2025 NFL Draft: Daniel Jeremiah makes massive changes to Top 50 player rankings as draft nears

The 2025 NFL Draft is now later this month with it being less than three weeks away now. With that will come several updates to mocks and big boards, including the latest one of a Top 50 from Daniel Jeremiah at the NFL Network.

The very top of the ranking was unchanged, though, with the top four spots going to Penn State’s Abdul Carter, Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, and Michigan’s Mason Graham. However, from there, much has shifted over the last month since his previous update.

As for teams represented, the Big Ten leads the way as Ohio State has the most with five spots, Michigan has the second-most with four and three being in the top 15, and Penn State with a pair but with both being in the top six. The SEC is obviously well-represented too with seven programs having anywhere from two to three spots, including a trio from each of Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas. Colorado is also obviously of note with who their two are in the top 20.

Here’s the Top 50 from Jeremiah from its release on Wednesday:

1. DE Abdul Carter – Penn State Nittany Lions

Carter continues to be projected as the top actual player in this draft class. That includes here by Jeremiah with him describing him as “an electric edge rusher” who “can take over and completely wreck an offensive game plan”.

Over three seasons with the Nittany Lions, Carter had 172 tackles, 41 for loss, with 23 sacks, five forced fumbles, 13 deflections, and an interception, including this past fall as a junior with 68 tackles, 24 being for loss, and a dozen sacks, two forced fumbles, and four deflections as an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year. Now, regardless of whether he actually goes first overall or not, Carter will be expected to be just as much of an issue on the edge of whichever defense adds him.

2. WR/CB Travis Hunter – Colorado Buffaloes

Hunter also remains among the very best prospects in this draft. That’s with him having high-end value on both sides of the football at receiver and corner as, despite having obvious concerns about his durability, Jeremiah “believe(s) there is a way for him to make an impact on both sides of the ball”.

Hunter, this year’s winner of the Heisman Trophy, was as productive as any player in college football in recent memory in those snaps, especially this season with 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on one side. He then had 36 tackles, 11 deflections, four interceptions and a forced fumble on the other. It’s now just a question of if or how he can maintain that as a pro.

3. RB Ashton Jeanty – Boise State Broncos

Jeanty, “a fun player to study” per Jeremiah as “a mixture of Dalvin Cook and J.K. Dobbins”, was just as fun a player to watch this season at Boise State. That’s with Jeanty challenging the all-time single-season rushing record with 2,601 yards, good for 185.8 per game and 7.0 per rush, in scoring 30 total touchdowns to be an All-American, be runner-up for the Heisman, and carry the Broncos to the CFP.

This draft has several quality backs available in it. Jeanty just continues to be the one that extends above the rest of them as one of the best players in the entire draft.

4. DT Mason Graham – Michigan Wolverines

Graham, “a powerful defensive tackle” who’s “one of the most consistent players in the draft class” per Jeremiah, had a great career with the Maize & Blue. Now, he rounds out the top four in this rating that have maintained their slots among the very best in this class.

Graham had 108 tackles, 18 for loss, with 9.0 sacks, a forced fumble and recovery, and three deflections, including career-best numbers as an All-American this last year at 45 tackles, seven for loss, and 3.5 sacks. That’ll have him as one of the first defenders, and defensive tackles, off the board.

5. DE Jalon Walker – Georgia Bulldogs (+2)

Jalon Walker is the first player to see movement with him moving past a pair of tight ends into the top-five. That comes after a three-year career as the latest leading defender for the ‘Dawgs.

Walker, “a compact, powerful defender with length and explosiveness,” says Jeremiah, is coming off the best collegiate season of his career with 60 tackles, 11 being for loss, 6.5 sacks, two deflections, and two fumble recoveries as he was Georgia’s leader in tackles for loss while tying as their leader in sacks and fumble recoveries. He’ll now look to be “a tone-setter” for the professional defense he’ll be on next.

6. TE Tyler Warren – Penn State Nittany Lions (-1)

Warren was one of the best, most versatile weapons in the entire sport last season with how he was used by the Nittany Lions. That’s with him posting 1,451 yards from scrimmage and scoring a dozen touchdowns as a pass-catcher and a runner while also throwing six passes that led to 35 yards and a score.

Any tight end would like to be compared to one of the position’s best all-time players in Rob Gronkowski. That’s who Jeremiah, despite not being as dynamic, compared Warren to with him being “a similar player in a lot of ways” to Gronk.

7. TE Colston Loveland – Michigan Wolverines (-1)

Just behind Warren is the second of the top tight ends, and the second so far for the Maize & Blue, in this draft in Loveland. He’s coming off a career with the Wolverines where he caught 117 passes for 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns, including some career-best numbers of 56 receptions for 582 yards and five scores, their leading receiver in all categories, as a junior.

