A unanimous All-American in 2024, Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham was one of the most dominant defenders in all of college football.
Graham enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the clear star prospects, but just how high can he expect to hear his name called come April?
Mason Graham Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’3
- Weight: 315 pounds
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- School: Michigan
- Current Year: Junior
Scouting Report
Graham hails from Los Angeles, California, where he played his high school football at Servite High School. Graham was a standout offensive and defensive lineman and also competed as a wrestler, which is evident in his play.
Graham was a four-star recruit in 2022 and heavily pursued by many universities across the country. He elected to take his talents to Michigan to play under then head coach Jim Harbaugh and attempt to push Michigan to the next level.
Graham was a rotational player as a freshman, but even in limited snaps, he showed flashes of brilliance. He was named a Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus and was on everyone’s radar entering his sophomore season. That season, Graham continued to shine and was a key cog in a Michigan defense that was college football’s top unit and ultimately led the Wolverines to a national championship.
In his final season with Michigan, Graham was a household name entering the year and a well-established NFL prospect. He more than lived up to the expectations and continued hiss dominant play, even though his team took a step back.
Now, Graham enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the class’s best overall prospects.
Strengths
- Quick and explosive first step to shoot gaps and make plays behind the line of scrimmage.
- Excellent body control and loose lower body to get skinny through the gap and turn at the top of the rush to finish.
- Heavy-handed rusher who display good knock-back power.
- Excellent ability to stack and shed blocks and flashes outstanding awareness in locating the ball carrier.
- Very good use of hands and displays a well-timed swim move and consistent dip and rip.
- Plays with a wide base and a firm anchor at the point of attack.
- Outstanding effort and motor.
Weaknesses
- Lacks high-end length and offensive lineman are able to get into his chest at times.
- Displays good anchor versus single blocks but does give ground against double teams.
- Can play with high pad level at times, thus losing leverage at the point of attack.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Graham enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the best overall prospects in the class. Graham is a well-built interior disruptor with outstanding first-step quickness and good overall athleticism. He lacks prototypical length for the position but makes up for it with quickness, power, and instincts.
As a pass rusher, Graham displays explosive first-step quickness to immediately get upfield and stress the edges of interior offensive linemen. He is able to win the edge off the snap and shows very good ankle flexion to corner at the top of his rush and get home to the quarterback.
Graham is a very loose mover for a man his size and shows outstanding body control and flexibility. He is a very good speed-to-power rusher and converts his explosiveness into knock-back power to collapse the integrity of the pocket. While his hand use is good overall, Graham is still developing a consistent rush plan and will need to continue to hone his craft at the next level.
Graham is a force in the run game and consistently made plays behind the line of scrimmage in college. His quickness inside allowed him to shoot gaps in the running game and meet the ball carrier in the backfield. Graham has excellent lateral agility and displays very good range to make plays down the line of scrimmage. A very instinctual player, Graham was hardly ever fooled by traps and counters and displayed above-average awareness on such plays.
Graham has very good power to set the point of attack and anchor versus single blocks. He has an uncanny ability to shock ensuing blockers with his heavy hands and use his quickness to shed the block, uncover, and make the play.
However, Graham lacks prototypical length and will often play with a high pad level, which will allow offensive linemen to win the leverage battle and drive him backwards. Additionally, Graham struggles versus double teams and is not a player who can be used to occupy gaps in an odd-front scheme.
Overall, Graham is a high-impact player with the speed, quickness, and power to disrupt the game in both phases. Graham may not have the ceiling of a player like Jalen Carter, who athletically has more to offer, but his knack for interior penetration and stout run defending will make him a key contributor instantly for whichever team that drafts him.
