With the NFL Draft right around the corner, it is time for the hype machine to go into overdrive—like it does every year!
Scouts and analysts fall in love with arm strength, speed, and highlight-reel plays—but that doesn’t always translate to the next level. Some guys have skill sets tailor-made for the NFL, while other players’ skill sets, unfortunately, won’t translate to the professional level.
So today, we’re taking a deep dive into five prospects from the 2025 NFL draft class who already look like can’t-miss superstars—and five who have major bust potential written all over them. Let’s get into it.
Find out who the potential stars and busts are in the 2025 NFL draft.
Bust: Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL)
When it comes to playing quarterback in the NFL, consistency is the name of the game. Plenty of guys have the arm talent or athleticism, but where the legit pros separate themselves is their ability to perform week in and week out.
Unfortunately, Cam Ward is not that guy; rather, he appears to be the ultimate feast-or-famine quarterback.
When he’s on, he’s electric, but when he’s off, it is a disaster waiting to happen. He thrives on improvisation, turning broken plays into highlight reels, but that backyard football style doesn’t always translate to the NFL.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
And more so than the playstyle skewing in one direction or another, his mechanics are erratic, his footwork is inconsistent, and he’s relied too much on sheer athleticism to bail him out, which simply won’t translate in the NFL.
At Miami, he could get away with it, as we saw with the big games he put up during his time at the U, but in the NFL, those mistakes turn into turnovers really fast.
If he lands in the wrong system—one that doesn’t rein in his wild tendencies—this could unravel in a hurry.
Star: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
Mason Graham looks like he was engineered in a lab for trench warfare, and as we have seen with the way that the Philadelphia Eagles have risen to prominence—that is at the top of the list for NFL teams right now in the upcoming draft.
During his college career, Michigan’s defense leaned on him to dominate the interior, and he did it with a mix of raw strength, technical polish, and a relentless motor, racking up seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his final college season—impressive numbers for a defensive tackle constantly dealing with double-teams.
It is truly unique to be able to control the line of scrimmage from the interior of the defensive line but keep in mind, this isn’t just a guy who wins on pure power—his hand usage is already NFL-ready, and his ability to shed blocks made him a nightmare for offensive linemen… and should continue to do so at the next level!
Plug him into a pro defense, and he’s causing havoc from the jump. He’s got that Quinnen Williams-type upside. Good luck keeping him out of the backfield if he gets with the right coach. Say a guy like Jim Harbaugh out in L.A. who he has that pre-existing relationship with.
Bust: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Shedeur Sanders has the arm, confidence, athleticism, and, of course, with Deion being his father… the pedigree—there’s no questioning that.
And he has looked like a quality quarterbacking prospect during his time at Colorado, but let’s face it, he wasn’t exactly facing the cream of the crop on a weekly basis—and everything was set up for him to excel there.
I mean, his dad was literally the coach and built out a program to try to amplify his son’s talents and profile for the NFL level.
In any case, the counting numbers were definitely there, especially in year two with the Buffalo… he put up 4134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and, on the dark side, 10 picks, but nevertheless he proved he can sling it with the best of them.
Unfortunately, in the eyes of NFL scouts, when you look a notch deeper than the box score, the cracks in his game are real. His 52 sacks taken led the nation in 2023, and 42 this past season wasn’t much better.
And to be clear—not all of them were on his offensive line… That tendency to hold onto the ball too long, waiting for the perfect play to develop, is a recipe for disaster in the NFL.
The pre-NFL draft hype is going to be fascinating. Some teams will fall in love with his upside and hope they can clean up his flaws, but they ought to proceed with caution because if it goes wrong, it could get ugly fast.
Star: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
Who knows what NFL teams will make of Travis Hunter? We are excited to see it! You don’t see two-way players in today’s game, but Hunter didn’t just skate by doing it at Jackson State and Colorado—he excelled and was one of the top talents and performers at both positions the past two years.
Hunter’s ball skills are elite, whether he’s blanketing receivers as a corner or going up for a contested catch. His ability to flip the field on either side of the ball makes him a true game-changer. He’s got the instincts of a shutdown corner, the hands of a No. 1 receiver, and the confidence of a superstar. Colorado leaned on him heavily—at times, maybe too much—but he never looked gassed, which speaks to his rare endurance and competitiveness.
Obviously, his fate will be somewhat dependent on which NFL team drafts him… Some may want him to focus on one position or another, but it seems like a lock that the finds a way to establish himself as a star.
Bust: Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
On pure talent, Benjamin Morrison has all the makings of a potential NFL star and belongs in the top-20 conversation come draft day, it is really just that hip injury that ended his 2024 season early throws everything into question. Cornerback is a position that relies on fluidity, change of direction, and quick-twitch explosiveness—all things that can take a hit after a major lower-body injury.
The potential is still there, but so is the risk…
A corner-needy team like Detroit or New Orleans might roll the dice, but if he can’t regain that pre-injury movement, he will really struggle to keep pace with the speedy wideouts that are littered across NFL fields these days.