Loveland might be a little more standard and traditional at the position than the player ahead of him. Still, as Jeremiah put it, he’s “equipped to make a lot of catches as a starting tight end in his rookie campaign.”

8. QB Cam Ward – Miami Hurricanes (+2)

Ward, the projected top overall pick in this draft, finds himself at No. 8 overall as far as prospects for Jeremiah. That’s after his final season in college, as a Heisman finalist, All-American, and ACC Player of the Year, where he had career-bests of 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on 67.2% completion, which led the No. 1 offense in the sport.

Ward, despite being the favorite to go first overall, has work to do still in developing his game, specifically in passing rather than just slinging it as some have assessed. Still, Jeremiah sees “a very high ceiling” for him if he’s “reined in” and “can learn to better manage the game”.

9. LB Jihaad Campbell – Alabama Crimson Tide (+3)

Campbell moved three spots into the top 10 for Jeremiah. That’s after being the leading defender this past season for the Crimson Tide.

Campbell had 117 tackles, a dozen for loss, this season with five sacks, a pair of deflections, two forced fumbles with a recovery, and an interception with the tackles, tackles for loss, sacks being team-highs and the forced fumbles tying a team-high. With that, Jeremiah says “his best football is ahead of him” when it comes to Campbell’s future at the next level.

10. OT Will Campbell – LSU Tigers (-1)

Campbell rounded out the top 10 as one of the top-rated offensive linemen in this class. That includes Jeremiah who has him as the first one in his ranking.

Cambell, coming off a season as a Consensus All-American, allowed just five sacks in 2,553 snaps over three seasons in Baton Rouge. With that, Jeremiah says he’s “just scratching the surface of his potential” with him expecting him to be a starting-level tackle in the league for some span over the ten years.

11. CB Jahdae Barron – Texas Longhorns (-3)
12. OT Armand Membou – Missouri Tigers (-1)
13. RB Omarion Hampton – North Carolina Tar Heels (+1)
14. CB Will Johnson – Michigan Wolverines (-1)
15. S Nick Emmanwori – South Carolina Gamecocks (+4)
16. WR Matthew Golden – Texas Longhorns (-1)
17. WR Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State Buckeyes
18. WR Tetairoa McMillan – Arizona Wildcats (-2)
19. QB Shedeur Sanders – Colorado Buffaloes (-1)
20. IOL Tyler Booker – Alabama Crimson Tide (+3)
21. DE Mike Green – Marshall Thundering Herd
22. DE Mykel Williams – Georgia Bulldogs (-2)
23. DT Derrick Harmon – Oregon Ducks (+3)
24. IOL Grey Zabel – North Dakota State Bison
25. DE Donovan Ezeiruaka – Boston College Eagles (+5)
26. DE James Pearce Jr. – Tennessee Volunteers (-4)
27. DE Shemar Stewart – Texas A&M Aggies
28. DT Walter Nolen – Ole Miss Rebels (+6)
29. S Malaki Starks – Georgia Bulldogs (-4)
30. DT Kenneth Grant – Michigan Wolverines (-2)
31. OT Kelvin Banks Jr. – Texas Longhorns (-2)
32. TE Mason Taylor – LSU Tigers (+5)
33. WR Luther Burden III – Missouri Tigers (-2)
34. RB TreVeyon Henderson – Ohio State Buckeyes (-1)
35. CB Maxwell Hairston – Kentucky Wildcats (-3)
36. QB Jaxson Dart – Ole Miss Rebels (+4)
37. OT Josh Simmons – Ohio State Buckeyes (-2)
38. RB Quinshon Judkins – Ohio State Buckeyes (-2)
39. Josh Conerly Jr. – Oregon Ducks (-1)
40. CB Benjamin Morrison – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+4)
41. IOL Donovan Jackson – Ohio State Buckeyes (-2)
42. CB Trey Amos – Ole Miss Rebels (-1)
43. TE Elijah Arroyo – Miami Hurricanes (+2)
44. LB Carson Schwesinger – UCLA Bruins (+2)
45. RB Kaleb Johnson – Iowa Hawkeyes (+3)
46. DE Landon Jackson – Arkansas Razorbacks (+1)
47. DT Darius Alexander – Toledo Rockets (+2)
48. OT Marcus Mbow – Purdue Boilermakers (+2)
49. DE Nic Scourton – Texas A&M Aggies (Prev. Unranked)
50. CB Azareye’h Thomas – Florida State Seminoles (-8)