Trio of Michigan football underclassmen getting early 2025 draft attention

Don’t let rivals fool you, #Michigan is still loaded with talent. #GoBlue

Michigan’s 2022 recruiting class might go down as the most talented from the Jim Harbaugh era. Yes, 2021 produced J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, Junior Colson, and Rod Moore, but the rising juniors are already proving to be special. In fact, a trio of youngsters are already getting hype for the 2025 NFL draft despite their selection day being over a year away.

The first player garnering praise is, of course, Will Johnson. Johnson was a five-star recruit from Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Johnson made a name for himself early in his career with two interceptions in the Big Ten Championship Game as a true freshman. He followed up a promising freshman campaign with a lockdown sophomore season that has draft analysts and NFL scouts alike drooling. The Wolverines have historically produced a ton of great cornerback talents, but Johnson is right up there with any name. After all, wearing the number two at Michigan is no small claim to fame. Now, will Johnson compete for the Heisman as Woodson did? Likely not, but that does not mean he won’t be a top-five selection in one year.

Next up is one of the most menacing defensive tackles in all of college football — Mason Graham. Graham came to Michigan as a mid-four-star recruit but has outplayed his recruitment grade tremendously. There were concerns about his athleticism and length early in his career, but Graham has dismissed all notions of possible shortcomings with his frequent impact plays. The Wolverines heavily rotated their defensive line in 2023 which limited the statistical impact on any individual player, but Graham still totaled three sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss nonetheless. Checking the tape will also quickly reveal that Graham’s impact was felt much further than the stat sheet. He was simply a menace against Ohio State, Alabama, and Washington, and performed exceptionally well in Big Ten play as well despite nursing an injured hand. The expectation for Graham in 2024 is that he competes for a spot on the All-American team and hears his name called early in the 2025 draft.

The final player is Colston Loveland who comes straight from the football Mecca of Gooding, Idaho. Loveland, like Graham, was a fairly sought-after prospect in high school but by no means was expected to turn into the player he is today. Last season, Loveland turned in 45 catches for 649 yards while steadily improving as a blocker throughout the season. Should he continue to progress in the run game, Loveland will no doubt be considered a first-round pick. PFF analyst Max Chadwick already has Loveland as the second-best prospect in the nation after generational talent Brock Bowers, and Loveland hasn’t even hit age 20 yet. Expect the Idaho native to continue creating big plays in the passing game and emerge as the top target at the position nationally.