The 2025 NFL Draft is imminent, and this year’s class of prospects is particularly intriguing. There’s consensus about the top two prospects—Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter—but this pool of talent doesn’t have many superstars. There are also expectations of several Round 1 reaches, including some of the most overrated NFL Draft prospects in 2025.
Naturally, quarterbacks are always catapulted up draft boards because of their positional value. Cam Ward isn’t a generational talent, but the Tennessee Titans will pick him first overall. Likewise, this year’s talent pool at wide receiver is thinner than usual but teams will still reach for potential playmakers.
With that in mind, let’s dive into our list of the most overrated NFL Draft prospects this year.
Tetairoa McMillan, wide receiver, Arizona
As previously mentioned, the 2025 NFL Draft class is particularly weak at wide receiver. Arizona Wildcats wideout Tetairoa McMillan is the consensus WR1, but he probably would’ve been the fifth-best wideout in the class a year ago. Now, thanks to teams near the top of the order who are desperate for pass-catchers, McMillan has a viable chance to be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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McMillan offers great size at 6-foot-4 with ball skills and a catch radius that you often find in No. 1 receivers. While he’s been knocked for the video interview where he revealed he doesn’t watch film on his own, that came during his freshman year when he was a teenager. However, he lacks high-end long speed and he doesn’t do a great job of creating separation. He also really struggled against press-man coverage in college. McMillan can still be a great 1B receiver, but he probably won’t return the value if he’s made a top-10 pick.
James Pearce Jr, edge rusher, Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers edge rusher James Pearce Jr. entered the season viewed as a potential top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. With eye-popping athleticism and a quick first step, the hope was that he would build off his breakout 2023 campaign (15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks). Instead, he disappointed (7.5) sacks) and inflicted significant damage to his draft value.
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We’ll start with the first knock on Pearce as he heads into the NFL. He’s a very poor run defender thanks to a thin frame, below-average strength and poor technique, which will immediately limit how much he plays as a rookie. Second, while he is an explosive athlete, speed is the only real tool in his arsenal that he can win with. If using speed to power doesn’t work, with just average flexibility, he can get washed out of the play. There’s an upside because of his athleticism, but Pearce has the profile of someone who could just be a situational rusher.
Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State
Cam Skattebo earned first-team All-American honors this past season after carrying the Arizona State Sun Devils offense down the stretch to the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old running back feels destined never to come close to making the impact in the NFL that he did in college.
Related: 2 round 2025 NFL Draft mock
In a 2025 NFL Draft class that is loaded at the running back position, with potentially three first-round talents, Skattebo becomes even less appealing. He’s not a particularly explosive athlete, at least by NFL standards, with below-average straight-line speed and initial burst. He’s also had major issues holding onto the football – 10 career fumbles -and he’s not particularly great as a pass-catcher. He does bring a brutal physicality as a runner, which can make him a very effective short-yardage back, but that also makes him a durability risk. Ultimately, Skattebo just feels like a 1B in a committee and that’s not worth a second-round pick.
Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Following the 2024 college football season, quarterback Jaxson Dart was viewed as a consensus Day 2 talent. Thanks to the pre-draft process and utter desperation for quarterback-needy teams, there now seems to be a very real shot of Dart being taken in Round 1. If that forces him into the starting lineup as a rookie, it will be a colossal mistake by the general manager picking him.
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Standing at 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, Dart provides the size and athleticism you want at quarterback. He’s also a three-year starter with the arm strength to make throws at every level of the field. When everything is right, he looks great. The problem is that the Ole Miss offense doesn’t translate whatsoever to the NFL. For Dart, a quarterback who really struggled when his first read was taken away, the transition to the NFL will be rough.
Considering that he’s a three-year starter, it’s a bit alarming that Dart still experiences this much trouble when he is either pressured or the defense takes away his primary read. That concern is even putting aside that his footwork needs to be addressed and it requires some effort to make downfield throws. Dart shouldn’t see the field in 2025 and even if he’s brought along slowly, there’s not enough upside for him to be a top-14 QB.
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders is one of the most overrated NFL Draft prospects in 2025 because of where he’ll be drafted. The league-wide expectation is that he’ll be a top-10 pick and that’s a massive investment to make in a quarterback whose highest ceiling might be Geno Smith with a realistic floor of becoming a better version of Jimmy Garoppolo.
Related: Growing speculation about a draft-day slide for Shedeur Sanders
The biggest knock on Sanders is his lack of high-end physical tools. He’s a below-average athlete in comparison to most modern NFL quarterbacks and his arm strength could be classified as slightly above average. Without the high-end physical tools to make a lot of plays on his own, Sanders will be dependent on the system he’s playing in and the supporting cast around him.
He’s still absolutely a starting-caliber quarterback at the next level. Sanders’ toughness, experience and accuracy are excellent. He also throws with good anticipation and is willing to drive through throws even when he’s about to get hit. However, he took an alarming amount of sacks in college and held onto the football too long. Those issues, paired with the physical limitations, give him the ceiling of an above-average starter.
