NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Michigan DT Mason Graham: 'I hope people don't overthink it with him'

Michigan Wolverines football defensive tackle Mason Graham is one of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft class, checking in No. 4 overall on NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s big board ahead of the combine.

Jeremiah held a conference call and discussed why he’s so high on Graham. Michigan’s 6-foot-3, 320-pounder out of Anaheim (Calif.) Servite was extremely productive throughout his career — freshman to junior year — and earned unanimous All-America honors in 2024. He posted 45 tackles, including 7 for loss with 3.5 sacks, on the year.

“Mason Graham, gosh, he’s so fun,” Jeremiah said. “I watched him on tape, and I fell in love with him.

“I got a chance to go to their game against Oregon, and there are a bunch of personnel guys and GMs down on the field, and we’re walking down there, and I see Mason Graham walk by. And, of course, he’s next to [defensive tackle] Kenneth Grant, his teammate, who looks like a cartoon character, like he looks like an adonis, how big he is.

“I’m looking at Mason Graham and the body type and I’m like, ‘Man, maybe I need to adjust my grade.’ Maybe I’m just too high on this guy. And then I proceeded to watch the game, and I was like, ‘Nope. Nope. He’s just really, really good.’

“So, I hope people don’t overthink it with him as we get to the spring and kinda the further we get away from football. But he’s got crazy elite leverage, balance and instincts. You can see there’s a wrestling background there. He’s just never on the ground. He gets underneath guys.

“When I was looking on my notes, I had ‘block destruction’ written down so many different times. He’s just a really aggressive player, who’s got instincts and can dominate the game against the run and, I think, has more to offer as a pass rusher.”

Jeremiah was asked what he meant by teams potentially “overthinking it” with the Michigan defensive tackle. He explained that Graham may not look the part of an elite athlete, but that he is an incredible football player, which is what matters in the end.

“Well, I think he’s not gonna be long,” Jeremiah explained. “He’s gonna have short arms. Body type-wise, he’s not gonna be someone who’s gonna stand up on a stage in a line full of these defensive linemen and you’re gonna go, ‘Oh, gosh, that looks like a top-10 defensive lineman.’ He doesn’t cut that image. He doesn’t have that body type.

“And I don’t know testing-wise … I have no clue how he’s gonna run or jump or do all of those things. I do know some of these other guys are gonna blow it out. So, that’s kinda my point on him. But the tape is so good.

“I don’t know if many people remember this one, but I was in Baltimore with [defensive tackle] Kelly Gregg, and he’s got more twitch to him and more suddenness than Kelly. But Kelly was a wrestler who played with leverage, and if he played on a field of wet paint, he did not have a drop of paint on him at the end of the game. That’s kinda the way it is with Mason. He’s got such good balance and strength and leverage. 

“Again, I’m a big fan of his. But that’s what I was referencing. In terms of the spring, if we take the football pants off and put the shorts on, that maybe he would take on some water there. That was my thought process.”

Graham and the defensive lineman are slated to work out Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. It hasn’t been reported whether or not the Michigan standout will test and go through drills, but he will have measurements and speak with the media.

‘Massive’ Kenneth Grant is a ‘people mover’

Grant does look more of the part, Jeremiah noted, and believes he has high upside at the next level.

“Kenneth Grant — just massive,” Jeremiah said. “He’s a people mover. Talking to the folks where he’s been doing a lot of his training, at 340 pounds he should not be able to move around like that. You’re hoping and dreaming on this [New York Giants defensive tackle] Dexter Lawrence type ascension for him once he gets to the NFL. Hasn’t put it all together, but it’s all in there.”