Hottest 2025 NFL Draft risers through five weeks of college football

Which names are shooting up draft boards?

Michigan running back Kalel Mullings (20) warms up before the USC game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now that we are five weeks into the college football season, we have seen some 2025 NFL Draft prospects blast onto the scenes like Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and another Michigan running back in Kalel Mullings.

The class is full of plenty of other risers, however, and that is what we need to get to the bottom of. It is still early in the season and area scouts are still taking notes as most Power Four schools are just now getting into conference play. This, however, does not mean those who have jumped onto the scene do not deserve to be recognized.

So who has put their name on the map the most so far to start the season? Let's take a look at a handful of prospects who continue to increase their 2025 NFL Draft stock through the first quarter of the season.

QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama

There is not a hotter name at the quarterback position in this draft class than Jalen Milroe right now. That is largely due to his stellar showing against Georgia in their massive Week 5 win. In a dwindling quarterback class, Milroe can continue to climb if his play continues to shine through SEC play.

His deep ball needs work and his arm is a bit stiff, which limits his ability to create windows with arm angles, but Milroe can flat out generate RPMs on the football when he lets it rip. His eyes passed every test that Georgia threw at him as well in this game. That is the most impressive part.

Then you add on that he can run a borderline 4.3 40-yard dash as Nick Saban has professed he was the fastest player on the 2023 Crimson Tide, and Milroe has the chance to become an absolute threat at the next level when pressure breaks down the pocket around him. He can take the hits too; Milroe is in the body of a running back.

Keep an eye on him as the Crimson Tide work through SEC play and toward a National Championship.

RB Kalel Mullings, Michigan

A converted linebacker, Kalel Mullings is finally getting the chance to be the lead back after the graduation of Blake Corum. And he is not disappointing while Donovan Edwards failed to take a stranglehold on the job.

Michigan is anemic through the air right now, and Mullings is single-handedly carrying them to points in the early part of their season. Already up to 540 yards and six touchdowns on 77 carries, Mullings looks like the next back in a long line of Wolverine ball carriers to head to the NFL level. He has now hit three games in a row of over 100 yards rushing, and Michigan does not beat either USC or Minnesota without him.

Make no mistake, this guy is on the NFL radar in his first season as the lead back in Ann Arbor.

Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson (2) runs to the end zone, scoring against Iowa State during the Cy-Hawk game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

RB Kaleb Johnson, Iowa

Another Big 10 running back, Iowa's Kaleb Johnson is also carrying a football team that cannot seem to get it going through the air (what is new there?).

Through four games, Johnson has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in each of them, including hitting 187 in their rivalry game against Iowa State and 206 against their Big 10 foe Minnesota. If it weren't for Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, Johnson would be getting more Heisman chatter for already hitting nearly 700 yards rushing and nine touchdowns in just four games.

He still looks to bounce the football wide more than desired, but you can tell he is re-prgramming his brain in real time. Johnson is a real threat to take the football the distance every time he touches it and could play his way into Day 2 conversations.

WR Tai Felton, Maryland

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds, Maryland's Tai Felton can flat-out fly. Through five games, including three against Power Four opponents, Felton has racked up 637 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 46 catches already. He is on pace for a season of over 100 catches and 1200 yards for the Terrapins.

He provides alignment versatility, playing 35 percent of his snaps in the slot and 65 percent out wide, and has amassed a chunk of yards after the catch as well with 337 yards being YAC. And the best part? He has not dropped a pass all season long.

As he gets into Big 10 play, Felton will have the eyes of scouts on him. And if he can continue to dominate against the top teams in his conference, Felton may just play himself into top-32 consideration.

OT Cameron Williams, Texas

A first-year starter, true junior big man Cameron Williams has burst onto the scenes in Austin, Texas. He is listed at a massive 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds as he mans the right tackle station for the Longhorns and has been an absolute stalwart of a pass protector.

On the season, Williams has given up just two pressures with them coming against Michigan and Colorado State in the first two weeks of the season. As he gets more experience underneath of his belt, Williams continues to prove he is an elite pass protector.

His balance as a run blocker could be better, but there is no doubting the punch and power in the hands of Williams. By the end of this cycle, we could not only be talking about Williams as the better Texas offensive tackle, but perhaps as the best offensive tackle in the class.

Sep 14, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman LT Overton (22) forces an incomplete pass by Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (10) during the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Alabama won 42-10. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

EDGE LT Overton, Alabama

Death, taxes, and an elite Alabama edge rusher.

After seeing Dallas Turner selected in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings just a year ago, the Crimson Tide may just have another one in Texas A&M transfer LT Overton. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 283 pounds, Overton moves like someone 40 pounds lighter. He can play both inside and out, can displace guards with heavy hands or beat offensive tackles around the outside shoulder, and is a physical freak.

Already this season, Overton has racked up 15 pressures, 10 hurries, four hits on the quarterback, a sack, a forced fumble, and five stop tackles. As he gets into SEC play, Overton's production has to keep up as a true junior, but if he does, he has the makings of a first round pick. Especially if he goes to the combine and moves the way he does at that size.

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