Thor Nystrom …

 

Below are my biggest risers and fallers by position coming out of the Senior Bowl. For an in-depth look at how some of the event’s biggest names on offense performed, check out Fantasy Life’s Senior Bowl Report Cards Show with Matthew Freedman and me.

 

2025 NFL Draft Stock Risers After Senior Bowl

Quarterback

Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)

Heading into the week, I ranked Gabriel No. 5 out of eight quarterbacks attending the Senior Bowl. Gabriel didn’t show me anything in Mobile that I hadn’t seen over his six years on campus. Here was one of the entries in my notes from the week: “Gabriel is Gabriel—what you see is what you get.”

But proving the concept of Gabriel’s high-floor, low-ceiling game was enough to make him a riser at this year’s Senior Bowl. Gabriel has positioned himself as a potential sneaky riser amid a wide-open quarterback class after the consensus top-2 (Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders).

A 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist, Gabriel ranks No. 2 all-time in FBS passing yardage behind Houston’s Case Keenum. Gabriel, a pint-sized lefty, is experienced and comfortable in the pocket. He bounces around naturally to manipulate spacing and find throwing lanes.

Gabriel’s arm had a bit more zip live than I was expecting. AtoZ’s Travis May "Speed & Spin Score" metric—using velocity, spin rate, and air yardage data from the Senior Bowl—ranked Gabriel No. 1 among quarterbacks in Mobile.

Gabriel is a timing passer who’ll run your scheme for you. He throws a nice, soft, catchable ball. Gabriel measured in at 5-foot-10½, 202 pounds. He’s physically limited. But Gabriel has modulated his game to account for that. He identifies coverage looks quickly and lets it rip with loft early, right when he deciphers 1-on-1 coverage. 

Gabriel’s processing, accuracy, and ability to follow a passing script and stay on time give him the look of a long-term QB2 in a West Coast-type system. My comp is “poor man’s Tua.” 

Running Back

Devin Neal (Kansas)

Neal displayed his vision and slick feet in a 220-pound package this week in Mobile. He also achieved his stated goal coming in of proving to the NFL he is a better receiver than he was allowed to show in Kansas’ system, where he often functioned as a dump-off guy.

Neal is an instinctual, finesse slasher. His feet are elite—choppy, blur-fast, and precise. In space, he is slippery, and hard to square up. Neal adds to the illusion by toggling speeds, messing with defenders’ angles. He runs with vision and patience, staying on schedule behind his line. If a cutback lane opens, he’s going to find it. 

Neal caught 51 balls the past two years. The Jayhawks should have been more creative with his usage. Neal’s career 0.5 aDOT tells that story. He brings untapped potential as a receiver to the NFL.

After Neal improved as a pass blocker in 2024, and after his big week at the Senior Bowl, there is really only one question left surrounding his evaluation: What exactly is his high-end speed? Neal has been training with XPE Sports for the past month in an effort to improve 40-yard dash time. 

Zebra’s on-field testing numbers tell an expected story, here. The tracking system had Neal’s top-end speed dead-last among this year’s Senior Bowl RBs—No. 12 out of 12. But Neal’s overall athleticism score was No. 7 out of 12 per Travis May’s metrics—because Neal finished No. 3 in max deceleration and No. 6 in max acceleration. 

Running with tempo is a big strength of Neal’s. And May’s metrics—due to the limitations of the Zebra system—cannot measure the violence and precision of Neal’s footwork.

Neal is a highly intriguing potential NFL starter who could be had on a discount in this stacked RB class. We believe he’ll ultimately land in Round 3. Neal best fits an outside-zone system.


Wide Receiver

Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)

Noel was an extremely productive slot receiver in the Big 12, catching 60-or-more passes each of his last three seasons on campus, culminating in a 80-1,194-8 line in 2024. He measured into the event at a shade under 5-foot-10 and 196 pounds. It was the last bad news he got in Alabama. 

Defensive backs had all kinds of issues staying with Noel’s lightning-quick feet in space during one-on-one drills. Noel’s best traits are his instant-acceleration and his body control. He attacks off the line with burst into his route, and his movements are controlled-by-a-joystick precise from there. 

