall play is advanced for someone who has only played football for a few years. Black is a silky smooth athlete at 6-foot-7, 285 pounds. He regularly posted low 5.0 second times in the 40-yard dash at college camps prior to his junior season. His controlled coordination and functional movement skills – balance, flexibility and reactive quickness – project well to the next level. The physical tools and technical skills that outpace his experience level point to a promising upside.

David Sanders has long been considered one of the cycle’s top overall prospects. The Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day standout burst on the national radar as a dominant two-way player, excelling at offensive tackle and along the defensive line. Sanders has a rare level of twitch for an offensive line prospect. He’s a physical run blocker and holds up well in pass protection when facing top pass rusher on Friday nights. Sanders has added close to 30 pounds to his frame during the off-season, currently tipping the scales at around 6-foot-5.5, 285 pounds.

Ty Haywood is the most recently-minted five-star offensive lineman for On3. The 6-foot-4.5, 285 pounder has a case as the most well-rounded offensive line prospect in the cycle. Haywood has plus length, very good athleticism and outstanding play strength. The Denton (Texas) Ryan product moves laterally with ease. He’s a bull on contact, using his punch and grip strength to manipulate defensive linemen.

Several more offensive tackles outside the five-star ranks have shown very promising signs to this point in the cycle. Andrew Babalola (No. 14) could have the highest upside of any offensive lineman in 2025. The 6-foot-5.5, 295-pounder is a well-built athlete with plus length and showed translatable movement skills and power in his first year of varsity football. Broderick Shull (No. 19) is an elite athlete for the position and has the quickest feet of the group at 6-foot-5.5., 275 pounds with plus length. Jackson Lloyd (No. 29) is a tall, big athlete at 6-foot-6.5, 280 pounds with a strong multi-sport background. Michael Fasusi (No. 32) is a well-built 6-foot-5, 295 pounds and is very strong as a run blocker.

Oklahoma commit Ryan Fodje (No. 65), Lamont Rogers (No. 68), Damola Ajidahun (No. 85), Malachi Goodman (No. 103), Connor Howes (No. 131) are five more offensive tackle prospects who have some of the positive indicators of a top prospect at the position.

Quartet of top IOL prospects

The 2025 interior offensive line group is similarly loaded.

Carius Curne (No. 25) shows eye-popping movement skills as a two-way player at Marion (Ark.) High. The 6-foot-4, 320-pounder moves like a much smaller player. Curne’s game film is outstanding on both sides of the ball. He’s an effortless mover at the second level and is a violent, physical presence on contact.

Michael Carroll (No. 27) has the largest frame of any top interior offensive lineman. The Doylestown (Pa.) Central Bucks East standout is 6-foot-6, 300 pounds with plus length and hands that measure over 11 inches. Like Curne, Carroll is a two-way player, as an offensive and defensive lineman and has outstanding movement skills. Given his frame and the improvement he’s shown, the On3 outlier  could possess the most upside of the group.

LSU commit Tyler Miller (No. 38) and Florida State pledge Solomon Thomas (No. 41) are two rock solid interior prospects who have the positional flexibility to kick out to tackle if needed. Each are around 6-foot-4, 315 pounds with barrel-chested builds and elite length. The length pairs with play strength and pop on contact.

Josh Petty (No. 50), Jaylen Gilchrist (No. 93), Max Buchanan (No. 96), LSU commit Devin Harper (No. 98) and Hardy Watts (No. 120) are several more interior offensive line prospects who have caught our eye to this point.

High-end physical and athletic traits

All of the 2025 prospects mentioned above have strong junior film. That’s the starting point and basis for our evaluations. Film first evaluations have led to some big hits at the position in recent years, like former five-stars and future rounders Charles Cross (2022 draft) and Peter Skoronski (2023 draft).

The top tier of prospects of offensive tackles and interior offensive linemen in 2025 also have physical measurements that are in line with what we see from future top draft picks along the offensive line. There aren’t many prospects within the group who don’t hit the mark from a measurables standpoint.

Offensive tackles taken in the first three rounds over the past eight NFL Drafts averaged 6-foot-5.6, 287 pounds, 34.25-inch arms, 10-inch hands and a 4.84 second average in the short shuttle shuttle as high school prospects. The top seven offensive tackles in the 2025 On300 currently average 6-foot-5.6, 284 pounds, 34.1 inch arms, 9.8-inch hands and a 4.76 second short shuttle.

Outside of that top group, Lamont Rogers (6-foot-6.5, 310, 35-inch arm), Damola Ajidahun (6-foot-6.5, 280, 36-inch arm) and Malachi Goodman (6-foot-5.5, 315, 34+ inch arm) have high end measurables. Connor Howes (No. 131) tested as an elite athlete for the position at 6-foot-5.5, 295 pounds at Under Armour’s Orlando camp.

Interior offensive linemen taken in the first three rounds in the last eight drafts averaged 6-foot-4.4, 275 pounds, 33.3-inch arms, 10.1-inch hands and a 4.73 second short shuttle in high school. The top five interior offensive linemen in the 2025 On300 are a bigger and longer group than the NFL average, averaging 6-foot-4.5, 300 pounds, 33.8-inch arms, 9.9-inch hands. The short shuttle averages we have (for three) comes out to 4.9 seconds, but would likely be lower with Carius Curne and Josh Petty‘s accounted for.

Additional positive indicators

On top of film and requisite measurables, several national prospects have positive indicators that point to favorable upsides.

David Sanders, Carius Curne, Michael Carroll and Josh Petty have all been standout two way players, showing their athleticism while doubling as defensive linemen.

A large segment of the group are multi-sport standouts. Ty Haywood, David Sanders, Michael Fasusi are all standouts in track and field, posting elite shot put throws. The majority of offensive linemen in On3’s top 100 participate in track and field. Jackson Lloyd (basketball, baseball), Josh Petty (wrestling) Lamont Rogers (basketball), Will Black (hockey), Andrew Babalola (basketball) also have multi-sport backgrounds with several still starring in those respective sports at the high school level.

A number of top offensive line prospects are either newer to football or younger for the cycle, pointing to continued room for growth and development. Will Black and Andrew Babalola are two who are newer to football, particularly at the varsity level. Michael Fasusi, Josh Petty, Ryan Fodje, Damola Ajidahun and Malachi Goodman are all younger for the cycle with summer birthdays. The group is still 16 years-old and will be 18 for the entirety of their freshman year in college.

Moving forward

From an evaluation standpoint, we’re still fairly early in the cycle. Given the developmental nature of offensive line, how this group looks as seniors will largely determine how things shake out from a rankings standpoint. We should also evaluate several of these top linemen in person between now and January. Several prospects from the group have added size over the past year with several more likely to benefit from the continued on-field experience. More players are also likely to emerge as top offensive line prospects over the course of the next six months.

Regardless of how things shake out, the overall quality and depth of the group is likely to remain unchanged. There’s simply too many high level prospects on the offensive line for the 2025 cycle to not be one of the best we’ve seen in recent memory.