Underrated NFL Draft Prospects: 5 Sneaky Rookie Studs For 2025

April 12, 2025

John's analysis on five underrated standout rookie prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. His top sneaky stud rookie prospects to watch for the 2025 NFL Draft.

It shouldn't come as any surprise to fantasy football managers that, like them, actual NFL teams are looking to find as many steals as possible in the 2025 NFL Draft, as they do every season. Finding players that vastly outperform what's expected of the average player at their position and draft spot has an immediate and lasting impact on their success.

Players like Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, one of the league's best wide receivers, allow teams to make up for a lack of early draft picks or turn what would be a good draft into a historically great one. Nacua's performance easily made up for the Rams' lack of a first-round pick in 2023, and has been a key driving factor in the team's playoff appearances.

Nacua is an extreme example, but it illustrates how impactful a player that all but a handful of, or even none of, the teams are willing to draft near what value they actually present. For whatever reason, additionally, sometimes teams have doubts about players that are unfounded or aren't able to evaluate their upside accurately. We can dig up some of those players, so let's dive in!

Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse

Typically, teams don't want to depend on backup quarterbacks running the show, but sometimes it happens. The most important thing for backups to do is not screw it up, and one of the best ways to stop negative plays from happening is to be good at evading sacks. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord is a pretty good processor at his position.

Kyle McCord has a lot of similarities to Dak Prescott in a few ways..

- Aggressive decision maker
- Very accurate
- Get’s the ball out of his hands quickly
- Not overly mobile but light footed and can make plays out of structure
- Has a B+ arm#Cowboyspic.twitter.com/HO1z4G7qRf

— Kris (Cowboys Beat) (@CowboysBeat) March 24, 2025

As the above X post states, he's accurate and doesn't tend to hang onto the ball for too long. QBs who don't throw the ball as early as they need to tend to kill their teams' offenses completely. It's very rare that a sleeper QB pick turns into a starter, and I'm not advocating that McCord will become one, but he could end up as a solid backup for over a decade moving forward, and that's worth a mid- to late-round draft pick.

Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon

Johnson is stylistically and analytically very similar to Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell, though his size is even more diminutive. Still, he has the separation chops to immediately contribute to any passing offense, with nice speed and elusiveness after the catch. He's lightning quick in many scenarios, which will help him consistently pick up first downs with the ball in his hands.

A lot of WRs have to plant a foot hard in the ground to create separation. But some are able to burn you with zero tells because they're able to curve their trajectory without any hard cuts while maintaining speed. Johnson has a hugely impressive suite of separation skills pic.twitter.com/YI4Z2egy7z

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025

Johnson's small size comes in handy, just like Dell's does, at being more nimble than defensive backs can be. His small size will bring serious injury concerns, but Dell's injury issues were freak accidents. It's possible for smaller wide receivers, like Philadelphia Eagles wideout DeVonta Smith, to stay mostly healthy despite the hits they take.

I feel that the mental aspect of football is poorly understood. There are a million things that can go wrong every play. You want someone like Tez Johnson to not even blink. Crazy one-handed catch and IMMEDIATELY puts a move on a defender when landing. Crazy awareness. pic.twitter.com/KI8vSVzM5y

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025

Johnson combines a very high football IQ with his impressive physical skill set. He's a great sleeper.

Jarquez Hunter, RB, Auburn

It's odd that a highly productive SEC running back is flying a bit under the radar this season. He's 5-foot-9 and 203 pounds (combined measurements), so it makes some sense, but he rushed 187 times for 1,201 yards (6.4 yards per carry), scored eight rushing touchdowns, and caught 21 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown.

Career Explosive Run rates from 2025 RBs

RJ Harvey: 21%
Jarquez Hunter: 18.9%
Cam Skattebo/Bhayshul Tuten: 18%
Marcus Yarns: 17.9%
Damien Martinez: 17.8% pic.twitter.com/oHfAbvtUlI

— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) February 20, 2025

The most impressive part of Hunter's game is his elusiveness, though his 4.44-second 40-yard dash was also intriguing. The film is pretty, pretty good as well, and he was an explosive play machine, only outdone by UCF RB RJ Harvey, someone I consider a top-3 running back in the class, in big play generation.

Jarquez Hunter among the elites (in terms of tackle-breaking ability) from the past 3 RB classes.

A lot of my favorite later-round RBs landing in that top quadrant (Hunter, Harvey, Tuten, Skattebo) https://t.co/aKvOePbyXO pic.twitter.com/n5dclLhdBb

— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) March 25, 2025

His tape is littered with example after example of him being very, very tough to get on the ground. Despite his smallish frame, he has the strength to stay upright while tacklers fall off of him if they take poor angles, and he has a pretty nice stiff arm. He doesn't have a lot of pass-catching upside, so he might not get a big role right away, but he could be a nice RB2 or RB1B option on quite a few teams.

“I think Jarquez Hunter is special. He’s probably the best running back I've ever coached.” — Hugh Freeze #wde pic.twitter.com/YsYMRSzMdS

— Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) August 18, 2023

Hunter's efficiency against such good competition alone should be a green flag. He's yet another back I'd take over Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson, who's likely to be a massive bust. Hunter is somewhat similar to Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, but a bit less elusive with the ball in his hands, a bit bigger, and a bit faster. That's a solid player to have on your roster.

Mike Green, DE, Marshall

This year's pass rushers are a very, very deep group, just like the running backs. Defensive end Mike Green put up great statistical production, backing it up with excellent film, so, oddly, he's not regarded higher than he currently is. He should gain an immediate role with significant snaps and has the talent to develop into a future Pro Bowl player.

Mike Green up against 320 pounds pic.twitter.com/7Mg8afcGqd

— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) March 19, 2025

Green's set of pass-rush moves is pretty impressive for a player of his size, and his strength will allow him to maintain playing time and generate pressures while developing his spin moves, swipes, bend, and other skills. Green logged 17 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2024, showing massive development after gathering just 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble the year before.

Mike Green (15) off the right edge. Whew

pic.twitter.com/rqjarYmakM

— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) March 26, 2025

He's already put plenty of elite reps on tape. A shot on him late in the first round wouldn't be too much of a reach, though there are plenty of pass rush prospects that went to bigger schools and seem to be garnering more attention. Green is one of the best defensive prospects in this class, though the NFL doesn't seem to view him this way. So, he should be a steal.

Shaun Dolac, LB, Buffalo

Walking in the footsteps of former Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack (well, sort of), Shaun Dolac is a highly talented Swiss-army-knife of a player who lined up often at the line of scrimmage, in the defensive backfield, and in pass coverage. His size is a bit concerning, but his play certainly isn't.

The best LB in the draft.. Buffalo LB Shaun Dolac
pic.twitter.com/rlZ7fkL4UP

— Adam Carter (@SmartfootbalI) March 29, 2025

Dolac was statistically dominant, leading his conference in many categories, which is impressive. He was an All-American as well. His smaller size will likely be an issue at the next level, but he could carve out a nice rotational role. Good defenses typically put together packages and call plays based on their players' strengths and to cover for their weaknesses, anyway.

Buffalo LB Shaun Dolac didn't receive an invite to the combine. BUT....

He led the MAC in the following categories:

Solo tackles (82)
Assisted Tackles (86)
TFLs (19)
INTs (5)
INT yards (177) https://t.co/VXn8X1O6Je

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) February 22, 2025

Dolac plays with a high football IQ and should punish offenses for missing their blocking assignments. He doesn't match up well with offensive linemen in the run game, but for where he'll be drafted, any production out of him for a few seasons would be a positive.

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