In this way, Noel consistently creates separation. That’s always been a staple of his game. Where Noel has improved is his hands and his ability to finish plays in traffic. Noel slashed his drop rate from 10% in 2022 all the way to 4.8% this past season. He also converted 51% of his career 39 contested opportunities, a tremendous showing for his size.

The award for best receiver in Mobile was an extremely close call between Noel and TCU’s Jack Bech. I ultimately side with Noel’s play-in, play-out consistency over the entire week over Bech’s superior flash plays and moments. I also wanted to shout out Maryland’s Tai Felton, who opened eyes with the ease and haste with which he got downtown.

Noel is very likely to go on Day 2 in April. He profiles as a long-term starting NFL slot.

Tight End

Elijah Arroyo (Miami)

I struggled with Arroyo coming into the Senior Bowl. He’s a big slot who entered this past season with a mere 11 career receptions. And while Arroyo posted a career-best 35-590-7 receiving line in 2024, he finished only No. 5 on the team in receptions.

In order to provide value to an NFL team, Arroyo was going to need to be a skilled enough receiver at the next level to push a true slot receiver off the field. Was he good enough to do that?

In Mobile, Arroyo made the case that he was. Arroyo consistently gained separation, and—outside of one flubbed ball I saw on Tuesday when he beat his man but bobbled a nice bucket toss from Gabriel—caught everything in sight. Perhaps most importantly, Arroyo proved to be the best downfield receiving threat of the TE group.

Offensive Line

Grey Zabel (North Dakota State)

Zabel is coming off an utterly dominant week in which he was named the Senior Bowl’s top overall Practice Player-of-the-Week in a poll of NFL executives from all 32 teams. Per The 33rd Team, Zabel didn't lose a single rep in one-on-ones. That’s wildly impressive—one-on-one drills in postseason all-star events are tilted toward defenders.

Heading into the week, our biggest question with Zabel was what position would he play in the NFL? A transition to either guard or center had been bandied about for the collegiate OT. In Mobile, coaches played Zabel everywhere—at tackle, guard and center. The 6-foot-5, 316-pounder was dominant at each spot.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler summed things up this way: “[Zabel] was already in the top-50 mix, but now he’s knocking on the 1st-round door. Top center in the draft.” 

Amen to that.

Defensive Front Seven

EDGE Mike Green (Marshall)

By now, you have no doubt seen the viral moment of Green bulldozing Oregon OT Josh Conerly in last Wednesday’s practice. That was the exclamation-point on a torrid 48 hours in Mobile that put Green firmly on the Round 1 line. Green left the event prior to the last day of practices on Thursday having shown everything he needed to show.

Green is a sawed-off 6-foot-3, 251-pound edge rusher who lacks length. But he has eye-popping propulsion off the snap, immediately converting speed-to-power like a nuclear reactor, as Josh Connerly can now testify. 

Last year at Marshall, Green led the FBS with 17 sacks, and additionally piled up an astounding 51 quarterback pressures. Green’s furious first step sets the table for a cornucopia of pass-rushing moves—the dips, the spins, the humps, the chops. He takes the lead in a rep early, and, when you force your hand to stop him, Green uses your movement against you to win another way.

Green got plenty of pub this week. But I also want to shout out Notre Dame’s RJ Oben, who had a far better week than he is being given credit for. 

Along the interior defensive line, Walter Nolen (Ole Miss) and Darius Alexander (Toledo) each caught my eye. Nolen dominated one-on-one reps. It was also a big stock-up week for the toolsy Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M), who profiles as a 3-4 or 4-3 DE. 

Secondary

Louisville CB Quincy Riley

An undersized, feisty corner who measured in at 5-foot-10⅜, 192 pounds, Riley was a defender I was keeping an eye on in hopes of answering why he took a step back on the field in 2024. 

In 2022 and 2023, respectively, Riley posted QB ratings against on targets of 23.4 and 37.2. In 2024, that number spiked to 73.5—Riley surrendered nearly as many receiving yards in 2024 as he had the two previous seasons combined.

