2025 NFL Draft consensus big board: Travis Hunter leads top 40 players

Posted by Admin December 14, 2024 NFL

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The 2025 NFL Draft is months away but teams are already compiling player rankings as the college football season wraps up. As the regular season winds down, more fans are shifting to focus on the next crop of college prospects who could help their favorite team starting next season.

Unlike the 2024 draft class, the 2025 crop of players is tough to rank. The overall talent level is similar to 2022; there’s one or two top-level prospects and the rest are very similar. It then comes down to matching traits and skills with what a specific team looks for. A player in the 2025 draft could be a top-10 prospect on one team’s board and a second-round player on another.

That makes it very hard to rank the top 40 players you should know ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, we’ve compiled a big board incorporating rankings from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Pro Football Focus (PFF), Bleacher Report, and ESPN to get an average for each player.

We’ve taken those averages and ranked them in the top 40. For a player to make it to the top 40, they had to be ranked somewhere in at least three of the four big boards. There were wide ranges down the order; one big board had a player outside of the first round while two others had them in the top 10.

Here’s the consensus top 40 players:

2025 NFL Draft consensus big board

1. Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado

High: No. 1 (The Athletic, PFF, Bleacher Report); low: No. 6 (ESPN)

This one was the easiest. Three of the four big boards had Hunter at No. 1; only ESPN had him lower but that’s because he was classified as a wide receiver only on their board. He’s the lone instant-impact prospect all scouts seem to agree on.

2. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

High: No. 2 (The Athletic); low: No. 6 (PFF)

3. Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

High: No. 2 (Bleacher Report, ESPN); low: No. 9 (The Athletic)

The Wolverines’ duo were tied at an average ranking of No. 4 overall in the class. Graham had more variance; ESPN and Bleacher Report each put him No. 2 while The Athletic had him at No. 9.

4. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

High: No. 4 (PFF, ESPN); low: No. 10 (Bleacher Report)

5. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

High: No. 2 (PFF); low: No. 16 (ESPN)

The top full-time offensive player in the draft, Jeanty is a universally liked prospect but may fall due to position. That’s not the case for McMillan whose size, route running, and fluidity make him a favorite to be the first wide receiver drafted in April

6. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia

High: No. 4 (The Athletic, Bleacher Report); low: No. 14 (ESPN)

7. Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State

High: No. 1 (ESPN); low: No. 24 (Bleacher Report)

8. Will Campbell, OL, LSU

High: No. 7 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 12 (ESPN)

9. Jalon Walker, LB/Edge, Georgia

High: No. 7 (The Athletic); low: No. 21 (Bleacher Report)

10. Nic Scourton, Edge, Texas A&M

High: No. 8 (ESPN); low: No. 17 (The Athletic)

More defense down the order. Like Jeanty, Starks may fall due to his position. Carter’s ranking is all over the map, while Campbell’s the top offensive lineman by consensus. Walker and Scourton have the same average ranking but offer much different skill sets, the former a two-spot starter and the latter an imposing presence on the defensive line.

11. Cam Ward, QB, Miami

High: No. 8 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 16 (The Athletic)

12. Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

High: No. 9 (PFF); low: No. 21 (ESPN)

A dynamic playmaker, Ward is the top quarterback on the big board and a top-15 prospect in most rankings. Burden III is well-regarded as the next-best wide receiver after McMillan in most boards.

13. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee

High: No. 6 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 34 (PFF)

14. Kelvin Banks Jr., OL, Texas

High: No. 11 (PFF, ESPN); low: No. 20 (Bleacher Report)

15. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

High: No. 9 (Bleacher Report, ESPN); low: No. 23 (The Athletic)

16. Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia

High: No. 5 (ESPN); low: No. 27 (Bleacher Report)

17. Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan

High: No. 13 (The Athletic, Bleacher Report); low: No. 24 (ESPN)

Another tightly-bunched group here. Pearce gets the slight edge thanks to two top-10 rankings. Banks Jr. and Sanders are the second-ranked players at their positions.

Williams is another polarizing prospect. Two boards had him in the top eight, while the other two had him outside the top 20. Loveland is the top-ranked tight end across all big boards.

18. Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

High: No. 13 (ESPN); low: Not ranked (The Athletic)

19. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

High: No. 12 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 44 (ESPN)

20. Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss

High: No. 17 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 39 (PFF)

21. Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State

High: No. 19 (The Athletic); low: No. 32 (PFF)

22. Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina

High: No. 21 (The Athletic); low: Not ranked (Bleacher Report)

There’s a sharp drop in average ranking in this group from the last one. Morrison’s at No. 18 here but at an average of 24.33. He’s not ranked in The Athletic’s top 50 at all, likely due to his season-ending injury, but he’s a lot higher at ESPN.

Egbuka gets this ranking behind two high marks and two lower ones. Nolen is a talented but inconsistent prospect to begin with and that’s reflected here. Williams is ranked almost identically on average (27.5 to 27) but with much less variance. Revel Jr. sees some similar variance to Morrison due to a season-ending ACL injury but would likely be higher if healthy.

23. Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama

High: No. 12 (PFF); low: No. 49 (ESPN)

24. Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina

High: No. 18 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 40 (The Athletic)

25. Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan

High: No. 20 (ESPN); low: No. 52 (Bleacher Report)

26. Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss

High: No. 11 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 64 (PFF)

All four of these prospects are ranked between 30 and 31 on average. Milroe rounds out the top quarterback group in the class. Hampton is the next-highest prospect in a loaded running back class.

Grant gets less attention than fellow Wolverines defensive lineman Graham but is considered a top-25 prospect on three of the four big boards. Harris has the most variance of the group, ranking outside the top 50 with The Athletic and PFF but inside the top 20 at ESPN and Bleacher Report.

27. Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

High: No. 26 (The Athletic); low: No. 41 (ESPN)

28. Aireontae Ersery, OL, Minnesota

High: No. 17 (PFF); low: No. 46 (The Athletic)

29. Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas

High: No. 23 (PFF); low: No. 45 (The Athletic)

30. Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford

High: No. 28 (The Athletic, PFF); low: Not ranked (Bleacher Report)

This group of offensive players is tightly packed. Warren’s the consensus No. 2 tight end with a potentially more diverse skill set than Loveland. Ersery’s variance could make him a first-round pick or drop as far as the third. Bond and Ayomanor are in the last of the second-tier wide receivers in this draft behind McMillan and Burden III.

31. Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State

High: No. 15 (PFF, Bleacher Report); low: No. 82 (ESPN)

32. Landon Jackson, Edge, Arkansas

High: No. 31 (The Athletic, ESPN); low: No. 49 (Bleacher Report)

33. Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa

High: No. 29 (PFF); low: No. 46 (ESPN)

Simmons is another prospect who sees a drop thanks to a season-ending injury. With a full recovery, he could end up a steal in the draft. Jackson marks the start of the next group of edge rushers in the class. Johnson’s next after Hampton and yet another good prospect in a deep running back class.

34. JT Tuimoloau, Edge, Ohio State

High: No. 24 (The Athletic); low: No. 50 (ESPN)

35. Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky

High: No. 19 (Bleacher Report); low: No. 73 (PFF)

36. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas

High: No. 26 (Bleacher Report); low: Not ranked (The Athletic)

Tuimoloau’s right there with Jackson in that second-edge rusher group. Walker represents the start of the next crop of interior defensive linemen after Grant, Nolen, and Williams. Barron sees some interesting variance across the boards in a deep cornerback class.

37. Wyatt Milum, OL, West Virginia

High: No. 18 (PFF); low: No. 69 (ESPN)

38. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama

High: No. 43 (PFF, ESPN); low: Not ranked (Bleacher Report)

Unlike many top offensive linemen in the class, Milum is already a strong interior prospect and will remain there at the NFL level. Campbell is the top pure linebacker in the class and offers an intriguing mix of size and athleticism for the position.

39. Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Arizona

High: No. 27 (ESPN); low: No. 68 (PFF)

40. Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon

High: No. 14 (The Athletic); low: No. 83 (Bleacher Report)

Savaiinaea is one of multiple offensive linemen in the class who have experience inside and at tackle and could stay in either spot at the NFL. Harmon’s lack of stats likely plays into his wide variance; he’s in the top 25 on two boards and outside the top 80 in the other two.