Don’t be shocked if he ends up being a major bust for whatever team takes that swing!
Star: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Tyler Warren isn’t going to wow you with flashy athleticism, but he might be one of the most NFL-ready tight ends in the draft.
He’s a true do-it-all player—Penn State used him as a blocker, a short-yardage security blanket, and a red-zone weapon, and he delivered. It doesn’t end there with Warren, either… There was a stretch during this past season where he was literally their entire offense.
In 2024, he put up 1233 yards and 7 touchdowns, and went for over 100 receptions… with 104 in total.
Those are big boy numbers.
He may not be the next Travis Kelce, but then again, there is only one of him!
Warren is the kind of tight end who sticks in the league for a decade and plays a key role in a high-level offense.
Bust: Abdul Carter, DE, Penn State
There’s a lot to like about Abdul Carter—he’s an explosive athlete with the kind of raw power that flashes on tape, especially against some of the lesser competition in the Big 12.
But the more you watch, the more you realize how much he’s still figuring out the position. Originally recruited as an off-ball linebacker, Carter transitioned to the edge full-time, and while he was clearly a force to be reckoned with in 2024, posting 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in 2024, he’s still more of an athlete than a refined pass rusher.
He has also had a couple of off-the-field issues, and NFL scouts aren’t 100% confident about his motor, which doesn’t bode well at the NFL level, where you need to be firing at maximum capacity at all times.
The reality is that a team like Seattle or Baltimore, which has traditionally loved high-upside athletic rushers, might take the gamble, but if he doesn’t develop the technical side of his game and improve his play recognition, his NFL career could be a short one.
Star: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
Draft fatigue is a real thing, and if you ask us, Emeka Egbuka is just its latest victim. He’s been in the NFL draft discussion for years now, but don’t let that dull your perception like a good portion of the media has…
He’s still one of the most NFL-ready receivers in this class. At 6’ 1” and 205 pounds, he has just enough size and strength to really capitalize on his precise route running abilities. All he needs is a little separation and a quarterback to get the ball in his radius because he can haul them in with the best of them.
A foot injury slowed him down in 2023, leading to a modest season, but this past year, he picked up right where he left off as a sophomore, going for 1011 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
And what was most exciting to scouts was that the same athletic prowess and burst that he showed on his 2022 tape—when he went for 1151 yards and 10 TDs was still clearly visible.
Heading into the draft, I think there should be a lot more excitement about Egbuka. Ohio State has become an assembly line for top-tier wide receivers, and Egbuka is next in line.
He’s got the savvy to work the middle of the field, the speed to get vertical, and the hands to make contested catches in traffic. He might not have the same home-run ability as former teammates Marvin Harrison Jr. or Garrett Wilson, but he’s a high-floor wide receiver who will step in immediately as a WR2 and could develop into a WR1.
Bust: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart has the moxie, arm talent, and mobility to intrigue NFL teams, but the biggest challenge for NFL scouts trying to evaluate his abilities before the draft and how they project to the next level is separating him from Lane Kiffin’s quarterback-friendly offense.
Because Ole Miss is a system that creates easy vertical shots, and to his credit, Dart took full advantage, throwing for 4279 yards and 29 touchdowns, with just six interceptions in 2024.
Unfortunately, when you go a notch deeper on the tape, the concerns become clear.
While Dart thrived on schemed-up deep shots, he continually struggled when he had to go through his full progressions, largely because his decision-making under pressure was erratic, and his mechanics always seemed to find a way to break down once the pocket collapsed.
And this was particularly exacerbated against the top SEC defenses, when the easy throws weren’t there, he started to look lost fast.
If he doesn’t clean up his footwork and improve his ability to read defenses, he might never make that leap because those kinds of mistakes won’t fly against actual NFL defenses.
Dart will really have his work cut out for him if he wants to hack it in the pros because while competitive spirit is important, that alone won’t ensure he isn’t a bust—he’s going to have to really develop himself as a passer and student of the game.
Star: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Ashton Jeanty isn’t just a running back—he’s an offensive weapon. Plain and simple.
After a promising sophomore campaign in 2023, Jeanty took things to a whole new level this year…
I mean, Boise State ran their entire offense through him in 2024, and he responded by racking up an insane 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground on 374 carries, proving he can be a true workhorse at the next level.
NFL scouts are also excited by his extensibility in the passing game because while he wasn’t a huge factor in it this year—he did snag 43 passes the year prior for 569 yards and five scores.
It is easy to imagine him hitting the ground running at the NFL level and playing a similar role—if not a slightly expanded one—to what we’ve seen Jahmyr Gibbs pull off in the Motor City.
Jeanty has that rare ability to absorb contact and keep moving; he’s explosive but controlled, never wasting movement, and he’s a nightmare in space.
His draft stock is going to be fascinating to track with running backs having largely been devalued, but his skill set makes him more in the ilk of a Saquon or CMC than a traditional running and could really elevate a contender to that next level of Super Bowl seriousness.
Don’t be surprised if we look back at Jeanty as one of the biggest steals of the 2025 NFL Draft!
