2025 NFL Draft Player Preview: Defensive Linemen

We are back

Apr 20, 2025

I’d like to start by thanking everyone for their patience over the past week and a half while I crammed for my first final exam of grad school. I powered through but it had very inconvenient timing as it cut directly into draft season. To make up for lost time I will be doubling the frequency of content from now until Thursday night’s main event. We’ve got a few more positions to cover before that night, so let’s waste no further time and hop right into it. Today we will be ranking the defensive linemen prospects in this draft. My two cents, it’s a good year to need some DL help.

I’ll be showing you and ranking the edge rushers and defensive tackles at the same time, but the percentiles and comparisons are isolated by position. Just have to expedite things a little bit to make sure I give you all the info before next Thursday night. This week, you’ll see a final mock draft, the defensive linemen, linebackers, secondary, and maybe even kickers and punters percentile graphs. Hope you all enjoy them, let me know what you think in the comments below.

1. Abdul Carter | DE | Penn State

No surprises here, Carter is the consensus best defensive lineman in this draft for a reason. I’ve written about him multiple times already in mock drafts so I’ll keep this one short and sweet. I would be surprised if Carter gets past the third pick in the draft.

2. Mason Graham | DT | Michigan

Graham served as the keystone for a Michigan defense that still balled out this year despite their lackluster season record. He also played a big part in their 2024 National Championship win.

3. Jalon Walker | DE | Georgia

Some consider Walker more of an off-ball linebacker than an edge rusher, but he will probably serve an NFL defense in both capacities so I lumped him in with the edge rushers. My favorite mock for him is the Panthers at 8th overall.

4. Walter Nolen | DT | Ole Miss

I am much higher on Nolen than the consensus. His play could still use some refining but I think he has all-pro potential if he lands in the right spot with a solid DT rotation.

5. Donovan Ezeiruaku | DE | Boston College

Ezeiruaku is a much better pass rusher than run stopper off the edge, but his Boston College tape is great. I’ve seen him mocked as high as the top 20 and as low as the late second round. Anyone in that range would be happy with a player of his value.

6. Mike Green | DE | Marshall

Mike Green is another edge rusher with stellar potential in this draft. I’ll leave the rest of your opinions on him to the reader and their further research. There are more things to consider than just his play.

7. Derrick Harmon | DT | Oregon

Harmon has been falling lately? I don’t see the reasons why. He only started for one year at Oregon but I thought he elevated a lackluster pass rush to higher production due to the amount of attention he required from opposing offensive lines. He particularly stood out to me in Oregon’s regular season win against Ohio State.

8. Kenneth Grant | DT | Michigan

There are some players in this draft that I think have inflated stats because of their stellar unit partners. I know Mason Graham is good, but Kenneth Grant is not one of those guys. He also has elite potential and played from multiple gaps for Michigan last season. He should join Graham in the first round of this draft.

9. Omarr Norman-Lott | DT | Tennessee

Norman-Lott is slightly a deeper cut in this draft but I wanted to make sure he was on your radar. He’s a non first round talent that has week 1 starter potential. He will be someone’s every down defensive tackle at the next level.

10. James Pearce Jr. | DE | Tennessee

A bit of a fall from grace for Pearce Jr. who was this draft’s #1 overall pick in pre-season mocks across the board. He should still go in the first round though, and what he lacks in overall size he makes up in pass rush finesse moves. I could see his situation as being way too overthought, as there have been tons of rumors about his work ethic or lack thereof.

Shemar Stewart | DE | Texas A&M