Week 9 Mailbag: 2025 NFL Draft risers, fallers, OL sleepers, and more

You asked, and I answered.

The content is upticking as the 2025 NFL Draft draws nearer by the day. Today, let’s dive into a mailbag. I asked for questions and got plenty of feedback to work through.

So please be kind if I didn’t get to your question. If it is quarterback-related, just know that I’ll be dropping an updated QB rankings piece this week, so those questions were intentionally skipped.

In this edition, we talk about the running back class, some Day 2 wide receivers, mid-round offensive linemen to watch, and more. As always, there is a ton of digestible content on the Daft on Draft Podcast as well with Dalton Miller, so if you want more NFL Draft content, add that to your rotation!

For now, however, let’s dive into this mailbag!

Thoughts on this RB class? Does anyone take Ashton Jeanty Round 1?

Let’s start with the latter. Yes. Someone is taking Ashton Jeanty in the first round and I wouldn’t be shocked if it were in the first half of the first round.

As for the rest of the class, Ollie Gordon’s efficiency has taken a huge dip this year, and both Ohio State running backs have flaws. Ultimately, only Jeanty goes in the first round this year. Omarion Hampton is still producing at a high level, but there is reason to wonder if his strictly “through-your-face” style will translate at the next level.

However, Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton has the juice, Michigan’s Kalel Mullings (a former linebacker) has burst onto the scene, and there may be no bigger riser than Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson.

Johnson and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson are probably my favorite Day 2 value picks, but Kansas’ Devin Neal remains a ton of fun as well.

OL sleeper in rounds 2-4?

So this offensive line class…. let’s call it what it is. There are many in the league that think the “consensus” top-two guys might both be guards in LSU’s Will Campbell and Texas’ Kelvin Banks. Their counterparts Emery Jones Jr. and Cameron Williams aren’t sleepers anymore.

All of the names I could give you are other college tackles who are more than likely guards at the NFL level. Purdue’s Marcus Mbow leads the way in this conversation, but Missouri’s Armand Membou is worth the chatter as well.

If you want a riser who still could go Day 2, Oregon left tackle Josh Conerly Jr. came into the season with concerns about his hands and anchor, and has put together a stellar stretch of games. This includes against the Ohio State edge rushers.

One riser and one faller the rest of the way out?

I’m not sure if he’s a faller because I already think he’s a fringe-top-100 talent compared to what other analysts see him as, but LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is not a serious top prospect in the class. I’ll dive more into it later this week, but that’s a good place to start.

Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton is another potential player that analysts are higher on than the league. He has not taken the step forward that many expected after he transferred from Purdue, but the feedback I’ve received is that he strongly considering returning to school and is not getting the input from scouts that many would expect.

A couple of safeties have burst onto the scene as of late that are worth monitoring as risers in the class. They are Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts and USC’s Kamari Ramsey.

Ramsey, after transferring from UCLA across town to USC, has been a Swiss Army Knife for the Trojans. He’s lined up over 100 snaps in all of the box, the slot, and over the top of the USC defense. He has knocked down four passes over the last two weeks, has racked up two sacks on the season, and has an eye-catching 14 stop tackles in 2024.

Watts has shown similar versatility, playing 200 snaps over the top, 86 in the slot, and 122 in the box for the Fighting Irish. With elite ball production, Watts has already racked up three interceptions in 2024.

Does Ohio State have any first round picks?

They have one that I’d be willing to put in for sure in wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Otherwise, the over/under likely sits at 2.5 and it’s not a sure bet to take the over.

Cornerback Denzel Burke and offensive tackle Joshua Simmons would have been two more to pencil in. However, Burke is coming off of the worst game of his career against Oregon where he was routinely picked on and cooked deep. Simmons also suffered a season-ending injury in that game as well.

Tyleik Williams is another potential first rounder, but he was hurt for the beginning part of the season and will need to play catchup the rest of the way out. The two edge rushers are Day 2 players but neither has earned that right to go top-32. Neither running back is going in the first round either.

The Buckeyes have a ton of Day 2 talent, but we’ll see if any of them other than Egbuka can step up to become a first rounder.

A WR that could be a Day 2 gem

I really like both of the Maryland wideouts, man. Both Tai Felton and Kaden Prather can both flat out play.

Felton, listed at 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds has a bit of Darius Slayton to his game. He can flat-out fly. I had a scout tell me that he wouldn’t be shocked to see Felton run a 4.33 40-yard dash. On the season, Felton has already racked up 800 yards and six touchdowns for the Terrapins.

With some alignment versatility, Felton can win from both outside and in the slot as well. Prather, on the other hand, is a true X wide receiver at the NFL level. He is a massive 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and is starting to pick it up after a slow start to the season.

Prather is coming off of a game with 111 yards on nine catches in the upset win over USC. He has just two drops to his name this season and has won more contested catch situations than he has lost in 2024. He moves well for his size, getting in and out of breaks better than one would imagine a man his size could.