2025 NFL Draft: Travis Hunter, TreVeyon Henderson among the most intriguing prospects

Every year, there are several prospects that require a bit more conversation than the rest. Players like Isaiah Simmons, Bryce Young, and Kyle Pitts all come to mind. The discussion usually stems from a player not fitting into a neat box for one reason or another. Simmons played a number of positions at a high level, but it was unclear which would be his best in the NFL. Young was an elite playmaker with great production despite being a statistical outlier for his size. Pitts was a sensational athlete, but there was debate over whether he was a tight end or a bigger wide receiver.

Each draft contains players like that, and 2025 is no exception. I have picked out 12 that meet the criteria of needing a little extra discussion. They are outliers. These will be major talking points for all these players throughout the fall and into the true pre-draft process.

Oronde Gadsden II, TE/WR, Syracuse
Gadsden isn't really a tight end. He is listed as one by Syracuse, but he is just a power slot. His big frame, great catch radius, and ability after the catch make him a difficult cover. Listed at 6'5", 236 pounds, he is currently 10 pounds lighter than Kyle Pitts was when he was drafted back in 2021.

His unknown status at the NFL level makes him an intriguing evaluation. Injuries derailed his 2023 campaign, but he posted 61 catches for 969 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore. His pedigree is also a major plus. His dad played six seasons with the Dolphins as a wide receiver. Gadsden will have a clear role for certain teams while others won't have him on their draft boards at all.

Harold Perkins Jr., EDGE/LB, LSU
Perkins is the poster child for this group. He is one of the better pass rushers in this draft class, but he is nowhere near big enough to be a true edge player. At 6'1", he would be in roughly the 3rd percentile for height, and at 225 pounds, he would be in the 0th percentile.

Those limitations facilitated a move to off-ball linebacker for his sophomore campaign. He still had a chance to rush off the edge in sub-package situations. He is going to be a valuable defensive playmaker at the next level. I just hope he lands with a team that knows how to creatively deploy him to maximize his talents.

Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
Is he a receiver or is he a corner? That is a conversation being had in scouting departments and by draft analysts everywhere. For the first time since Devin Hester came out of Miami back in 2006, we have a prospect with the potential to play on both sides of the football.

Unlike Hester, Hunter projects to be a top-10 pick. Hunter is an incredible athlete with good length and ball skills. He will need to fill out his frame a little more, currently listed at 6'1", 185 pounds, but his versatility and talent make him one of the most exciting players in college football. Will an NFL team actually let him play both positions? That seems unlikely, but which position teams view him as will be equally as intriguing.

Mykel Williams, DL/EDGE, Georgia
This situation feels a bit familiar. Williams is moving to a more natural role in Georgia's defense as a defensive end after playing defensive tackle this past season. Listed at 6'5", 265 pounds, he has the ideal build to be an edge prospect but has not had a chance to do that so far.

It is reminiscent of former Georgia star Travon Walker, who lined up all over the formation and was praised for his versatility, but rarely got to showcase his abilities in a natural role. It worked out pretty well for Walker as he was the first pick in the 2022 NFL draft. It took a season, but Walker seems to be finding himself at the next level, posting 10 sacks in 2023. Scouts will have to do some of the same projecting with Williams and hope that he can make the same leaps as Walker in a couple of years.

Sebastian Castro, LB/CB/S, Iowa
Tons of college defenses have unique roles and terms for them. Jack, Money, Wolf, Buck, and Star are just a few of the positions you will see listed on college depth charts these days. They mostly refer to hybrid or modified roles in a defense; a reflection of how much the sport has changed. Iowa is no different, deploying a hybrid slot corner/strong side linebacker role it calls Cash. The Athletic has a great article on it if you want to read a bit more about it.

It's the role Castro played this past season and is poised to play again in 2024. Without many reps in another role, it is fair to wonder if Castro is going to be a slot-only player in the NFL. We've seen it work well for a number of players, including Bryce Callahan, Nate Hobbs, and Kenny Moore. Mike Sainristil figures to join that group after being a second-round pick to the Commanders in 2024. It's not a terrible thing to have a clear role for a player, but it does put that player into a bit of a box. If teams only view Castro as a slot defender, it could limit his draft value. He is great in that spot, but the lack of versatility could be viewed as a negative. Hopefully, we will get to see him in one of the pre-draft all-star games this year to evaluate him outside of that Iowa system.

Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona
If you thought Bryce Young was small, wait until you learn more about Fifita. The Arizona quarterback is currently listed at 5'10", 194 pounds. For a frame of reference, Young was five-feet, 10 and one-eighth inches at the combine (1st percentile) and 204 pounds (6th percentile). There is a good chance Fifita is under 5'10" and he would have to put on 10 pounds to match Young's pre-draft weight.

The problem is that Fifita is too talented and productive to simply write off. Young's rookie struggles will not help Fifita's perception around the league, but we have seen Kyler Murray be very successful playing at roughly the same size as Young (5'10 1/8", 207 pounds). He won't be for everyone, but he will have his supporters in the scouting community.

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
The plight of a college running back is real. Henderson burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2021, racking up 1,560 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns while averaging 6.8 yards per carry. He looked like the next great college back destined for NFL success. However, injuries plagued his 2022 campaign and while he looked better in 2023, it was still not at the same level as his freshman season.

To make matters a bit murkier, he will now be sharing a backfield with one of the best running backs in the country in Quinshon Judkins. It is great for Ohio State and potentially good for both backs. Henderson will not need to be a bell cow, limiting the wear and tear on his body, while still getting to feature in one of the best rushing attacks in the country. Henderson is a great talent with an enticing combination of size and speed, but if he does not answer questions about his durability, it is hard to imagine teams viewing him as a true No. 1 running back.

Dasan McCullough, LB/EDGE, Oklahoma
Many of the players on this list are outliers, but McCullough might be the biggest one. At 6'5" with long arms, he has the height and weight to profile as a great pass rusher. With a quick first step, he seems well on his way. However, he is listed at 223 pounds, which gives him the build of a wide receiver.

He has settled in at linebacker for Oklahoma after transferring from Indiana, but even then, he is a bit underweight for the position. He does not have a ton of production to fall back on either. As a true junior, he could definitely return to school for another year. The combination of physical gifts and unique frame for the position makes him stand out.

Sonny Styles, S/LB, Ohio State
Any time you have a player changing positions, it is going to create some intrigue. Styles is a former five-star recruit who spent the past two seasons playing safety for Ohio State. Heading into his junior year, the team announced he would transition to playing linebacker.

It is not hard to understand why. Styles is listed at 6'4", 235 pounds, which gives him better measurables than a lot of the linebackers in this draft class. He has a good nose for the football, racking up 53 tackles in 2023. There will be a learning curve as his priorities drastically change, but a linebacker with his size and experience playing in coverage should be exciting for several teams.

Nick Martin, LB, Oklahoma State
Think back to the 2021 draft when there was a lot of speculation about Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah needing to move to safety when he got to the NFL after playing linebacker at Notre Dame. He was undersized for the position at 6'1" and 221 pounds. The latter was the big sticking point, as his weight was in the 2nd percentile for off-ball linebackers.

We could be headed for a similar conversation with Martin. The redshirt junior is listed at 6'0", 220 pounds, making him even shorter than Owusu-Koramoah at almost the same weight. He is an incredibly productive player, totaling 140 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and six sacks in his first year as a starter. He has the speed and instincts to make the jump, but there will be questions about a move to safety.

Parker Brailsford, C, Alabama
The average NFL draft prospect at center weighs about 303 pounds, according to Mockdraftable. Brailsford is listed at 275 pounds. It does not seem to matter. He went up against top-tier competition in 2023 while playing at Washington. In the College Football Playoff, he faced Byron Murphy II, T'Vondre Sweat, Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant. Three of those guys were top-50 picks in 2024. The other two figure to be first-round picks in 2025.

Despite being one of the smallest center prospects we have ever seen, Brailsford has shown he can hold his own. He is a massive anomaly for the position and it will be interesting to see how the league reacts. He has the talent and play tape to be an NFL center, but he will test teams' thresholds for offensive line players.

Howard Cross III, DL, Notre Dame
At 6'1", 288 pounds, Cross is built more like a 3-4 defensive end than a true defensive tackle. However, he winds up playing more nose tackle a Notre Dame than his teammate, Rylie Mills, who is 6'5", 295 pounds. Cross is one of the most productive tackles in the country as well with 66 tackles and seven tackles for loss. It earned him 2nd-team All-American honors this past season.

Cross has NFL bloodlines, his dad played 13 seasons at tight end for the Giants, and a ton of experience, but he will be an older prospect whose skill set and body type don't exactly match. He is not a gap-shooting interior pass rusher like a lot of the players with similar builds. How teams approach him in the draft process will be fascinating.