We’re through Week 11 of the 2024 college football season, and our NFL draft analysts are ramping up their evaluations of the 2025 class.
Sometimes those evaluations include likening prospects to current NFL pros to help give a sense of their skill sets and upside. So we asked our NFL draft analysts — Matt Miller, Steve Muench, Jordan Reid and Field Yates — to give early comps for one highly ranked player at every position, based on what they’ve seen so far on tape. Remember, comps aren’t always exact and don’t necessarily suggest that the prospect will share the same level of success as the NFL player (for better or worse); they are more about finding similarities in play style.
To close, Mel Kiper Jr. & Co. emptied their notebooks with everything they have seen and heard over the past few weeks, including picking out a few risers. But let’s start with an interesting prospect-to-pro match for Miami’s Cam Ward.
Jump to a position for a comp:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL
Edge | DT | LB | CB | S
Quarterback: Cam Ward, Miami
Best player comp: Jordan Love. No quarterback has boosted his draft stock this season more than Ward. With an electric play style, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound QB has completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,494 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. Similar to Love, Ward is an instinctive playmaker who is capable of throwing from multiple arm slots with good accuracy. Both players can launch the ball with a quick flick of the wrist while staying cool and collected amid chaos in the pocket.
Ward’s thrill for hunting big plays can be a gift and curse, as there will be head-scratching mistakes mixed in with the highlight throws. That shows up with Love, as well — the Packers quarterback is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with 10. — Reid
Running back: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
Best player comp: LaDainian Tomlinson. Standing 5-foot-9, Jeanty doesn’t have the size of Christian McCaffrey or Bijan Robinson, but he does have elite short-area quickness, great lower-body power at 215 pounds and a knack for finding creases in the defense and exploiting them with breakaway speed. He’s also an accomplished receiver, catching 16 passes out of the backfield this season. Like Tomlinson (now retired) was when he was coming out of TCU, Jeanty is an explosive all-purpose running back packed into a shorter build. He already has 1,734 rushing yards and 24 total touchdowns this season. — Miller
Wide receiver: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Best player comp: Drake London. London was a top-10 draft pick for the Falcons in 2022 thanks to his ability to high point the football to win 50-50 battles and use his quickness and open-field moves to make defenders miss. That’s McMillan, who plays above the rim and has a similar body type to London at 6-foot-5, 212 pounds. McMillan is second in the nation in receiving this season (1,066 yards), averages 16.9 yards per catch and has 11 red zone targets. There’s a lot of upside to his game. — Miller
Tight end: Mason Taylor, LSU
Best player comp: Dalton Kincaid. Taylor runs smooth routes and shows incredible instincts and vision. He has the capacity to flex into the slot and defeat man coverage, while also proving to be an effective red zone target with the soft hands and great body control to navigate the tight spaces in that area of the field. I see quite a bit of the Bills’ Kincaid in Taylor’s game, though Taylor has a size advantage at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. — Yates
Offensive line: Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
Best player comp: Ikem Ekwonu. There aren’t many offensive linemen who move like Banks and Ekwonu (Panthers). Their smooth kick steps make it tough for speed rushers to turn the corner, and they redirect well enough to mirror when their technique is sound. They both have range to cover up defenders while climbing and can combo block to the second level. Banks and Ekwonu also have both the size and strength to anchor in pass protection and get movement in the run game.
Technique has been an issue for both of them, but Ekwonu is playing at his highest level now in his third season, and the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Banks has an impressive ceiling. — Muench
Edge rusher: Abdul Carter, Penn State
Best player comp: Micah Parsons. An explosive edge rusher who wears No. 11 at Penn State? We’ve seen this before. Like Parsons (Cowboys), the 6-foot-3, 259-pound Carter is a sudden, versatile playmaker who can line up anywhere along the defensive front. Carter got off to a slow start this season after transitioning from off-ball linebacker to full-time defensive end, but he has been a game wrecker off the edge since breaking out against Illinois in Week 5. He now has eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss. — Reid
Defensive tackle: Mason Graham, Michigan
Best player comp: Christian Wilkins. A strong argument could be made that the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Graham is the best defensive prospect in the 2025 class. And similar to Wilkins (Raiders), Graham is an easy-mover with an explosive lower half. A strong-handed interior defender, Graham’s ability to mix and match his repertoire of moves helps him deconstruct blocks with ease as a run defender and pass rusher. His ability to win single blocks has helped him to 3.5 sacks on the inside. — Reid
Linebacker: Harold Perkins Jr., LSU
Best player comp: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Perkins’ season ended Sept. 21 because of a torn ACL, but he projects into a similar NFL role to what Owusu-Koramoah does with the Browns. Owusu-Koramoah (also out right now because of a neck injury) is excellent in space and has 60 tackles over eight games, and he has also contributed three sacks and 10 tackles for loss this season. Over three seasons at LSU, Perkins (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) has shown that same ability to make an impact at weakside linebacker or as a pass rusher.
