DRAFT TRACKER 2025

Productive and experienced, Gillotte shines with his ability to threaten the pocket. His rush isn’t overly complicated, but he can collapse the pocket with power, beat up the edge with violent hands and sneak past guards with snap quickness when playing inside. He’s powerful but doesn’t have a solid anchor to hold his ground as a run defender. I’ve graded Gillotte as a 4-3 defensive end, but he has the athletic ability to stand and play 3-4 outside ‘backer.

Pocket passer with a seven-year college career prompted by three consecutive years of injuries while at Texas Tech. Shough will turn 26 in September, was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and backed up Justin Herbert at Oregon. He’s a talented passer with a live arm who is capable of making pro throws both intermediate and deep but battles inconsistency. He plays with good field vision, using his eyes to hold defenders and set up his throwing windows. Shough is confident and accurate when protected, but will flinch when pressure mounts, leading to spotty decision-making and big sacks. His size and passing talent will be enticing, but durability and mobility concerns are impediments he will need to overcome.

Riley’s performance took a dip in 2024 but his tape shows the same strengths and weaknesses from the year prior. The ball production looks nice, but his indecisiveness and lack of awareness cause inconsistencies from zone and off-man coverage. He’s competitive with good make-up speed and the athleticism to improve his coverage squeeze if he takes the coaching. Riley needs to become more reliable in run support for teams to trust him as a nickel defender. The sixth-year senior clearly has play traits that work in his favor, but he must learn to play with quicker eyes and better focus to become more than a quality backup with inside/outside potential.

Compact wideout possessing good play strength and average athleticism. Watkins was schemed into favorable downfield opportunities at Ole Miss but is better suited for work as a possession slot receiver in the pros. He lacks speed but does a good job of playing through contact and competing for space. He’s a body-catcher with a poor catch radius but grabs what’s on target and carries the ball like a running back after the catch. Watkins lacks length and explosiveness but his toughness and ability to return punts could give him a puncher’s chance.

Brooks posted a career year at Louisville in 2024 after three seasons at Alabama. He has good size and average speed. He’s a decent athlete with the length and ball skills to have success downfield. He’s not going to outrun many NFL corners on a sprint and he’s too tight-hipped to uncover with his route-running, which is one reason for so many contested catches. The touchdown production and yards per catch are favorable, but Brooks might have to fight for a back-end spot on a roster. 

A powerhouse interior defensive lineman, Griffith’s low-cut frame and powerful base allow for good balance through contact. He has the ability to get under the blocker’s pads and reestablish the line of scrimmage when he gets into the blocker first. He lacks the mass of a run-plugging nose tackle and he’s a linear mover with below average short-area change of direction. He’s more of a pocket pusher than an edge finder as a pass rusher but his ability to create disruptive snaps will be appealing to even-front teams looking for competition inside.