Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts share who they have as the 10 EDGE Prospects In The 2025 NFL Draft. They discuss top names like Penn State's Abdul Carter, Tennessee's James Pearce Jr., Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart, and Georgia's Jalon Walker
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00:00It's a historic year for edge prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, but which of the very talented
00:05names made it into our top 10? Let's dive in. Ryan, this is a crazy historic year for talented
00:16edge rushers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Let's dive right in with our three tiers. We've got quality
00:22starters, plus starters, and then blue chip. You could probably guess who that blue chip prospect
00:26is. First off with quality starters at 10 through seven. Number 10 is Jordan Birch from Oregon.
00:34Number nine is Mike Green from Marshall. Number eight is Landon Jackson. Number seven is Prince
00:40Lee Uman Mielin from Ole Miss. Of this grouping of four guys, who stands out the most as we've
00:46got a lot of players that have traits that could pan out to them becoming more than just quality
00:51starters. Yeah, I think the two that pop out just initially are the high end pass rushers
00:57potentially on that in that tier. And that's Prince Lee Uman Mielin out of Ole Miss, formerly
01:03of Florida. And then Mike Green, obviously the dynamic pass rusher out of Marshall. I think
01:07some people are going to look at this list, Joe, and say, you guys are pretty low on Mike
01:10Green. But I do think that when you really just kind of sort through his skillset, I think
01:15he has a high upside as a pass rusher. But is he ever going to be a quality run defender,
01:19like a plus run defender? I do think that there's a little bit of a one trick pony to
01:24his game, similarly to Prince Lee Uman Mielin. But I kind of just, I really think that Prince
01:28Lee is one of the more underrated players in this draft because that kid has elite explosiveness.
01:33He has a pass rush plan and his closing speed and burst around the track are some of the best
01:39in this draft. You told me that both these players ended up being two of the best pass rushers
01:43in this group. Just overall, I would definitely believe you in this 2026, uh, 2025 class, excuse
01:48me. Right. There's definitely question marks of like what Mike Green is as a run defender.
01:54And if he can be more consistent there, he is a kick ass player. And I think that he's
01:58still going to go in the first round at the very least early on in the second, if those
02:01off the field concerns end up catching up to him, he's still very, very gifted. He's got
02:06great hand usage for an underclass or not an underclassman, but a younger G5 prospect, very
02:12rare to come by. I though really like Umami on for the insane bend and burst that he's able
02:17to generate. And then I was super high on land in Jackson, which kind of pushed him up in
02:22our consensus rankings here. Jackson isn't as flexible as the rest of the guys in this
02:26group, but he tested really well and he's big, strong, powerful. He's somebody who goes
02:32early on day two. One of the first few picks in the second round for me, that just ends
02:37up being super high motor, super powerful and ends up being an awesome run defender.
02:41Yeah. He, he's like, he's one of the guys that I think we have just like a little bit
02:46of a slight disagreement on because I love the frame that he brings to the table. I think
02:51he's a very talented athlete as well. I just think he's a little bit in that, that qualification
02:57of what exactly is his style and what's his identity. I think there's sometimes where you
03:02look at him and say, should he be a guy that just bulks up and be a little bit more of a
03:06three, four type of interior player, like kind of that big end that can kind of do a little
03:11bit of everything alignment, versatile, or does he stay at his weight and be a true
03:14four, three hand in the dirt, potential difference maker as a strong side defense. Like he is
03:19just a little bit of not directly a tweener, but a guy that I do wonder if he exactly knows
03:25what role that he should be best at on the NFL level.
03:28Moving on to tier two, which is our plus starters guys that we think that go on to be pro ball
03:33caliber pass rushers. Number six, we've got Jalen Walker from Georgia. Number five, Shamar
03:38Stewart from Texas A&M. Number four, Nick Scowerton from Texas A&M as well. Number three,
03:44Mike Howe Williams of Georgia. And then number two, James Pierce Jr. of Tennessee. And before
03:49anyone belly aches over maybe a wide range of, or why we're off the typical, just general
03:56media consensus. All of these guys are lumped together with basically the same grades. They're
04:01all in that same general ballpark of guys that are late to mid first rounders. There is no
04:06massive range of like James Pierce Jr. is an all pro and Jalen Walker is a barely a rotational
04:13player. Now, all of these guys have the ability to be super important for their team's success.