But in Mobile, Riley looked like the vintage version of himself. A burner with reported 4.3 wheels and slick feet, receivers were having all kinds of difficulty shaking Riley in one-on-one drills. My only nitpick? Riley put himself in position for multiple interceptions but dropped at least two that I saw.

Riley is a man-coverage corner who has a slick feel for snapping his head back to the ball and getting his hands up. He hasn’t shown as good a feel for zone coverage in his career, but Riley will appeal to teams looking for corners who can be isolated on islands in single-coverage.


2025 NFL Draft Stock Fallers After Senior Bowl

Quarterback

Jalen Milroe (Alabama)

Milroe entered the process as this year’s Anthony Richardson—a lethal running threat with a huge arm, but extremely raw as a thrower and desperately in need of further development. With a big pre-draft process, Milroe could have rallied into the top-10 as Richardson once did.

After what we saw in Mobile last week, I believe that ship has sailed. Milroe struggled mightily at the Senior Bowl—his accuracy was all over the place, he was late to make decisions, and he put the ball in harm’s way. Perhaps most damningly, we didn’t really get to see his all-world physical tools. 

Milroe is going to salvage some of his tumbling draft stock at the NFL Combine, where he is expected to run in the 4.3s at 220-plus pounds. But coming out of this week, he looks more like a Round 3 Malik Willis-like dart throw than a top-10 pick you bet your franchise on.


Running Back

Donovan Edwards (Michigan)

Edwards entered last week with a reputation for having a bigger name than game, thanks in part to his appearance on the cover of the wildly popular College Football 2025 game. He failed to flip that narrative at the Senior Bowl—if anything, Edwards further solidified it.

Edwards doesn’t run with much power, and he doesn’t make defenders miss. The past two years, Edwards posted elusive ratings of 35.9 and 45.0, two of the worst marks you’ll see in this class. He’s a one-cut runner who runs upright. But his game lacks the decisiveness and creativity you’d prefer from that style. His tape is littered with missed opportunities, running into the backs of his offensive linemen and missing holes.

Edwards showed precious little as a runner this week. Honestly, that wasn’t a surprise, based both on track record, and the way these postseason All-Star exhibitions don’t provide as many full-speed reps between the tackles. 

But Edwards looked sluggish during drills, and he showed very little as a receiver, as well. Per Travis May’s On-Field Athleticism Score, Edwards was one of the two least-athletic backs in Mobile (along with Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon).

Due to Edwards’ ineffectiveness as a pass blocker, and his issues sensing opportunities as a runner, that is problematic. Edwards needs to be a receiving specialist at the next level in order to stick. If Edwards does not have a strong NFL Combine, he’s in jeopardy of going undrafted.

Wide Receiver

Xavier Restrepo (Miami)

Coming into this event, I ranked Restrepo No. 5 among Senior Bowl wide receivers—immediately ahead of Noel and Bech. I’d like a mulligan on that one.

Restrepo failed to impress at the Senior Bowl. Frankly, that’s a bit surprising. Restrepo isn’t an elite athlete, but, on film he displays slick route-running chops. That should have been enough to carry the day in the always-anticipated WR vs. DB one-on-ones at Senior Bowl practices. 

Restrepo’s routes were not nearly as sharp in Mobile. Defensive backs were not fooled by his feet. Instead of winning separation, Restrepo was often crowded along his route path and contested at the catch point. 

Because we know that Restrepo isn’t going to excel in athletic testing at the NFL Combine, this was a particularly concerning start to his pre-draft process—the Senior Bowl was supposed to be the event suited to Restrepo’s game and skills.

Tight End

Harold Fannin Jr. (Bowling Green)

I hate to have to list Fannin here—there just isn’t another option. Arroyo and Mason Taylor (LSU) both had tremendous weeks, and Jackson Hawes (Georgia Tech) and Moliki Matavao (UCLA) each acquitted themselves fine as the inline blocking specialists that they will each be at the next level.

That leaves Fannin, who didn’t have a bad week—he just didn’t have the difference-making showing that many were hoping for from the FBS’ all-time single-season receiving leader at the tight end position. Fannin had a couple of drops, including a flub over the middle on a heat-ring fastball from Canadian QB Taylor Elgersma.

