Before the draft gets underway, Nate Christensen lays out his grades for the top players at every position.
The 2025 NFL Draft has finally arrived!
I’ve spent the offseason seeking the best prospects for the Kansas City Chiefs, so let’s take a look at my final grades for the class. I’ve placed each of the top players in one of six tiers based on their projected career outcome.
- Top-10: A Day 1 star, a consistent All-Pro and one of the best at his position, who resets the market when signing a second contract. Example: Myles Garrett
- First round: A blue-chip player who is a foundational part of a team. He makes Pro Bowl teams, but doesn’t necessarily reset the market when signing an extension. He is nonetheless consistently in the upper tier of contracts and rankings. Example: Josh Hines-Allen
- Second round: An above-average starter who is rewarded with a good second contract. He might make one or two Pro Bowls. While he’s not a star or building block, he rounds out a team. Example: George Karlaftis
- Third round: An average starter — a quality player who won’t necessarily earn a big second contract. Example: Dorance Armstrong
- Fourth round: A fringe starter or rotational player who has a narrower role compared to a team’s better players. Example: Mike Danna
- Day 3: A fringe roster or practice squad player.
Players in bold are “My Guys” — my favorite 2025 prospects.
Quarterbacks
- Round 1: Cam Ward
- Round 3: Shedeur Sanders
- Round 4: Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe
- Day 3: Dillon Gabriel, Kyle McCord, Riley Leonard and Quinn Ewers
Running backs
- Top 10: Ashton Jeanty
- Round 1: Omarion Hampton
- Round 2: Kaleb Johnson, Treyveon Henderson and Damien Martinez
- Round 3: Cam Skattebo, Jordan James, Dylan Sampson, Quinshon Judkins, Devin Neal and D.J. Giddens
- Round 4: R.J. Harvey, Raheim Sanders, Bhayshul Tuten and Trevor Etienne
- Day 3: LeQuint Allen, Jaydon Blue, Brashard Smith, Kyle Monangai, Ollie Gordon II and Phil Mafah
Top to bottom, the depth of this running back class is incredible. While I have just two Round 1 grades — for Jeanty and Hampton — the Day 2 class is excellent. There are 11 backs worthy of the top 100 — and project to at least be starters. Some have even higher ceilings.
Even in Round 4 or Day 3, I feel great about this group. While I’m skeptical about players like Harvey and Tuten being more than good second running backs, they still have skillsets that will fit NFL offenses; they will be productive. A player like Blue will add speed out of the backfield, while Allen will have a long career as a third-down running back.
There’s also plenty of variety. There are power runners like Martinez, Skattebo, Judkins and Neal. Johnson, Giddens and Sampson are great for outside zone offenses. Tuten and Harvey are smaller, but bring lots of explosiveness and playmaking. Whatever their running scheme, teams should find running backs that will work for them.
Wide receivers
- Top 10: Tetairoa McMillan
- Round 1: Travis Hunter, Matthew Golden and Emeka Egbuka
- Round 2: Luther Burden III, Jaylin Noel, Tory Horton and Elic Ayomanor
- Round 3: Jayden Higgins, Jack Bech, Tre Harris and Kyle Williams
- Round 4: Tai Felton, Jalen Royals, Pat Bryant, Tez Johnson and Jaylin Lane
- Day 3: Xavier Restrepo, Chimere Dike, Da’Quan Felton, Isaac TeSlaa and Savion Williams
Tight ends
- Round 1: Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland
- Round 2: Elijah Arroyo
- Round 3: Oronde Gadsden II, Mason Taylor, Terrance Ferguson, Mitchell Evans and Gunnar Helm
- Round 4: Harold Fannin Jr. and Jake Briningstool
- Day 3: Luke Lachey
As I’ve said several times this offseason, I’m not crazy about Day 2’s tight ends. I think Arroyo separates himself from the next group; I feel safe in my belief that he’ll be a starting tight end.