04:19We just valued certain traits over others. Who are the guys that, that stick out the most
04:23in this, in this group? Well, I think Jalen Walker is an easy one to have a conversation
04:27with because I just putting the cat, you know, letting the cat out of the bag for a second.
04:32I also am going to rank him on my linebacker rankings as well. So I'm going to rank him in
04:36two different position groups for the 2025 class. He is just, he's in that tweener mold a little bit,
04:42right? Like I, I do ultimately think that the Hassan Reddick role on the NFL level is best for
04:47Jalen Walker, getting him screaming off the edge consistently on the NFL level. Like I think that
04:51that's the best version potentially, but he is right now a little bit of a tweener. He was asked to do a
04:56lot of things at Georgia. Is he an every down edge player on the NFL level? Like that's the concern
05:01that you have for him, Joe. So he's a quick one, but I will say Shamar Stewart's, Shamar Stewart
05:07could end up being the second best edge in this class when everything is said and done, or he
05:11could be like outside of the top 10. There is a big peak in Valley for a guy like Shamar Stewart
05:16because the tools are great. The production is not, and the consistency to finish plays is not right
05:21now, but you're kind of banking on upside and traits with a player like Stewart.
05:24Jalen Walker lands where he does because I was lower on him, a lot lower on him than you were.
05:30He was at the very back end of my top 10. I had him ranked as my ninth edge rusher. I know some
05:35people are going to just completely freak out over that, but I have concerns for what you just talked
05:40about him being a tweener. I don't have faith that the NFL, some teams are going to know how to use
05:47him really well. Some are not a lot of defensive coordinators are sometimes too smart for their own
05:51good. Whenever we talk about a guy not fitting the typical mold in that he fits into multiple
05:57positions because of the physical profile, because of the way that he played in college,
06:01those guys, a lot of times are misdeployed. And you just mentioned Hassan Reddick.
06:06We see in the college game right now, Harold Perkins is a great example of this right now.
06:10They've had multiple defensive coordinators and none of which have been able to figure out what the
06:14hell to do with him. It happens a lot in the college and pro game. And I just, I have a fear
06:18that if Walker, if Walker goes to the right situation, I think that he could end up becoming
06:22the second or third best prospect in a few years from this class, but he just needs to be used
06:28correctly. I agree with you. The situation and the defensive coordinator that he lands with is
06:34going to be important. Joe, I just wanted to quickly hit on before we get into the top tier here.
06:38I just can't quit James Pierce Jr. out of Tennessee. I understand that there were some maturity concerns
06:44right there. But this young man, six foot five plus, almost up about 250 pounds. He's explosive.
06:51He's dynamic. If his head is screwed on straight and he has clear vision, I think he could end up
06:55being maybe the best pure pass rusher in this class. Obviously the guy we have at number one,
07:00I think is the best overall player, but the tools are still there for James Pierce Jr. And his
07:05production has been very good the last two years for Tennessee as well. The question is,
07:09if he definitely does want to be a great football player, if he does, I think the upside is still
07:14immense. We both had him as our second ranked pass rusher. My only thing with him, he does have
07:21more production than a guy like Shamar Stewart, who these are both traitsy guys. I think he has a lot
07:25more tangible disruption on film as well than Shamar Stewart. Both kind of fit in that same bucket.
07:31But my only thing with James Pierce Jr. is it's a little concerning to me that we didn't see a jump.
07:36We didn't see that improvement that we were hoping for that was going to come from last summer
07:41throughout the 2024 college football season. And that kind of plays into what we've talked about,
07:45where is he as fully bought in as he could be? Because if he was fully bought in, he would have
07:52shown us that improvement. We would have seen more involvement in the run game. We would have seen
07:56a more developed pass rush move set. And he's still just winning with length and flexibility.
