Mel Kiper shakes up Big Board Top 25 player rankings for 2025 NFL Draft after Week 11

The end of the college football regular season is closing in and that means fewer and fewer opportunities for top NFL prospects to make their mark. And they’re being keenly watched by ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.

With a handful of weeks left to play this season, Kiper has once again updated his Top 25 Big Board. And there’s some interesting movement up and down the list, including a rising quarterback joining the Top 10.

See his full Top 25 Big Board below.

1. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado

There’s been little reason for Hunter to move off the top of the list. And so he hasn’t.

And the two-way Colorado star has played at a top 10 level at not one, but two positions. Should he keep up the high level of play, the hardest decision for NFL teams will be what position he plays at the next level, or both.

2. CB Will Johnson, Michigan

Johnson hasn’t played since Michigan faced Illinois in October but is still likely to be the first or second defensive back off the board. And it’s possible he could be back for the Wolverines’ final two games.

In the six games Johnson has played this season, he still managed to nab a pair of interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns.

3. OLB Abdul Carter, Penn State

Carter has moved to the edge in a more full-time role this year and has mostly thrived. He currently leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 16 and has eight sacks.

He’s also forced a pair of fumbles and batted down a number of passes. He’s the sort of disruptive edge force NFL teams covet.

4. OLB Mykel Williams, Georgia

Williams has been a force for Georgia on the edge since getting back after an early season ankle injury. He’s up to 7.5 tackles for loss on the season to go with two sacks and a forced fumble.

He’s also been adept at generating pressures, with eight on top of his sacks. Williams is also solid as a run defender, and mostly needs to become a consistent disruptor on the edge.

5. DT Mason Graham, Michigan

Michigan has had a disappointing season, but Graham has not. The junior picked up right where he left off from last year as a premiere interior force in college football.

He’s got good counting stats for a defensive tackle, with 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss on top of 22 pressures as he consistently crushes pockets or careens through the middle. And on top of plus-pass rush ability on the interior, Graham is a stout run defender.

6. OT Kelvin Banks, Texas

Traits and production rule the day for Banks, making him a pretty complete package. He’s started more than 35 games in his Texas career and has given up fewer than five sacks, all while playing left tackle.

While Banks is as accomplished as they come as a college pass protector, his run blocking still has room to grow. Either way, he’s likely to be one of the top tackles off the board, and could be a candidate to move to the interior at the next level.

7. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (+4)

Sanders made the biggest jump in the rankings this week for a player already ranked, climbing into the Top 10. And it makes him Kiper’s highest ranked quarterback despite another mover climbing to No. 11, where Sanders was ranked.

Where Sanders has shown the most ability is working as an out of structure playmaker, where he’s shown off his next-level arm talent. He’s also done a better job of cutting back on unnecessary negatives — they’re not entirely gone — that hurt his game in 2023.

8. DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M (-1)

Few 2024 transfers have done more for themselves or their new team this year than Scourton. Coming from Purdue, he’s thrived rushing and defending the run off the edge for the Aggies and been a major part of the program looking strong in Year 1 under Mike Elko.

Scourton simply makes it happen on the edge with his powerful, thick frame and length. He’s got 12.5 tackles for loss with five sacks and 25 pressures on the year. For NFL teams needing a power-rushing defensive end, Scourton is an easy answer.

9. S Malaki Starks, Georgia

Starks has held steady at the back end of Kiper’s Top 10 for most of the season, only falling a spot due to Sanders’ rise this week. And so long as Starks can effect all areas of the game from his safety position, he’ll remain atop the draft rankings.

With good size — 6-foot-1, 205 pounds — and a long frame, Starks can just as deftly snag an acrobatic interception as he can reach out and bring down a ball carrier in the open field. And that versatility with a knack for the ball is what modern NFL defenses covet on the backend.

10. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Jeanty continues to dazzle with both his production and the highlight reel. He not only puts up gaudy numbers, but has done so while making tacklers bounce off him like ping pong balls.

The only thing that will likely keep Jeanty out of the Top 10 come draft day is positional value. Quarterbacks and edge rushers and tackles will get bumped up, and he’ll potentially slide down. But on pure talent, Kiper has had Jeanty in the Top 10 most of the way.

Players Nos. 11 through 25

11. QB Cam Ward, Miami (+1)
12. LB Jalon Walker, Georgia (-2)
13. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
14. OLB James Pearce, Tennessee
15. DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
16. LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama (new to Top 25)
17. DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
18. WR Luther Burden, Missouri
19. OT Will Campbell, LSU
20. CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina
21. OT Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
22. CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
23. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
24. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
25. OT Josh Simmons, Ohio State

And despite the college season winding down, there’s still countless data points between now and the first selection for the picture to change.