Here's why the defensive lineman class is one of the best in the 2025 NFL Draft

New York Times

23-04-2025

(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from Bruce Feldman's NFL Draft Confidential, featuring intel from anonymous coaches and evaluators about every position of the 2025 draft class. The coaches are identified by number to distinguish their contributions from each other.)
In 2024, a defensive lineman wasn't selected until the 15th pick of the NFL Draft, when the Colts took Laiatu Latu. Only six were picked in the first round: five edges and one interior DL. One year later, defensive linemen is the deepest position of the 2025 NFL Draft class by far. 'Easily a dozen go in the first round,' said DL coach No. 1. 'There might be three times as many good linemen in this draft as last year.'
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'This kills last year's group,' said DL coach No. 2. 'Somebody's gonna get some really good players in the second or even third round.'
I think Penn State's Abdul Carter will be the first one picked. At 6-3, 250, he has blazing speed. He didn't run at the combine or pro day because he was coming off of a foot injury, but don't doubt his wheels. Every summer, I do the Freaks List, and there's no program whose players have backed up those numbers a year or two later at the combine than Penn State.
Last offseason, at 254 pounds, Carter, I'm told, clocked a 4.48 40 along with a 4.35 shuttle to go with an equally impressive 10-7 broad jump. The guy led the nation with 23.5 tackles for loss and also had 12 sacks to go along with 68 tackles in his first season playing as an edge rusher full-time after spending most of his college career as an off-the-ball linebacker. (Carter, who suffered a shoulder injury in the Orange Bowl, did not re-test during the combine or at his pro day.)
'He can change an organization,' said DL coach No. 2. 'I think he's better than Chop (Robinson), better than Dallas Turner. You put this kid on the other side of Myles Garrett — holy s—! His pad level is high, yes, and sometimes he'll get washed or pushed past, but everything on film you hate about him, you can fix in a heartbeat.'
DL coach No. 1 agrees: 'He's the real deal.'
Georgia's Jalon Walker is on the smaller side at 6-1, 243 pounds with 32-inch arms. He won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and was dominant in big games for the Bulldogs. Ask the Texas coaches about him: They watched him terrorize their offense twice last season. Where he's best suited in the NFL, though, is open for debate.
'I would prefer him to be off the ball in most cases and bring him from different spots,' said DL coach No. 1. 'I don't know if he's a true edge. He's not gonna be big enough, but at third downs, he can really go. He's very smart.'
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DL coach No. 2: 'I don't worry about his size. It's so more wide open in the game now.'
As promising as Carter and Walker are, there is some belief among NFL coaches that the most talented D-lineman available is one of Walker's teammates at Georgia, Mykel Williams, a 6-5, 260-pound 20-year-old who was slowed by an ankle injury for the first half of the 2024 season but dominated when he played Texas in two meetings (four sacks). Williams isn't talked about in draft chatter as a sure top-10 pick, but make no mistake: There is a lot of love for him.
'I think he will have a better career than Jalon or Abdul,' said DL coach No. 1. 'He's physical as f—. He played hurt this year — he didn't care. Pullers come at him — he intends on f—ing them up. Guys I know at Georgia told me he's gonna be better than Travon Walker, and I think Walker is a baller. Overall, I think he's better than all of 'em.'
Michigan's Mason Graham is viewed more as a top-10 guy. At 6-3, 296 pounds, he was down about 20 pounds at the combine from what he played at last season, when he had 45 tackles, seven TFLs and 3.5 sacks.
'He is a legit top-10 guy,' said DL coach No. 2. 'I hate the size, hate the short arms, but the film is really good.'
Said DL coach No. 1, 'He was a wrestler in high school and knows how to drop his weight and use that to his advantage.'
Kenneth Grant first turned heads when he arrived at Michigan four years ago as a 350-plus pounder who ran a sub-5.0 40, according to Jim Harbaugh. The 6-4, 331-pound Grant had a penchant for wowing coaches and teammates with his freakish athleticism. Over the past two seasons, he had a combined 11.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and 11 passes broken up.
'I think he has top-10 talent,' said DL coach No. 2. 'He can be like Dexter Lawrence at nose, where he gives guys so many problems. I also see some Chris Jones in him.'
Said DL coach No. 1, 'I think he'll be better than Mason (Graham), but maybe that's a hot take.'
Another interior tackle whose talent coaches are wowed by, but his intangibles are more of a question mark, is Ole Miss' Walter Nolen. A former No. 1 overall recruit, the 6-4, 296-pounder was part of a ferocious D-line in 2024, posting 14 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and 48 tackles after transferring from Texas A&M.
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'He's really twitched up and his change of direction is off the charts,' said DL coach No. 1. 'He's just gotta make sure he studies the game; just can't go out there and put his hand in the ground and think he's gonna beat everybody in the NFL.'
'I think he's a f—ing dude,' said DL coach No. 2. 'I comp him to Byron Murphy. I worry a little about his attitude, but everybody was worried about Jalen Carter, and then you put him on the Eagles and everybody forgets about that.'
The national scout called Nolen a top-15 talent but said there are some concerns about his maturity and focus. 'You have to have a plan for him,' he said. 'I think he has to be in the right place and in a D-line room with some strong vets.'
NFL defensive line coaches love Texas A&M's Shemar Turner, another twitchy interior lineman. A 6-3, 290-pounder with 33 5/8-inch arms, Turner had 16 TFLs and eight sacks in the last two years.
'He might've been a first-rounder if he was in last year's class,' said DL coach No. 2. 'He plays with such an edge. He's a f—ing asshole. I like his position flex. He can bounce out there and play edge, can kick him to the 3 (technique), kick him to the nose. Watch the tape, he's the best one from A&M. Holy s—, this fool is coming off the ball. Walter Nolen's the most explosive, hands down. But he's not far from him.'
'I love Shemar Turner,' said DL coach No. 1. 'I think he'll come off the board so quick.'
They're also high on Oregon's Derrick Harmon, 6-4 1/2 and 313 pounds. Harmon was a force in his first season in Eugene, making 10.5 TFLs with five sacks and two forced fumbles.
'He has the most upside of them all inside, I think,' said DL coach No. 2.
Harmon's teammate Jamaree Caldwell is seen as a notch below, at 6-2, 332, but he moved quite well for his size, clocking a 5.16 40.
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'He played at 340 and has a bad body, and people aren't really talking about him, but pop the tape on,' said DL coach No. 2.
South Carolina's TJ Sanders (seven TFLs with four sacks in 2024 at 6-4, 297) is another SEC guy who is getting high marks. 'He's one of the best interior pass rushers in this draft,' said DL coach 2. 'He's gonna win off finesse. He's gonna win on a power rush. He has the whole bag.'
'He rose on my list,' said DL coach 1. 'He plays hard and looks like the leader of a talented front at South Carolina.'
Ohio State's 6-3, 334-pound Tyleik Williams is seen by DL coach No. 1 as one of the most NFL-ready players, but the coach adds, 'I think he'll be a boom or bust player. Some games he'll look like the best player out there. You wonder, does he love football?'
Coaches really like Toledo's Darius Alexander, who at 6-4, 305 pounds with 34-inch arms, tested well at the combine. He ran a 4.95 40 with a 31 1/2-inch vertical jump. 'I have him as a high second-rounder, but once that run (of D-linemen) happens, I think he could go in the first,' said DL Coach 2.
(Photo of Walter Nolen: James Gilbert / Getty Images)