2025 NFL Draft Preview: Defensive Linemen Part One (Mason Graham, Mykel Williams, Deone Walker)

all right everybody good afternoon and welcome back we've got some more 2025 NFL draft stuff to talk about we've got some more prospects to take a quick look at here just trying to vaguely familiarize ourselves with some of the top players in the 2025 draft again I know that we are way ahead of schedule here I know this is not going to be for everybody but I know it is for somebody and I want to go ahead and put this out there for those somebody so we did the offense we covered all the positions on offense so now we're going to take a look at the defense we're going to take a look at the mock draft database see what they think about the defensive line in particular and obviously when you're talking about defensive linemen there's a wide variety of different things that you could be discussing so not all these players are going to fit in the same mold but we're going to do the best that we can to explain the different molds that they do come from so defensive line on the level is quite possibly the strongest position in this draft and it is also the position that the Seahawks are least likely maybe to actually address in the draft other than maybe cornerback so when you spend your first round pick this year on Byron Murphy and you've got the big investment into Leonard Williams don't forget about Draymond Jones by the way he's still kind of involved there it's hard to it's hard to imagine spending a first round pick or any top pick on another defensive lineman unless you view them in a very specific role right like maybe you'd want a nose tackle somebody who you think can take up a lot of space in the middle maybe you'd want a guy who you think is going to be an edge player like a big Edge like uh jvon Clowny type but on the surface this is not really a position the Seahawks are likely to be needy at but it is a position that we need to talk talk about because it's pretty good this year this should be a really good year for college defensive lineman just take a look at what the database currently has you can see the top three guys are guys they have in the top 12 they have one guy at three they have one guy at 11 and one guy at 12 and those are the three guys we're going to be talking about in this video and there's going to be another video at some point I don't know when exactly in the next day or two likely that I talk about the next three guys because they are also given first round grades as of this moment K Williams of Ohio State Kenneth Grant and Landon Jackson so there is a lot going on here that's six guys they have in the first round and three of those guys are the like certified blue chippers the gold star 100% slap a stamp on it and send it in going to help completely alter a franchise by the way interestingly enough the current mock draft database projection has Walker going to Seattle they have Seattle at 11th overall by the way which um I would really hope that's not the case but just worth noting while we're here okay so let's start with the Mason Graham he's the top guy currently projected number three overall from the Michigan Wolverines um not big stats yet but this is a very very good player he doesn't put up big numbers because Michigan is Michigan and they spread the numbers out really evenly among their various players excuse me so you're not going to see a guy like a Mason Graham have like 15 sacks that's just not going to happen but he's extremely strong and holding up against the run very strong in the middle really good at holding his ground he bullies most linemen he goes up against he just pushes them back and drives them into the back field over and over again he uses his hands with great violence one of the big reasons why he gets so much push into the back field is that his hands are so violent he handles double teams extremely well really good at holding his ground against double teams splitting them forcing them to do difficult things to hold him back he consistently draws those those double teams by the way he's got a great stack and shed game he's really good at getting engaged with a lineman and then getting the lineman off of him so his ability to shed blockers is well ahead of what you see from most college linemen great first step quickness as well and he's got a variety of pass rush moves so he's a winning player against the pass as well so however you want to use him he's going to contribute great against the Run great against the pass the main issues the main concerns would be he's got short arms and against some linemen especially in the NFL that have longer arms he's going to be at a disadvantage that's going to be a problem so if you're looking for something to criticize it would be that he's not a great athlete he's he's not one of these guys who's going to go destroy the combine I think he's not somebody who's going to go out there and run like a four 540 and make everyone freak out about how this 300 pounder ran this insane 40 time and jumped out of the building and he's probably ultimately going to play three Tech in the NFL um looking at him in college he looks a little more versatile than that but I think that when Mason Graham gets into the NFL he will end up as a three Tech that will allow him to get around some of his minor weaknesses as a player and embrace the things that make him great but looking to have a big year for Michigan this year s and a half tackles for lost last year three sacks should build on that he's not going to put up monster numbers in all likelihood because that's not how Michigan's defense works but he's going to be really good okay so that's the top guy that is the clear top dog right now for defensive lineman pretty much guaranteed to go in the top 10 unless this year goes very poorly so our next guy is a little bit of a step down but not a big one it's Michel Williams