The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here, and Yahoo Sports experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald are breaking down the top prospects position by position. Here are the quarterbacks. Check out Nate and Charles’ consensus big board here, along with Nate’s final big board and Charles’ final big board.
Other prospect rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Edges | CBs
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1. Mason Graham, Michigan
2. Derrick Harmon, Oregon
3. Kenneth Grant, Michigan
4. Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
5. Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
Here are the top five interior defensive line prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)
1. Mason Graham, Michigan
Nate Tice: The human hand grenade, Graham is constantly exploding off the ball and creating havoc in the middle of an offense. Graham’s excellent first step, quick hands, balance and strength will get him in the backfield in the blink of an eye, letting him end plays or force them to go off script, right after the snap.
Graham lacks ideal arm length (32 inches) and weighed in at 298 pounds at the combine, 20 pounds lower than his listed weight at Michigan. Neither are exactly dealbreakers, considering Graham’s strength and ability to be disruptive, but that lack of length and bulk do show up with his lack of consistency in holding up against double-teams and longer and stronger guards in college.
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Having said that, Graham was still an explosive play machine for Michigan in 2023 and for flashes in 2024, even though he did battle an injury for most of the season. Graham would be best if he was allowed to fire off the ball in a four-down defense operating primarily as a 3-technique with the ability to move across the defense on passing downs and in different fronts because of his athleticism and how dangerous he is on defensive stunts and twists.
Charles McDonald: Graham spent a good chunk of last season playing through injury, but when he is on he is a true difference-maker on the interior. Speed, power, technique — Graham has it all and when he was healthy in 2023 he looked poised to be potentially the first overall pick this year.
Graham won’t be going that high in this year’s class, but he has everything teams are looking for in a true penetrating game wrecker on the interior of a defense.
2. Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Charles McDonald: An ox is the perfect way to describe Harmon’s approach to the game. He is here to beat the hell out of offensive linemen and stuff the run, while also being a quality pass rusher from the interior.
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Harmon showed off his athleticism at the combine, running a 4.95 40-yard dash at 313 pounds. He’s a load on the interior and checks a lot of boxes for a team looking for a plugger who can start right away.
Nate Tice: Harmon transferred from Michigan State and made a big impact on Oregon’s line in 2024. He aligned across the defensive line for the Ducks and is a strong defender against both the run and pass.
It’s Harmon’s ability to impact the game in different ways, and on every down, that makes me like him so much. He has the size to play in the interior, with the strength to two-gap and enough explosive athleticism to create edginess along the offensive line when asked to slant across a lineman’s face or shoot the gap. Harmon has the foot speed and balance to be a rusher as a looper and can stay on the field for all four downs because he is an overall viable pass rusher. He even has winning snaps from a wide-end position, but mostly wins with his strength and burst.
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Harmon’s ability to contribute in so many ways and on every down makes him a fit on any type of defense.
3. Kenneth Grant, Michigan
Nate Tice: Mason Graham is sitting higher on the board, but Grant was a talented player in his own right on Michigan’s front.
Grant won’t always fill up the box score with his play, but he’s a 330-plus-pound nose tackle who can devour blockers with his size and strength, but has light feet and plenty of quickness to do more than just push the pocket or lean into the block.
Grant is squarely built with a big trunk but isn’t a total plodder. He plays with the agility to retrace on screens and chase down plays down the field, too. He wasn’t consistently productive at Michigan, but there are real stretches of games where Grant dominated (ask USC and Ohio State). Grant is an intriguing combination of size and athleticism, with enough good film to make talent evaluators optimistic that he is starting to just come together as a player.
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Charles McDonald: Grant was the perfect running mate for Mason Graham. Where Graham was more of a penetrator, Grant is just a big old wall on the line of scrimmage. He’s very tough to move and has surprising burst for a player his size, which allows him to contribute as a pass rusher occasionally.
For teams looking to improve their run defense in one move, Grant’s your guy. He’s got big-time ability and a high floor.
4. Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
Charles McDonald: Nolen had a quality year for Ole Miss as a transfer defensive lineman, notching 6.5 sacks and looking like a credible interior penetrator for good chunks of the season. He has work to do with consistency defending the run, but he’ll be able to get up the field in a hurry for his new team.
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Nate Tice: A part of the Rebels’ tenacious front, Nolen has finally started to hone his talent into more consistent play after transferring to Oxford from Texas A&M. Nolen is a very good athlete whose explosion, balance and bend stand out. He is consistently able to keep his feet while working through and shedding blocks and is a true weapon on defensive line twists and games.
Nolen can get out of position too frequently, making him a non-factor on plays where he doesn’t gain advantage right away and — he’s still inconsistent in diagnosing blocks. Nolen remains an intriguing combination of athleticism and size who’s hard to find, and could be a fun project for a team with a strong defensive line coach to maximize his bundle of tools.
5. Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
Nate Tice: Williams was a monster in the middle for Ohio State’s defense. He has very good size (334 pounds at the combine) and is a strong run defender who seldom gets put out of position by the blocker.
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Williams is a quick mover for his size. He is valuable on defensive line games and twists, and can loop around the edge and get in the backfield at a quicker pace than most players with his frame. That quickness also applies to his hands. He is an active pass rusher who really works and will also get his hands up when quarterbacks look to throw quickly.
Players with size and skill on the interior like Williams will grow on every evaluator.
Charles McDonald: Williams is a big, athletic defensive tackle whose primary job in the NFL will be plugging the run and freeing up plays for his linebackers. Williams won’t be a true pass-rush threat in the NFL, but he can at least help his team get to pass-rush downs.
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