2025 NFL Draft prospect profile – Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall

Where will Green be drafted?

The class of edge defenders in the 2025 NFL Draft is one of the very best in recent memory.

In some ways it harkens back to the 2010 EDGE class that produced five separate Pro Bowl players, and this year may be even better.

This EDGE class is so deep and talented that it can be difficult to keep all the (potentially) great players in front of mind. That gets even more complicated for players with multiple confounding factors like Mike Green out of Marshall.

Green was dominant for Marshall in 2024, something the NFL likes to see from a small school prospect. He had an incredible 17.0 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, and 3 forced fumbles last year and followed that up with a great week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

However, he has also seemed to slip back below the radar as the process has worn on.

There were allegations of sexual assault at the time of his transfer from Virginia to Marshall in 2023. We can’t evaluate the allegations here on the outside, but the NFL has the resources to do so and concerns could be driving the dip in Green’s draft stock.

How much risk is there with Green, and can the New York Giants afford to take that risk?

Prospect: Mike Green (15)
Games Watched: vs. Virginia Tech (2024), vs. Ohio State (2024), vs. Louisiana (2024)
Red Flags: Sexual assault allegations

Measurables

Kent Lee Platte | RAS.football

Strengths

Best traits

• Competitive toughness
• Play strength
• Pass rush
• Finishing

Mike Green is an athletic, productive, and highly competitive edge defender.

Green has solid size for a modern EDGE in a multiple defense at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds. He primarily played from a two-point stance and was used as both a downhill player and occasionally a coverage player.

He has an impressive first step off the edge, timing the snap well and wasting little energy or motion getting into his pass rush. He accelerates into the backfield well, quickly turning speed into power. Green has truly impressive play strength and plays like a much larger defender.

He’s able to control, torque, or even rag-doll offensive linemen once engaged, and can collapse the end of the line of scrimmage if he’s matched up against a tight end. Green does a good job of placing his hands, consistently seeking inside leverage and getting under blockers’ pads while extending to keep himself clean. He’s primarily a power player and uses a bull-rush as his go-to move, though his arsenal of counters developed over the course of the season. By the end of the year he was mixing in long-arm, spin, chop, rip, and arm-over moves to keep blockers from keying too hard on his power.

That play strength also allows Green to be an effective run defender, as he can control blockers or discard their blocks to make plays on the ball.

Finally, he is a relentless player who gives great effort throughout the play. There were multiple instances of him fighting through multiple blocks or getting caught in traffic and getting up off the ground to make a play with a second effort.

Weaknesses

Worst traits

• Misdirection processing
• Ankle flexibility
• Arm length

Mike Green is a tenacious pass rusher and has the potential to be a terror off the edge, but is not without flaws in his game.

The two most notable are how he processes misdirection and his lower-body fluidity.

Green has a noticeable hitch in his play speed when faced with a mesh point. He visibly slows and sometimes shows indecision as he processes and tracks the ball. There were multiple instances on tape where he pursued the wrong player on a read-option play. That might be due to discipline in executing his assignment and his aggressiveness as a defender, but it created opportunities for big plays by the offense.

He also shows some stiffness in his lower body, particularly in his ankles. Green has a tendency to play on the edges of his feet when trying to turn a tight corner as a pass rusher. He was able to use strategies such as spin moves or inside moves to compensate, however he struggled to carry speed into the backfield when attempting to win on the outside. That could either lead to too many reps ending on the ground in the NFL, or missed sack opportunities.

Green’s arms may also be short for some teams at 32 inches. That does limit him when trying to take on long-levered blockers directly, but was less of an issue as his hand usage matured over the course of the year.

Green was accused of sexual assault prior to transferring from Virginia to Marshall. Teams will need to do their due diligence with respect to the allegations and his off-field character.

Game Tape

(Green is the Marshall edge defender wearing number 15 with long pants and short sleeves.)

Projection

On the field, Mike Green projects as an important edge defender in an active rotation. He would likely start his career as the first EDGE off the bench and a pass rush specialist, but could win a starting job relatively early in his career.

He has concerns in his athletic profile, but nothing that can’t be accounted for with technique and scheme.

The bigger impact on his draft stock will be in his off-field evaluation. How the NFL handles the allegations of sexual assault at Virginia will likely determine his fate on draft day. He has the potential to be a very disruptive defender and an early pick. However, he could see a major slide if the NFL has concerns regarding his character.

Does he fit the Giants?
Yes, pending character concerns.

Final Word: A later Day 1 or very early Day 2 talent