of the Georgia Bulldogs another really intriguing Georgia defensive lineman so Michel Williams if you take a look at his career so far Georgia again not huge numbers but he's been consistently good for the last two seasons for Georgia six and a half tackles for loss four and a half sacks and I mean he's part of that great Georgia defense you got to give him credit there he's an excellent athlete and Michel Williams is such a good athlete I don't even know what he's going to do in the NFL uh he's like 265 right now 270 so he could add a little bit of weight and become like a big Edge or an undersized interior defensive lineman sl3 Tech he could drop weight and become like a pure Edge rusher I mean if you look at the way George has used him so far he's lined up everywhere he lined up at zero Tech he lined up on the edge he lined up everywhere in the middle he may have to pick a path in the NFL but he could pick his path almost any direction he wants to so Michel Williams by the end of the year we might be looking at him as an edge it really depends on how he plays this season Big Time arm length he's got very long arms he's really good at shooting gaps when he plays on the interior so Gap shooting and making plays in the back field is the name of the game here he's strong enough to hold the edge at the very least um he's got strong hands that he knows how to use really well he uses his hands very well to push people around generate a lot of push on initial contact he's a great mover in space really really great athlete here that's something that stands out with him more so than even his production so far he does lose the leverage game he plays standing straight up which is a classic issue with most of these college uh linemen on both sides of the ball doesn't really have pass rush moves yet he's just kind of a speed guy right now he's somebody who wins on his athletic ability I'm not seeing a ton of nuance from his pass rush set yet but that'll come and honestly when I look at Michel Williams I know that the mock draft database has him listed as a defensive lineman but I do wonder if his Destiny is to slim down a little bit and play on the edge fulltime in the NFL because he does give ground against the run when you get a Blocker on him he is somebody who will get pushed back a little bit and I I kind of feel like I know where this is going maybe he'll end up as like a five tech but I think he ends up on the outside best guess right now would be that but we'll see what happens this season all right so that's Michel Williams now let's get to the guy that the database currently has going to the Seahawks at number 12 um overall on the board and number 11th overall in the draft again really hoping that doesn't happen but I guess it's always possible and if we got this guy I might not be so angry about it Deon Walker or Dion Walker of Kentucky um this is a really fun and unique player honestly and he's not all the way where he needs to be yet but there is something very appealing to me about Dion Walker and I like him a lot so the thing that stands out about Walker would be his size he is a full-blown nose tackle in size he is 350 lb 6'6 so he is every bit the zero Tech in size but that's not how he plays he had seven and a half sacks last year 12 and a half tackles for loss no tackles typically do not do that he is a remarkable athlete for a 350lb man he moves incredibly well for a guy who weighs that much his first step quickness into the back field is deadly his ability to change direction in the open field and Chase plays down is you don't see this very often you see this once every five years maybe a player this big that can move like this so there is immense potential here he knows how to use his hands really well really good with his hands when he's engaged with lineman he has genuine pass rush moves that he can throw it lineman as well he's not going to just win on strength not going to just win on speed he has actual pass rush moves he he has Bend man he he can B he can like bend the corner around a blocker to get to the quarterback it it's crazy what he can do I've seen players 100 pounds lighter than him that don't have Bend like this guy does now the reason why that's the case and he's not like the number one overall pick would be as of right now he plays exposing too much of his chest doesn't understand leverage needs to sink his hips and even though he's big he's not really that strong yet and he will get pushed around a little bit against the Run he struggles to hold up against the Run he will need to add some strength to complete his game and be able to actually excel at an NFL level or it could be another like seak eeka situation where seak EA was a really big really athletic guy but he couldn't hold his ground so it was like like what what's the interest in a nose tackle he looks like a nose tackle but he needs to be able to play like one at least somewhat and he didn't and right now Walker doesn't either so I'm looking at Walker and I'm going if you put it all together this year you might be like a top 10 pick this could be one of those very rare nose tackle situations where they look at him as like a nose tackle sl3 Tech that is really good in both areas but only if it comes together if not then I think he's still a really good player you could play him is like an oversized three Tech but I want to see that last part of his game come in here if at all possible all right so those are the top three defensive linemen in this draft so far Graham Williams Walker really good class like I said another video coming later we'll talk about these three guys that are also considered first rounders just a little bit of a lesser grade but we got to talk about them as well and we will I'll see you guys later go Hawks let me know what you think about these three let me know how you feel about this defensive line group in this draft see you