Cam Ward, Kaleb Johnson lead 2025 NFL Draft prospects who boosted their stock this season

One way or another, be it via the NFL Draft or NIL, every player on the list below sizably increased the value of their future portfolio this season.

Some come out of nowhere; others simply need one more season to prove who they truly are.

But we see serious risers (and fallers) every year come draft time, and the 2025 cycle will be no different.

In fact, most postseason top-100 prospect boards this year probably will look markedly different from what they were at the start of the year simply because this has been one of those classes .

With college footballs regular season now all but over (save for the Army-Navy game on Dec.

14), lets take a look at some of the players whove been the biggest potential moneymakers this season.

GO DEEPER College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Yes, Alabama still has a chance Cam Ward , QB, Miami Ward was nowhere close to a consensus top-50 player on NFL boards when the season opened.

Some teams may not even have had him in the top 100, depending on their situations.

In his first four college seasons, Wards flashes as a passer, while brilliant, happened about as often as his flops.

However, as hes done every year of college, Ward made clear improvements exactly where he needed to this season, in a great situation at Miami.

Hes still loose with his mechanics and might need a year to sit in the NFL, but the trajectory of improvement from the former high school Wing-T quarterback is undeniable.

Ward has a big-time arm, great mobility, hes tough and not afraid to sling it between the numbers.

Advertisement Ward used the transfer portal better than arguably any player ever has, moving from a complete unknown with no scholarship offers to an in-demand transfer twice to potential top-10 pick.

Thats how its done.

Kaleb Johnson , RB, Iowa Hold on to your pearls, because this is an outstanding running back class.

Johnson had a very good, albeit under-the-radar, sophomore season in 2023, then got lost in a super-talented shuffle this summer.

But he quickly made scouts take notice of him as a junior and never stopped.

Johnson became the first player in Iowa history to score a touchdown in every game of the regular season.

A durable, explosive one-cut back, Johnson is the type of downhill hammer with wiggle teams covet as an 1A or 1B running back and he has the goods to be a three-down weapon quickly in the NFL.

The top of the third round feels like his absolute floor.

GO DEEPER Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson to skip bowl game, prepare for NFL Draft Tre Harris , WR, Ole Miss The simplicity of Ole Miss offense can create a stats mirage and, at times, works against guys like Harris (and teammate Antwane Wells Jr.

), because Rebels wideouts arent asked to run an overly expansive route tree.

Harris runs more screens, go routes and posts than most of his peers.

However, he also does everything well.

Hes dependable, big, physical and quick enough to pile up yards after catch.

Its hard to say if Harris was firmly in the top 100 when the year began.

Its easier to make that claim now.

Tyler Warren , TE, Penn State Few players had more fun inside their respective offenses this year than Warren, who saw a snap at every spot from quarterback to center(!) for Penn State, while serving as one of the best big-man playmakers in the country for his main event.

Warren (6-foot-6, 255 pounds) is twitched-up unit with great wiggle and elite ball skills.

Michigan s Colston Loveland was pretty firmly the only TE prospect scouts considered to be a first-rounder when the year started.

Warren changed some of those minds, however, and could sneak into the back half of Round 1 as a versatile weapon in the NFL.

Joshua Simmons , OT, Ohio State Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury in late October, but his work before that was easily the best of his career and some of the best, in terms of run- and pass-blocking effectiveness, of any tackle in this class.

This OT class has a lot of projects in it.

So long as his knee recovers, Simmons is not one of them.

Advertisement Simmons, a three-year college starter who began at San Diego State , could be a top-20 pick if his medicals clear and he doesnt have any recovery setbacks.

Marcus Mbow , OL, Purdue Arguably the best player on a terrible team, Mbow is a big, fluid athlete who has extensive starting experience at guard and tackle.

Many project him to move back inside once hes a pro, but he can play outside, if necessary.

Mbow is also a bit of a feel-good story.

He originally was headed to Arizona State, until the Sun Devils former staff dropped his scholarship late in the recruiting process.

He wound up at Purdue and grinded through some pretty brutal football the last two years.

Tough player.

#Purdue OL Marcus Mbow announced he will enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

Really athletic blocker with experience at both guard and tackle.

Stamped with day 2 grades from NFL scouts and could continue to rise throughout the process.

Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 2, 2024 Derrick Harmon , DT, Oregon One of a few Michigan State transfers to have a great year somewhere else (Miami DT Simeon Barrow Jr.

also couldve made this list), Harmon (6-5, 310) is a giant.

Hes a long and explosive interior lineman who can absolutely be a heavy edge, if necessary.

Oregon moved Harmon around more than Michigan State did, and he was disruptive everywhere, posting a whopping 18.1 percent win rate.

He finished the regular season No.

1 among interior defensive linemen with 47 pressures, per PFF.

Shemar Stewart , Edge, Texas A&M A very loose and explosive athlete with true power, Stewart (6-6, 290) has the frame and athletic balance to line up more or less anywhere along the defensive front, zero- to five-tech, and have some sort of impact.

Advertisement An extremely versatile edge who shows active hands inside or out, Stewart has continued to improve and as a true junior who just turned 21 last month hasnt played his best football.

Kyle Kennard , Edge, South Carolina Kennard started out as a 220-pound Georgia Tech prospect and has blossomed into a versatile, three-down prospect who had a career year during his lone SEC season.

Kennard transferred to South Carolina after four years with the Yellow Jackets, and he has continued to add power and strength to an explosive, long frame.

A lighter version of Stewart, Kennard can win against a tackle or over a guard on third down.

Plenty of what he gets is effort-based, but dont let that fool you hes a very good athlete who was all over the backfield this season (11 1/2 sacks, 15 1/2 tackles for loss).

Jared Ivey , DL, Ole Miss Teammate Princely Umanmielen probably will be drafted higher, but Ivey like Harris, his teammate simply proved his worth this season.

He does a little bit of everything up front for Ole Miss, all of it very well.

Ivey (6-6, 285) also boasts exceptional arm length and probably could wear several hats in the NFL.

A complete athlete with wiggle, burst and everything in between, Ivey undoubtedly saved his best season for last.

He looks like an easy Day Two edge at this point.

Jalon Walker , LB, Georgia Versatility has been a theme here, and few front-seven defenders have shown more of it this year than Walker.

The 20-year-old junior is a powerful, explosive downhill run-fitter when lined up in the stack and a twitchy speed presence off the edge when Georgia wants him to rush the passer.

Walker won a job on Georgias defense last year and has only improved as the Bulldogs have added more to his plate.

As with Penn States Abdul Carter , there are some Micah Parsons traits to his game.

Walkers snaps were split nearly 50-50 this season between playing as a defensive lineman and in the box.

Advertisement Jihaad Campbell , LB, Alabama Campbell played more in the box as a junior for Alabama this year, but the 20-year-old thumper has continued to add power to a twitchy frame.

Now 6-3, 244, Campbell looks like the type of inside linebacker children of the 80s and 90s remember fondly.

He also runs like the guys we love most today.

Itll be interesting to see if Alabama can pay Campbell enough NIL money to stay another year added development to his pass-rush game could do wonders for his 2026 draft stock.

It wont be easy to keep him around, though, as Campbell ranked No.

50 (and might still be rising) on Dane Bruglers latest board .

GO DEEPER The Athletic 134: Notre Dame vs.

Penn State, and other resume toss-ups that matter Darien Porter , CB, Iowa State Another member of the WR-turned-DB club, the nearly 6-3 Porter (who has 33 1/2-inch arms) made the move ahead of 2022 and now has played three full seasons on the defensive side of the ball.

This year has been his best as a corner, easily, though the tape library is still pretty limited.

Porter will turn 24 in January, too, which wont help him with some NFL front offices.

But hes exactly the type of long, fast athlete teams now covet on the outside.

The NFL is not a developmental league, and Porter isnt young by football standards.

But if theres one spot where teams love to take chances, its in the secondary, with guys built like Porter.

Nick Emmanwori , S, South Carolina A member of Bruce Feldmans Freaks List headed into the season, Emmanwori brought his weight-room prowess to the football field in full force as a 6-3, 227-pound behemoth of a safety with speed, hops and ball skills.

Emmanwori had two pick sixes this season and has been a productive three-year player on the back end for the Gamecocks .

Should the 20-year-old Emmanwori (a junior) declare, his NFL combine workouts notably, his jumps will be appointment viewing.

(Photos of Cam Ward and Kaleb Johnson: Doug Murray, Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).

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