But I have at least one big concern with each of the Round 3 tight ends. Taylor and Ferguson are minus blockers in the running game. Helm tested poorly at the Combine — and isn’t the ideal size for a Y tight end. Evans is a great blocker, but he’s limited at separating. Even for Oronde Gadsden II — whom I love — there are concerns about how his blocking will translate and how he will be able to decelerate and change directions so he can separate.
Still, some of these players have the potential to exceed my expectations. I pushed them down because for some of them, the floor could fall out from underneath.
Tackles
- Top 10: Armand Membou and Will Campbell
- Round 1: Josh Simmons and Josh Conerly Jr.
- Round 2: Aireontae Ersery and Kelvin Banks Jr.
- Round 3: Emery Jones Jr., Jalen Travis and Anthony Belton
- Round 4: Ozzy Trapilo and Cameron Williams
- Day 3: Charles Grant and Jack Nelson
Interior offensive linemen
- Round 1: Marcus Mbow and Donovan Jackson
- Round 2: Tyler Booker and Grey Zabel
- Round 3: Dylan Fairchild, Jonah Savaiianea and Jared Wilson
- Round 4: Myles Frazier and Wyatt Milum
- Day 3: Tate Ratledge
The offensive line drops off quickly. While I’m not confident about the ceilings for some of the players in the top 40, I think there are 10 strong starters between the six tackles and four interior players in that range.
After that, though, the class falls off — and there’s a pretty large gap between guys in Round 2 and Round 3. I don’t see many clear starters in that range; most project as depth and fringe starters.
Defensive ends
- Top 10: Abdul Carter
- Round 1: Shemar Stewart and Mykel Williams
- Round 2: Mike Green, Princely Umanmielen and Donovan Ezeiruaku
- Round 3: Jordan Burch, Bradyn Swinson, Nic Scourton, James Pearce Jr., Landon Jackson and JT Tuimoloau
- Round 4: Jared Ivey, Kyle Kennard, Jack Sawyer, Ashton Gillotte, Oluwafemi Oladejo and Josaiah Stewart
Defensive tackles
- Round 1: Mason Graham, Derrick Harmon, Walter Nolen and Kenneth Grant
- Round 2: Tyleik Williams, T.J. Sanders and Shemar Turner
- Round 3: Darius Alexander, Alfred Collins, Deone Walker and Vernon Broughton
- Round 4: Ty Hamilton, Nazir Stackhouse, Howard Cross III, Joshua Farmer, Omarr Norman-Latt and Ty Robinson
- Day 3: Rylie Mills and Jordan Phillips
Linebackers
- Round 1: Jihaad Campbell
- Round 2: Carson Schwesinger and Jalon Walker
- Round 3: Kobe King, Danny Stutsman and Chris Paul Jr.
- Round 4: Demetrius Knight Jr., Jeffrey Bassa and Smael Mondon Jr.
Cornerbacks
- Top 10: Travis Hunter
- Round 1: Will Johnson and Jahdae Barron
- Round 2: Trey Amos, Benjamin Morrison and Shavon Revel Jr.
- Round 3: Azareye’h Thomas, Cobee Bryant, Maxwell Hairston, Darien Porter, Robert Longerbeam and Jacob Parrish
- Round 4: Jabbar Muhammad
Safeties
- Round 2: Malaki Starks and Xavier Watts
- Round 3: Andrew Mukuba, Lathan Ramson, Nick Emmanwori, Jaylen Reed, Kevin Winston Jr. and Billy Bowman Jr.
- Round 4: Jonas Sanker, Hunter Wohler and Malachi Moore
- Day 3: Sebastian Castro
In Round 3, there’s a glut of defensive backs. There are lots of guys with starting upside, but there are few game-changers — and I don’t see much separation between them. After we get through the first 50 picks — when the offensive and defensive line classes have dried up — I think we’ll see a run on these players.