Insider notes on 2025 NFL Draft's top prospects: Risers and sliders after Week 11 as SEC, Big Ten player stock surges
What a weekend of college football! The SEC saw Mississippi badly beat the Georgia Bulldogs to keep its playoff hopes alive, while Alabama put a whooping on LSU to stay in the postseason hunt. Meanwhile, Indiana remains unbeaten at 10-0 and prepares to face off against Ohio State in two weeks.
On the pro-prospect front, it was an excellent weekend for edge rushers expected to be selected on Days 2 and 3 of next year’s draft.
2025 NFL Draft stock: Risers after Week 11 of college football
#1 Princely Umanmielen (Edge/Mississippi)
Rest assured, moving towards the 2025 NFL draft, Umanmielen will be one of the most hotly debated prospects, and there will be wild swings in his round projection.
Once again, he was dominant Saturday during the Rebels’ upset victory over Georgia. He posted five tackles, two TFLs, and two sacks in a game Mississippi needed to keep its playoff hopes alive. That gives Umanmielen 9.5 sacks and 12 TFLs this season.
From the point of view of playing ability and computer numbers, Umanmielen grades as a top-40 prospect. He’s a game disruptor who can't stop rushing the passer when in a groove.
The problem is that Umanmielen has not been known to play with a consistent motor and has drawn red flags due to his character. There were issues at his previous school, Florida, and Umanmielen has a history of disappearing for stretches.
He will be grilled on these issues during the postseason and at the combine. Depending on how comfortable teams are with his answers, Umanmielen could end up as an early second-round pick or fall out of Day 2 altogether.
#2 Oluwafemi Oladejo (Edge/UCLA)
After a rocky start during its maiden season in the Big Ten, UCLA righted the ship and is on a three-game winning streak. As the team continues to improve, Oladejo has become more of a factor and has dominated games.
During the Bruins’ upset victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, he was credited with six tackles, four TFLs, two sacks, and two hurries. The Penn State contest was arguably his best this season, as Oladejo finished with 10 tackles, two TFLs, and a sack.
He’s an athletic edge rusher who can stand over tackle or come out of a three-point stance. Oladejo quickly moves his 6-foot-3, 255-pound frame around the field and does more than rush the passer.
He has shown ability in space, defending the pass and pursuing ball handlers laterally to the flanks. Projecting as a 3-4 outside linebacker, Oladejo has improved his draft stock and could end up in the last part of the draft’s second day.
#3 Donovan Ezeiruaku (Edge/Boston College)
Ezeiruaku has quietly been one of the best pass rushers in the nation and is in the middle of a career season. Nine games in, he’s recorded 59 tackles, 14 TFLs, and 11 sacks and has forced three fumbles, all personal bests.
Ezeiruaku is explosive, smart, and incredibly intense. He plays with great fundamentals and a nonstop motor and shows a variety of pass-rush moves. And while Ezeiruaku consistently disrupts the action by rushing the passer, he also displays himself as a terrific run defender.
He comes with average size (6-foot-2.5 and 245 pounds) and speed (estimated 40 time of 4.75 seconds), yet he’s such a disruptive force and such a good football player that he'll come off the board during the first half of the draft’s final day.
#4 Ahmed Hassanein (Edge/Boise State)
With Ashton Jeanty getting all the headlines for 8-1 Boise State, and deservedly so, other players have been lost in the shuffle, including Hassanein.
An underclassman who caught my eye over the summer, Hassanein watched his game take off last season when he moved into the starting lineup and promptly accumulated 16.5 TFLs as well as 12.5 sacks.
This season, his totals include 9.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks, as well as 32 tackles, in nine games. Hassanein is an athletic defensive end who quickly makes his way up the field, bending the edge with speed and playing with solid fundamentals. He needs to get a bit stronger, but he is a Day 3 prospect on the rise.
Sleeper Prospects in 2025 NFL Draft class
#1 Nash Jones (G/Texas State)
The lone offensive prospect on this week’s risers list from an FBS program is a nasty, powerful lineman who plays like a defender.
Jones, who was not graded by scouts before the season, has made a name for himself within the community with his power and ability to finish off defenders. He has a next-level build, easily controls defenders in one-on-one blocking assignments, and opens up large lanes for the running game.
More information is needed on Jones, but presently he looks like a solid power gap blocker who will end up in the late rounds next April.
Small-school Prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft Class
#1 Bo Belquist (WR/North Dakota)
Belquist is the third FCS receiver to make the small-school risers list this season, and he’s one of the most productive in the division. Ten games into the season, Belquist has 52 receptions, 794 yards, and nine TDs to his credit.
That makes four years running that Belquist has at least 50 receptions in a season, with the 66 catches he made in 2023 his best to date.
Measuring six feet tall and 180 pounds, Belquist is not a speedster, yet he’s a technically sound pass catcher who consistently comes up big during the game’s important moments.
He’ll need some impressive predraft workouts to land in the late rounds, yet Belquist has enough ability to make the next level as a team’s fifth receiver.
2025 NFL Draft stock: Sliders after Week 11 games
#1 Jasheen Davis (Edge/Wake Forest)
After a career season in 2023, Davis had a decision to make: return to Wake Forest for another season or make the jump to the NFL.
He chose the former, and it has not worked out to date. After 49 tackles, 17 TFLs, and 7.5 sacks last year, Davis is running at less than half those numbers this season.
Injury has played a significant role in his downturn, as Davis played just a single game in September, yet he’s been a fraction of his former self when on the field and could end up a late-round pick or even falling out of the draft after being graded as a middle-round pick before the season started.
Also Read: Insider notes on Michigan's Will Johnson, Colston Loveland, Kenneth Granth, and Mason Graham's 2025 Draft intentions