Five Most Underrated Prospects In 2025 NFL Draft
The 2025 NFL Draft will take place on Thursday, which means we’re running out of time to publish our spiciest takes!
It’s always a risk publicizing your affinity for certain prospects, but there is a chance you can be rewarded in a major way if they end up reaching the heights you set out for them. Trevor Penning, for instance, has an enemy for life after we believed he could be an All-Pro. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeil, on the other hand, have to fight over the naming rights to my first child.
It’s silly to be scared of being wrong at the end of the day, so we’re going to lay it all out on the table and let you know which prospects we believe have been far too undervalued and underrated throughout this draft cycle.
Who knows, maybe we’ll even be right?
LeQuint Allen, RB, Syracuse
Allen has the unfortunate distinction of being a prospect without any dominant traits in an extremely deep class at his position.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is the guy. Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson is a home run hitter. Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo has never been tackled by a single defender. Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten is the fastest back in this class.
Allen … well, he’s just really good at a bunch of different things. Syracuse ran one of the least running back-friendly offenses in the entire country, but he still found a way to contribute as an above-average pass protector and one of the most prolific receiving backs in the country. You can’t just draft this guy and expect him to be a bell cow, but he’d be one hell of a contributor on passing downs.
Kyle Kennard, EDGE, South Carolina
Kennard decided to transfer to South Carolina in January of 2024, coming off a four-season stint where he totaled just 12.5 sacks at Georgia Tech.
What happened next?
Kennard was named the 2024 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, won the award for the most outstanding defensive player in college football and was named an All-American. The Gamecocks unlocked his potential by deploying him in pass-rushing situations and allowing him to play great talent around him on one of the best defenses in the country. It’s not like he stunk before, either; he just got better in the more valuable areas of his game.
The NFL should have plenty of people, no matter which organization he ends up in, who can help him continue to unlock his potential — which is limitless.
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Bowling Green
Fannin is the most prolific tight end in the history of college football, and if he played anywhere other than Bowling Green, he would be more seriously considered among the tops in this class at his position.
Does he run a little silly? Yes. Would you like to see better testing numbers from a guy whose calling card is his athleticism and ability after the catch? Yes, but he checks off plenty of other boxes, including production against bigger schools like Penn State and Texas A&M.
I think finding the right situation certainly matters here, but offensive minds like Josh McDaniels, Drew Petzing and Ben Johnson have gotten big results out of similar players.
Darius Alexander, DL, Toledo
Alexander could one day be viewed as the best defensive lineman in this class, and that includes guys like Michigan’s Mason Graham and Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman placed Alexander on the annual “Freaks List” for a reason, with his 400-pound bench press and insane explosive testing numbers serving as an incredibly rare combination, especially for a guy coming out of the MAC.
The Senior Bowl came calling after seeing what Alexander did over the last two seasons, in particular, and he certainly didn’t disappoint at the All-Star event. Alexander was successful on nearly every one-on-one rep he took, showcasing that he still has room to take on more responsibility at the next level while finding success in an early rushing role.
Both Chris Jones and Leonard Williams came to mind watching him, so that has to mean something.
Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
Egbuka is the all-time leading receiver at Ohio State, which doesn’t just happen by accident.
The Buckeyes made him an important part of their offense from the day he set foot on campus, and he made it easy for them by adapting to whatever role they needed. It’s easy to see why he’s in consideration at the end of the first round, because smart teams take versatile players who can make them better in multiple ways.
Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden have higher ceilings, but don’t be surprised if the rookie receiving leader (among wide receivers) is Egbuka.
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