His first-step speed makes him a dangerous pass rusher (13 career sacks), but he’s nimble enough in coverage to make plays (5.8 tackles per game, two career interceptions). Perkins might see more snaps with his hand down than Owusu-Koramoah, but these two are very similar. — Miller
Cornerback: Will Johnson, Michigan
Best player comp: Pat Surtain II. This is an extremely lofty comparison, which is kind of unfair to a player who hasn’t even finished his college career. But it’s also a testament to the caliber of prospect Johnson is right now. Like Surtain (Broncos), Johnson has a blend of size (6-foot-2, 202 pounds), instincts, ball skills and reactive agility that allows him to align with receivers of all different sizes and styles. Johnson has nine career interceptions, and he has returned three of them for touchdowns. — Yates
Safety: Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
Best player comp: Jeremy Chinn. Emmanwori and Chinn (Commanders) have rare size and speed. They match up well with tight ends, close well in off-coverage and have the range to cover over the top. And both of these players are active run defenders with the strength to play in the box. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Emmanwori has 55 tackles and four interceptions this season.
Emmanwori also compares favorably to another big safety — the Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton — but he’s more likely to test like Chinn, who ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash at the 2020 combine. — Muench
What are you hearing from sources or seeing on tape this week?
Kiper:
- When Toledo faces Central Michigan on Tuesday night, keep an eye on Rockets safety Maxen Hook. He’s a veteran presence in the defense’s deep patrol, currently in his fifth season with the program and fourth as a starter. Over that time, he has 334 tackles and six interceptions. So far this season, Hook (6-foot, 203 pounds) has been all over the field — he has double-digit tackles in each of his past four games. He first got my attention last season, when I was scouting cornerback Quinyon Mitchell for the 2024 draft, and Hook’s savviness, instincts and consistency continue to jump out every week. I believe Hook has the overall makeup to be an NFL safety (and at worst a core special-teams player).
- In the transfer portal era, linebacker Chris Paul Jr. has been able to perform at a high level with two SEC programs — first Arkansas and now Ole Miss. He’s a true tackling machine; with nine Saturday against Georgia, he has at least 70 in back-to-back seasons. Paul has sideline-to-sideline range, breaks down well to make tackles in space and can handle coverage responsibilities. I love the 6-foot-1, 235-pound junior’s tape, which is that of a potential starting NFL off-ball linebacker.
- Two Central Arkansas players keep demanding draft attention: linebacker David Walker and running back ShunDerrick Powell. I’ve been raving about Walker for two years now; he never disappoints. At the FCS level, you have to jump off the screen each and every week to get NFL consideration, and Walker does just that. At 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, he shows quickness, power and bend off the edge, and I like the way he mixes up his paths to the QB, keeping offensive tackles guessing. Walker has nine sacks and four forced fumbles this season. And on the other side of the ball for the Bears, Powell — a 5-foot-9, 180-pound back — is the definition of a breakaway threat. He has averaged 8.2 yards per carry en route to 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground through nine games. He has at least one carry for 40-plus yards in seven of those games, too. And in addition to his burst and cutback ability, Powell is also a dependable pass-catching option out of the backfield (33 catches).
- Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. was my highest-graded DL prospect on the field in Saturday night’s Florida State-Notre Dame game, but Rylie Mills of the Fighting Irish impressed me the most in that lopsided Notre Dame win. He recorded a career-high three sacks (and currently leads the team with six). Mills generates explosiveness at the snap of the ball and uses his strong hands to gain an immediate leverage advantage. He also does a good job holding the point, locating the football and quickly disengaging from blocks. I could see him playing defensive end in a 3-4 system or defensive tackle in a 4-3 in the pros.
- Cal defensive back Nohl Williams hauled in another interception Friday against Wake Forest, his nation-leading seventh of the season. He’s a rising ball hawk who displays excellent instincts and awareness in coverage. And his 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame and aggressive approach allow him to disrupt receivers’ routes in press coverage and make his presence felt in run support.
Yates:
- Something caught my eye in Jordan’s most recent positional grades: His new No. 1 guard prospect is LSU’s Will Campbell. Hardcore draft enthusiasts might be surprised by this, as Campbell has been a career left tackle at LSU. That is where I continue to evaluate him, but the idea of Campbell moving to guard has been brought up in multiple conversations with scouts this fall. Campbell’s lack of elite arm length is a primary factor. (I’ll stop short of declaring a definitive arm length, as that won’t come until the combine or pro day, but there is a belief it could be under 33 inches.) Fellow LSU offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr. is another player scouts believe could best fit at guard in the NFL.
Muench:
- Indiana’s Mikail Kamara is one of the most disruptive edge defenders in the country, and linebacker Aiden Fisher is averaging close to 10 tackles per game, but no Hoosier stood out on the Michigan game tape more than defensive tackle CJ West. The 6-foot-2, 317-pound Kent State transfer stacked blocks, located the ball and shed in time to make plays. He slipped blocks, sifted through traffic and disrupted plays in the backfield. West made plays in pursuit and flashed powerful hands and explosiveness when rushing the passer, too. He grades out as a midround pick with the potential to move into the Day 2 conversation.
Miller:
- The conversation around Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is fascinating. One AFC South scout told me this week he views Beck in the “late-first-round range” because he’s the “cleanest” of the quarterback prospects in terms of frame, arm strength and scheme versatility. However, an NFC East scout told me his grade on Beck was the third round. The variance is big, and Beck hasn’t helped himself, throwing multiple interceptions in four games this season, including four of his past six performances. He needs a hot streak down the stretch to rejuvenate his stock.