You can never have enough guys to rush the quarterback, and this class has some strong edge rushers. Pearce has been at the top of my list of defensive linemen since the end of the 2024 NFL Draft when I reset my board and added in all the new players.
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Top 20 QBs – Click Here
My Top 20 RBs – Click Here
Top 20 WRs – Click Here
2025 NFL Draft – Top 20 Defensive Linemen
| # | POS | NAME | SCHOOL | HGT | WGT | MY RANK |
| 27 | EDGE | James Pearce Jr | Tennessee | 6-5 | 242 | 1 |
| 55 | DL | Mason Graham | Michigan | 6-3 | 318 | 2 |
| 11 | EDGE | Nic Scourton | Texas A&M | 6-4 | 280 | 3 |
| 13 | EDGE | Mykel Williams | Georgia | 6-5 | 265 | 4 |
| 0 | DL | Deone Walker | Kentucky | 6-6 | 348 | 5 |
| 11 | EDGE | Patrick Payton | Florida State | 6-5 | 254 | 6 |
| 33 | EDGE | Dani Dennis-Sutton | Penn State | 6-5 | 270 | 7 |
| 1 | EDGE | Princely Umanmielen | Mississippi | 6-5 | 255 | 8 |
| 2 | DL | Walter Nolen | Mississippi | 6-4 | 290 | 9 |
| 91 | DL | Tyleik Williams | Ohio State | 6-3 | 327 | 10 |
| 44 | EDGE | J.T. Tuimoloau | Ohio State | 6-5 | 269 | 11 |
| 78 | DL | Kenneth Grant | Michigan | 6-3 | 339 | 12 |
| 7 | EDGE | Marvin Jones Jr. | Florida State | 6-5 | 257 | 13 |
| 33 | EDGE | Jack Sawyer | Ohio State | 6-5 | 260 | 14 |
| 8 | EDGE | Derrick Moore | Michigan | 6-3 | 258 | 15 |
| 56 | DL | Howard Cross III | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 284 | 16 |
| 40 | EDGE | Landon Jackson | Arkansas | 6-7 | 282 | 17 |
| 9 | EDGE | Ashton Gillotte | Louisville | 6-3 | 275 | 18 |
| 91 | EDGE | Ethan Burke | Texas | 6-6 | 254 | 19 |
| 99 | EDGE | Rylie Mills | Notre Dame | 6-5 | 297 | 20 |
2025 NFL Draft – Defensive Linemen Notes
With Pearce, you have a player you can rush from either edge, with his hand in the dirt or standing up, and has the burst to be in the backfield before the lineman knew he was there. If you look at how Tennessee deploys their defenders, he can play in a 3-man or 4-man front with his hand in the dirt just fine, and from what I see he’s not scheme-dependent.
Mason Graham is DT1 for me in this class, and it’s not even close. I know the Texas game was hard to watch if you are a Michigan fan but Graham continued to get upfield and show explosiveness and power to get past the offensive lineman. He grades out well throughout his collegiate career, and I see him as a top 20 pick this year (he could return for one more season but I’d be surprised if he did).
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After the top 2 players, you have a variety of options from lengthy edge rushers to stout run-stuffers, just depends on what you’re looking for! Scourton has a similar profile to Pearce but looks to win with speed and power, definitely excited to see what else he adds to his pass-rushing toolbox this season. Deone Walker is a massive human being with a strong base, and a ton of power and could easily step in and push for early playing time as someone’s nose tackle.
Florida State’s pair of pass rushers have similar size/speed combos and I wouldn’t be surprised if they went in either order come draft time. One player I wanted to get in my top 20, and I’m sure will be at some point is Nazir Stackhouse from Georgia, he’s a strong run defender and if he can develop more as a pass rusher, I could see him jump up draft boards!
Thanks for Stopping By!
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