I have posted my small-school prospect rankings for the 2025 NFL Draft on my Patreon!
One would figure that, in this era of NIL money, prospects would be more inclined to sign with big-name schools. That said, the depth of talent this upcoming draft class has from smaller schools is very impressive. The 2024 draft had one player from a smaller school selected in Round 1 — Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell to the Eagles — but I think that number gets topped in 2025.
For reference, I’ll be ranking all players outside of the Power 4 conferences: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. This list will range from any Group of 5 players, FCS prospects, and players at the Division II, Division III, NAIA and JUCO levels that I have watched at this juncture. The list will surely expand by the time the draft rolls around, but I wanted to share an early look into my board.
As a sneak peek, these are my five top small-school prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, along with their tentative round grades I have for them currently. My board currently has 54 players on it who play outside of the Power 4, and the full list is on my Patreon.
My grade hasn’t finalized on Ashton Jeanty yet, but he’s looking like one of the top running back prospects I’ve ever scouted. My grading process underwent a huge overhaul in 2019, so I feel the most confident going back as early as that class for grade comparisons. I have Jeanty graded below Bijan Robinson, but he’s the only one I feel confident grading above him at this stage.
His current grade sees him ranked higher than the likes of Breece Hall, Jonathan Taylor, Najee Harris and Travis Etienne. Josh Jacobs is probably the closest grade to him at this stage. As of this writing, Jeanty is the highest-graded Group of 5 prospect I’ve ever scouted.
Keep an eye on Marshall edge rusher Mike Green. I included him in my most recent Bears mock draft last week, and he added one more sack and two tackles for a loss to his totals below in the Thundering Herd’s Sun Belt championship win over Louisiana over the weekend.
Without knowing who Green is, it may seem high to draft a Group of 5 edge rusher in the top 45 picks. However, Green has graded over 90.0 by PFF standards in each of the last two seasons and has an unbelievable 16.0 sacks with 21.0 tackles for a loss this year. He’s an explosive rusher who’s quick off the ball, agile in space and has sharpened his game to possess a dangerous arsenal of moves as a pass-rusher. He could project well as a starter for the Bears alongside Montez Sweat.