On the field, Fannin did not appear to be moving particularly well. But that observation was directly contradicted by the Zebra Tracking System. Fannin posted the fourth-best max speed of any Senior Bowl TE since 2018. Meanwhile, he posted a perfect 10 on May’s combined athleticism score—in other words, the tight end with the best on-field tracking data since the Senior Bowl introduced the system. Fannin is an unorthodox mover, one possible explanation for the ease with which he gains separation.

Last season, Fannin set FBS records for a tight end in both receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,550). He also set three different PFF-Era records: yards after contact (868), missed tackles forced (32), and receiving grade (96.5). For his career, Fannin dropped only 2.2% of his catchable targets, an incredible number for the volume of targets he received.

Fannin’s career 2.99 YPRR number is more than a half-yard higher than any other tight end in this class. He flashed his skills in traffic in 2024, catching 54.5% of contested balls. Yes, he’s undersized. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Fannin is essentially the same size as Evan Engram. 

Like Engram, Fannin will be heavily used out of the slot in the pros. In college, Fannin lined up everywhere, shifting into the backfield, lining up out wide, and taking inline snaps. Bowling Green pounded Fannin with targets short and intermediate to leverage his after-the-catch skills. He outruns linebackers, and safeties need help getting him to the ground. 

Fannin is a zone-coverage killer who posted an outrageous 4.4 YPRR against zone last year. He’s also a threat up the seam. He uses his body well downfield, and he’s shown a natural ability for tracking balls over his shoulder. 

When I spoke to Fannin at the Senior Bowl, he told me that he comped his game to Isaiah Likely. It was the most astute player comp that any prospect gave me in Mobile. Fannin is exactly right—he profiles as a Likely-like player in the NFL. Fannin is going to provide a 12-personnel offense with a skilled receiving weapon. He’s likely to hear his name called on Day 2 in April.

Offensive Line

Wyatt Milum (West Virginia)

Just like Zabel, Millum measured into the Senior Bowl with a wingspan beneath 32¾. On both accounts, the lack of length was expected, leading to speculation that both of these stellar collegiate offensive tackles would be moved inside at the next level.

But whereas Zabel put on a show at the Senior Bowl when deployed at guard and center, Milum floundered throughout the week. Milum has the frame and feet for the outside, but he lacks the reach. In Mobile, troublingly, Milum struggled with leverage and play-strength against interior defensive linemen, getting bullied backward.

Milum has a shot to reverse his falling stock at the NFL Combine. But here is the question evaluators are now asking about him: Is Milum a starting-caliber NFL guard with break-glass-in-case-of-emergency OT utility, or is he a Quadruple-A player who lacks the length for the outside and the sand-in-his-pants play strength for the inside?

Defensive Front Seven

iDL Deone Walker (Kentucky)

Meet one of the most befuddling defenders in this year’s class. On Walker’s best reps, he looks like a perennial Pro Bowler. On his worst reps, he looks like he should hang up his cleats. The difference between the two mostly comes down to one simple thing: Leverage.

The 6-foot-7¼, 340-pounder has a really bad habit of popping up at the snap. When Walker does that, he invites the offensive lineman across from him right into an enormous target to neutralize. Since 1999, there have been only 24 defenders who have gone to the NFL Combine measuring taller than 6-foot-7. Of them, only Daniel McCullers weighed in over 320 pounds. McCullers played seven seasons in the NFL, but started only three games total.

On reps where Walker fires low, he is a nearly unblockable force. Evaluators in Mobile wanted to see more of that from Walker. They instead witnessed a mixed-bag that was eerily reminiscent of Walker’s tape itself—a sizzling flash rep interspersed with several eliminated-myself-right-after-the-snap pop-ups.

Coming off a 7.5-sack season in 2023, Walker entered 2024 as a consensus Round 1 prospect. After an up-and-down, injury-plagued 2024 in which Walker posted only 1.5 sacks, he entered the draft process as an early Round 2 prospect. 

Walker has a big opportunity at the NFL Combine later this month. With a big week, he can halt his falling stock and bank upon being a top-50 pick. If Walker underwhelms in testing, however, it is not out of the question that he could fall another round into the latter-half of Day 2.