08:01One more guy I want to bring up before we move on to the blue chip tier,
08:04Michael Williams. I think that I actually feel for this group of raw prospects that are really
08:11talented. I feel the best about Michael Williams having a successful career, because I think at
08:17the very least, he ends up being just a really good run defender if he doesn't end up being a
08:22productive pass rusher. And there there's certainly value in that. To De'Veon Clowney, who didn't become
08:27the pass rushing menace that we all thought he could have been, was still an awesome run defender.
08:32And that was why he kept getting opportunities. And he was always like a guy that was sought after
08:36by playoff teams that needed a final piece for their defense. His power profile and his is just
08:42overall extension and hand usage against the run, I think raises his floor compared to guys like
08:49Jalen Walker, Shamar Stewart, and James Pierce Jr. It's very fair. The tools are exciting. The upside is
08:56still there. And he was mostly banged up during the 2024 season. So there's a little bit of an asterisk on
09:00him. But I just, I want to see it a little bit more. And I think when you compare him to a guy
09:06like the other tools, the pass rushers in this class, like a Shamar Stewart, who both lack
09:10production, I do think that you I just personally just bank a little bit more on those athletic
09:15gifts. I think Michael Williams is very athletic, but I think Shamar Stewart and those types of guys
09:19or just have a little bit more high end athletic traits. But Michael certainly has a track to becoming
09:25a very good player if he hits. I lied. I want to talk about Nick Scowerton very quickly before we
09:31do move on here. He is a guy that I'm very high on and I really like because I think that he is so
09:38powerful. And that Purdue tape that he had before he transferred to Texas A&M, I think showed what he
09:44eventually could be was just having like really great power moves as a pass rusher. He was playing
09:49a little bit too heavy this season. It was very clear on film. He wasn't as flexible. He wasn't as
09:54fluid as we saw when he was at Purdue. And he's back down to that original weight after he was
10:00playing at a super heavy one while he was at Texas A&M. From what we were told, it seems like he was
10:06asked to get heavier to play within Mike Elko's scheme. But he's a player who maybe underwhelmed if
10:12he goes on to outplaying expectations out of any of these players in our top 10. I would say that
10:19Nick Scowerton, if he ends up becoming that, I wouldn't be shocked.
10:21Yeah, so he was a player that at Purdue played about 260, 265. And for whatever reason,
10:28the Aggies asked him to play over 280 pounds to be more of a strong side defensive end. I think it
10:32was a very bad decision by them, obviously, because it made him a little bit sluggish. It zapped a
10:37little bit of his explosiveness. We saw the combine. He was back down to about 257 pounds.
10:42Nick Scowerton at 260, 265 pounds for me is a slam dunk first rounder. If he's a guy that's
10:48playing over 280, then he's a guy that's going to be moving down the boards very quickly. But I do
10:52think seeing him back at that weight is very promising for him to get back to that first
10:56round type talent. Tier one blue chip, as we've done for some of these position groups. I don't
11:02care what anyone says. People get so upset when you use the word generational. Abdel Carter is
11:08generational. And we said this in the scouting report video that we did on him. I stand by this.
11:13The fact that we saw a week by week progression and improvement, the fact that he was able to
11:18learn on the job as a former off-ball linebacker turned edge rusher, I think truly paints the
11:24picture of what he's going to become after a full season in the NFL around a NFL coaching staff and
11:29NFL training staff, and then eventually getting a full off-season as a guy that is developing and
11:38bulking up and getting stronger. Abdel Carter, the ceiling is so high for him to be a perennial
11:42all-pro. Well, we just had Femi Olodejo, who is out of UCLA on the podcast, Joe, and he talked about
11:49a similar journey, right? That he was only a one-year starter and a guy that had only played on the edge
11:54for a single season. And when you really put that into context with Abdel Carter, knowing the athlete
11:59he is at six foot three, 250 plus pounds, the explosiveness, the ability to move all over the
12:04place. But then you compound that with the fact that he's only been doing it on the edge for one
12:09season. Imagine year two on the edge for Abdel Carter. Imagine year three, imagine year four.
12:15The upside is immense, and this is far from a finished product, which is why it makes him such
12:20an exciting and such an elite prospect in this class. Let us know in the comments, who did we miss?
12:26Who do you agree with us on? Hit that like button and subscribe. We'll talk to you later.