NFL Analysis

11/5/24

10 min read

2025 NFL Draft: 5 Biggest Sleepers In The Class

By James Foster

NFL Analyst
Louisville’s Ja’Corey Brooks celebrates with fans his touchdown against SMU this Saturday. Oct. 5, 2024

With college football in full swing and draft season in the near future, many prospects are flying under the radar.

Here's an in-depth look at five of the biggest sleepers from the 2025 class. For this exercise, I limited myself to players outside of the top 200 on the consensus board.

2025 NFL Draft Sleepers

honorable mentions:

EDGE David Walker, Central Arkansas (37th on my board/243rd on the consensus board)

CB Azareye'h Thomas, Florida State (8/195)

S Jaylen Reed, Penn State (39/179)

TE Elijah Arroyo, Miami (87/316)

DL Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech (92/187)

CB Jermari Harris, Iowa (100/224)

OT Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College (120/303)

EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M (127/336)

WR Ja’Corey Brooks, Louisville Louisville Cardinals logo

HeightWeightGradeOVR RkPOS RkConsensus
6016190Early 4th8811216

Ja’Corey Brooks is a former 5-star recruit who transferred from Alabama to Louisville for his senior year. After modest production in his first three seasons, Brooks has emerged as a big play machine and leads the FBS in receptions of 20 or more yards through Week 9.

He’s a perplexing prospect because his natural talent stacks up with any receiver in this class, but there are several red flags that make me hesitant and limit his draft grade. Regardless of my reservations, he ranks 216th on the consensus board, which is undoubtedly too low and qualifies him as a sleeper.

Brooks has quick feet for a 6016 receiver and can glide laterally to evade press coverage. His release package, footwork, and lateral fluidity allow him to win leverage cleanly at the line of scrimmage, and his play strength is adequate despite his slender build.

He’s more efficient than explosive out of breaks, sometimes struggling to create separation if he can’t manipulate the cornerback’s hips. But his nuanced footwork at the top of routes usually influences defenders into compromising positions.

He’s an elite zone route runner who understands the structure of the defense and the timing of his quarterback’s reads.

He reliably sits at the optimal location in zone coverage windows and stems purposefully to disguise the direction of his routes. He also has excellent chemistry with Tyler Shough on scramble drills; when Shough breaks the pocket, Brooks mirrors him and extends his route away from coverage.

He's a long-strider with good explosiveness off the line of scrimmage but average long speed. He has enough initial burst to stack press coverage or get an early lead on stationary defenders after the catch.

Still, his max speed tops out quickly, and defensive backs are usually able to recover, resulting in a high percentage of contested targets downfield.

This is right in Brooks’ comfort zone since he’s one of the premiere jump-ball winners in college football. He can endure jersey tugs and blatant pass interference while tracking the ball and securing a difficult catch in traffic. The first play in this cutup is particularly impressive, as the pass interference causes him to spin 360°, but he maintains his focus and scores a touchdown:

Brooks’ tape is frustrating because his dominance at the catch point does not extend to open targets. He has one of the highest drop rates in the FBS, and some of his most impressive routes have been nullified due to poor focus.

His ability to make difficult catches gives me some optimism that he can clean up the focus drops, but this has been a persistent issue throughout his entire college career.

DL Darius Alexander, Toledo Toledo logo

HeightWeightGradeOVR RkPOS RkConsensus
6040310Late 3rd596252

Quinyon Mitchell was the first Toledo player to be selected in the first round since 1993.

While they’re unlikely to produce another first-round pick this year, Toledo’s defense should be well-represented on Day 2 and 3.

Maxen Hook is a highly experienced safety who will probably be selected in the later rounds. I have a third-round grade on their other safety, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who could have easily made this list. However, I expect Darius Alexander to be the first Toledo player off the board, likely in the second or third round.

Alexander is a massive defensive tackle/end hybrid with long arms and extraordinary movement skills. He was 53rd on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List and reportedly hit 20 mph on the GPS.

He's a devastating power rusher with a jarring initial strike that can uproot a blocker’s anchor on impact. He can latch and drive his legs to gradually compress the pocket or quickly stab the blocker’s frame to loosen his anchor and pry open the edge.

On top of his raw power, Alexander is a graceful mover with light feet who can cross his opponent’s face and invade the pocket. He would benefit from adding another counter, but his club-swim is a highly effective primary move.

Alexander’s violent hands also make him a ferocious block shedder who can collapse a run with pure upper body power. His legs are somewhat thin relative to his size, so he ends up on the ground occasionally if he leans or lunges.

CB Darien Porter, Iowa State Iowa State Cyclones logo

HeightWeightGradeOVR RkPOS RkConsensus
6026192Late 3rd557269

Darien Porter is the prototypical outside cornerback. At 6023, 192, he has a rare blend of size and speed and checks every box when it comes to physical traits.

