• Will Johnson has top-10 potential: At 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, he brings CB1 man coverage traits that deserve to be drafted in the top 10.
• Michigan is home to PFF's top two interior defender prospects: Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant rank third and 25th, respectively, on PFF's 2025 Big Board.
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Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
We've updated PFF's 2025 Big Board to include more than 280 players, featuring plenty of rising defensive stars.
Here are our top five players at every defensive position heading into the final weeks of the 2024 college football regular season.
EDGE DEFENDER
- Abdul Carter, Penn State
- Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
- Mykel Williams, Georgia
- Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
- James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
The 2025 edge defender class might not be as top-heavy as other classes, since there isn’t yet a player who feels like a No. 1 overall candidate. But it does feel deep, which is a theme in the trenches for 2025.
Abdul Carter’s first season as a full-time edge defender has yielded an elite 90.1 PFF pass-rush grade with a 20.4% pass-rush win rate.
Nic Scourton hasn’t quite been the same pass-rush savant as last season, but that ability is still there with a deep pass-rush bag.
Mykel Williams, Shemar Stewart and James Pearce Jr. all bring high athletic potential and warrant first-round consideration.
After those five, there are four or five others — Princely Umanmielen, Landon Jackson, JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Kyle Kennard — in the first-round conversation.
The draft's first 10 selections may not feature many edge defenders, but the position could dominate the top 50.
INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE
- Mason Graham, Michigan
- Kenneth Grant, Michigan
- Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
- T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
- Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
Mason Graham brings top-five overall talent to the interior defensive line group and has now graded at an elite level for two straight seasons. We’ve seen how impactful interior defensive line production can be in the NFL, and Graham provides that. His teammate Kenneth Grant is a nimble 335 pounds and also deserves consideration in the top half of the first round.
Tyleik Williams is a stout run defender with pass-rush potential, though that is a work in progress.
T.J. Sanders and Walter Nolen are fast, violent interior players who have put together strong 2024 seasons. They should get talked about in the top 50, as well.
OFF-BALL LINEBACKER
- Jalon Walker, Georgia
- Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
- Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss
- Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon
- Barrett Carter, Clemson
This is not a high-profile off-ball linebacker class, but if you broaden your scope beyond the early summer scouting names, the class boasts several good players.
Jalon Walker is listed as a linebacker, but his bread and butter in the NFL will be as an edge rusher.
Jihaad Campbell feels like the true off-ball linebacker to bet on in this class. He has the size, length, speed and strength to play as an outside linebacker in any system. He is better in run defense and pass rushing than in coverage, but he has made some splash coverage plays this season and is still strong in that facet.
Chris Paul Jr. is incredibly solid. He tackles well, anticipates well, is the first to see where the ball is going and has nice pursuit speed. His only knock is that he's on the smaller side.
Jeffrey Bassa played wide receiver and safety in high school but has morphed into a hybrid linebacker in Dan Lanning's Oregon defense. He brings great speed to the off-ball spot and feels like a player who fits where the game is going — lighter, faster linebacker play.
Barrett Carter is a multi-year starter with good explosiveness. He’s on the smaller side, too, but should have a place in the NFL as a Day 2 prospect.
OUTSIDE CORNERBACK
- Will Johnson, Michigan
- Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
- Trey Amos, Ole Miss
- Shavon Revel, East Carolina
- Darien Porter, Iowa State
Injury has sidelined Will Johnson lately, and Michigan’s defense isn't at the same level. However, at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, he brings CB1 man coverage traits that deserve to be drafted in the top 10.
Benjamin Morrison has missed most of the 2024 season with a hip injury, as has Shavon Revel with a torn ACL, but both have first-round talent.
Two new names to the rankings are Ole Miss' Trey Amos and Iowa State's Darien Porter. Amos is an aggressive man coverage cornerback with a good blend of size, speed and strength, helping him produce a high forced incompletion rate in each of the past three years. Porter, at nearly 6-foot-3, has great length for the position. His track background is also extensive as a state champion in the 200-meter, 400-meter (twice) and 800-meter.
SLOT CORNERBACK
- Jahdae Barron, Texas
- Sebastian Castro, Iowa
- Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
- Chandler Rivers, Duke
- Upton Stout, Western Kentucky
Jahdae Barron can play wide and in the slot. He was a high-impact player in the slot over the past two years and is now an interception machine on the outside.
Sebastian Castro is a slot-only player who is more of a safety than a traditional cornerback, but he plays the game with great quickness and anticipation and excels in run defense.
Jacob Parrish and Chandler Rivers are both smaller in stature, but their slot skill sets will still be effective in the NFL. Parrish wins with quickness, whereas Rivers wins with high IQ and anticipation.
Upton Stout is having a nice season, as well, and will have a chance to raise his stock even more at the Senior Bowl.
BOX SAFETY
- Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
- Jonas Sanker, Virginia
- Ronald Spears-Jennings, Oklahoma
- Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa
- Jalen Catalon, UNLV
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Nick Emmanwori is a high-impact player with an 89.8 PFF coverage grade in 2024 from four interceptions and four forced incompletions.
Jonas Sanker is a fast, physical downhill safety who brings a tone-setting mentality to the game.
Ronald Spears-Jennings is a heavy hitter over the middle of the field with the requisite athleticism to provide good coverage.
Xavier Nwankpa doesn’t make as many plays on the ball as one would like, but he is reliable and generally not out of place.
Jalen Catalon has dealt with several unfortunate injuries throughout his long college career, but in his final season at UNLV, he is displaying shades of the player who was once projected to be a top-50 pick.
FREE SAFETY
- Malaki Starks, Georgia
- Kamari Ramsey, USC
- Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
- Lathan Ransom, Ohio State
- Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
There are some fun coverage safeties in the upcoming draft, starting with the best safety in college football over the past three years: Malaki Starks. He can truly do it all — play in the box, in the slot or in single-high coverage.
I am higher on Kamari Ramsey than most. Though the redshirt sophomore's tape is a bit up and down, he already displays high-level anticipation and IQ for the position.
Kevin Winston Jr. hasn't played much this season due to injury, but he might be the best athlete of the bunch.
Lathan Ransom and Xavier Watts are two of the highest-graded coverage safeties in college football. Watts is following up a seven-interception 2023 season with four more this season.
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