According to Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, Porter is the “first person in the state of Iowa to run a sub-47-second 400-meter dash”, and his top in-game speed is “21.8 mph, which should put him in the 4.3 range next spring.”

Porter is one of the least experienced players in this class, regardless of position, which explains his sleeper status. As a converted receiver, he has only started two games and played 464 defensive snaps in his career.

Despite his inexperience, Porter’s tape is surprisingly polished. On just 128 coverage snaps in 2024, he’s recorded three interceptions and two pass breakups and hasn’t allowed any explosive plays.

Iowa State plays zone coverage on 74 percent of defensive snaps, according to TruMedia, and Porter has flashed elite play recognition and zone IQ. On this play, he initially bites on the play-action but quickly identifies the leak route and undercuts it for an interception:

When he is asked to play man, he completely blankets routes on the vertical plane. His press technique needs some development, but what he does at the line of scrimmage doesn’t matter at the college level.

His imposing wingspan is enough to stall most releases, and Porter’s transition to top speed is effortless and immediate. His receiver background shows up at the catch point, as he’s extremely comfortable turning and locating the football while keeping pace with vertical routes.

TE John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming Wyoming Cowboys logo

HeightWeightGradeOVR RkPOS RkConsensus
6050247Early 4th815201

This is a very deep tight end class, and John Michael Gyllenborg is flying too far under the radar.

He’s one of the best F tight ends in this class with top-tier athletic traits and a complete receiving skill set. His straight-line speed and explosiveness are slightly better than Colston Loveland’s, and he consistently separates against linebackers and safeties down the seam.

After he catches a deep over or fade route in stride, he continues to build up speed and usually out-paces trailing defensive backs.

Few college tight ends stress defenses vertically like Gyllenborg, but he isn’t just a deep threat. He has outstanding change of direction skills, footwork, and salesmanship to separate as an intermediate route runner.

His speed cuts are sudden and efficient, and he accelerates out of his breaks to maximize separation. He also uses head fakes and manipulative body language to set up his breaks.

At 6-foot-5, 247 pounds, Gyllenborg has good size for a receiving specialist and can match defenders’ physicality at the catch point. His catch radius is average, but he has excellent focus to track and secure tight-window throws.

If you’re looking for a blocker, you’ve come to the wrong place; Gyllenborg is useless in the run game, and while he has adequate size, his effort and technique are severely lacking.

LB Teddye Buchanan, California Cal Logo

HeightWeightGradeOVR RkPOS RkConsensus
6020235Mid 4th1058367

For someone who appreciates cover linebackers, the NFL Draft is an absolute wasteland, and Teddye Buchanan is a refreshing change of pace. In 2024, most college linebackers have elementary coverage responsibilities.

Most snaps are spent hovering between the hashes, five yards past the line of scrimmage, with eyes glued to the quarterback. Projecting these players is extremely difficult, as there’s often no video evidence of them executing the coverage assignments they’ll be tasked with in the NFL.

However, Buchanan is a coverage specialist with the physical traits, processing ability, and experience to thrive on passing downs in any defensive scheme. He has the straight-line speed to run with tight ends and slot receivers down the seam.

He’s quick and fluid enough to mirror running backs on option routes. Buchanan understands passing concepts and can anticipate routes developing behind him in zone coverage. He’s aggressive, crashing downhill to defend screens and checkdowns. He’s recorded eight interceptions and 11 pass breakups in his career, thanks to his exceptional ball skills.

He doesn’t have an interception in 2024, but his down-to-down coverage tape is impressive. He indirectly forced Cam Ward into multiple sacks by identifying the play and taking away the route Ward wanted to target.

I watched Buchanan’s 2024 tape, oblivious to his history and past production, and thought he was clearly the most pro-ready cover linebacker in this class. But before I finalized his grade, I noticed that he had transferred from UC Davis this offseason, and I decided to check out his tape from the last couple of seasons.

He was facing a low level of competition, but the plays he made in coverage at UC Davis were absurd and caused me to increase my initial grade. Ideally, he can recapture some of this magic at the FBS level, but the one-handed interceptions and elite play recognition show what he’s capable of, regardless of the competition:

Completing his third down skill set, Buchanan is also a dynamic pass rusher. In the last two seasons, he’s recorded 29 pressures and eight sacks on just 87 pass-rushing snaps, for a 33.3 percent pressure rate:

He does have some flaws as a run defender, which puts a cap on his draft grade and will probably limit him to a specialized rotational role in the NFL. He’s a reliable tackler and quick processor and isn’t technically undersized at 235 pounds, but his anchor and block-shedding ability are insufficient for early downs in the NFL.

He can survive when he reads the play quickly enough to stay ahead of blocks, but he’s unable to defeat blockers or keep his footing when they engage.

Tags: 2025 NFL Draft, Darien Porter, Darius Alexander See More

James Foster

NFL Analyst

James Foster is an NFL writer who creates film-based analysis of NFL players and teams. He previously worked for A to Z Sports.

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