• Quarterbacks generally have high bust potential: Although Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are among the top prospects at the position in the 2025 NFL Draft, both carry high bust potential.

• Travis Hunter is one of the least likely busts: His two-way talents give him a high ceiling, and he is arguably the class’ best cornerback prospect and best wide receiver prospect.

• Celebrate the 2025 NFL Draft with 25% off PFF+: Get 25% off PFF+ and unlock access to player grades, fantasy tools and the 2025 Draft Guide.

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Click here for more draft tools:

Bust Potential: High

This “bust potential” rating shouldn’t come as a shock. Quarterbacks have a very high chance of not becoming a franchise-caliber player, as it’s the most difficult position in sports to play. No other position directly correlates more with wins and losses.

Ward is supremely talented, but many would argue that he would have been the seventh-best quarterback in last year’s last (a point I disagree with). We saw Caleb Williams struggle as a rookie despite many believing he was a generational talent at the position.

Ward struggled with overall accuracy, ranking ninth in the class with a 61.6% on-target rate, and his play under pressure, placing sixth in the class with a 56.6 PFF passing grade under pressure. For him to become a successful NFL quarterback, he’ll need to stay poised and find the easy outlets when they are there for the taking. While I don’t have too much concern about his mechanics, he has issues to clean up that should help with ball placement.

WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado

Bust Potential: Low

If Hunter played just one position, perhaps he’d have a higher bust potential. But the fact that he can play both wide receiver and cornerback gives him a high floor in the NFL. There is a strong case to make that Hunter is the best cornerback prospect in this class and that he is also the best wide receiver prospect in this class.

Hunter caught 15 touchdown passes and averaged 2.51 yards per route run, all while allowing just one touchdown and 0.55 yards per coverage snap on defense. While he runs the risk of never fully developing on either side of the ball to be effective in the NFL, I think his pure talent will win out in the end.

Edge Abdul Carter, Penn State

Bust Potential: Low

If there is an area where PFF grading and data can accurately predict college-to-NFL success, it is on the offensive and defensive lines. When it comes to the defensive line, and specifically edge defender, grading well and defeating blocks in college translates well to the next level.

Carter’s 92.0 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2024 was the highest among FBS edge defenders with at least 300 pass-rushing snaps. His 23.7% pass-rush win rate was also the best. He got even better when facing just Power Four competition, posting 92.3 and 24.9% figures, respectively. These numbers alone are phenomenal, but when you watch his film, he displays a blend of rare speed and power to devastate offensive linemen that translates to the NFL game.

It’s hard not to see Carter quickly becoming one of the top pass rushers in the NFL within his first two seasons.

T Will Campbell, LSU

Bust Potential: Medium

When watching Campbell’s film, there isn’t much not to like. He has great feet, uses great leverage and has incredible awareness of the game and what his opponent is trying to do.

I list him with medium bust potential because his grading profile doesn’t exactly match that of a top-five draft prospect. 2024 marks the only season that he broke the 80.0 PFF pass-blocking grade threshold (80.6), but that fell to 78.0 when facing Power Four competition.

New York Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas was the last tackle to be drafted fourth overall, which is where betting odds place Campbell. Thomas earned an 89.0 PFF pass-blocking grade in his final season, and an 88.0 mark when facing the stiffer competition. Campbell has the goods to become a stalwart on the offensive line, but there is more of a concern with his data profile than is typical for a top-five prospect.

DI Mason Graham, Michigan

Bust Potential: Medium-Low

I view Graham’s bust potential similarly to Will Campbell’s. Graham has arguably some of the best film of anyone in this draft class. He displays strength and speed from the defensive tackle position and uses that with violence and relentlessness that is very difficult for guards and centers to handle.

His data profile is also very good, featuring a 91.1 PFF overall grade in 2024 and a 90.0 figure in 2023. Impressively, Graham improved as a pass rusher against Power Four foes in 2024, from an 81.1 grade to an 84.8 grade against better competition.

The questions for him come mainly from his size. His playing weight is tough to pin down, considering he was listed at 320 pounds at Michigan but weighed 296 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and 306 pounds at his pro day. His relatively shorter arm length is also a question mark. Regardless, I’ll take his excellent tape and very good data profile over qualms about his size.

RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Bust Potential: Medium-Low

I might be too bearish on Jeanty’s bust potential, because the only negative I can really list for him is that he plays running back. He is the complete package at the position, setting multiple PFF records for a career and a single season. Whether it’s the 152 forced missed tackles, the incredible 96.6 PFF rushing grade or his 5.25 yards after contact per attempt, Jeanty looks to be a superstar built for the modern game.

T Armand Membou, Missouri

Bust Potential: Medium-Low

Membou’s measurables are eerily similar to those of future Hall of Famer Jason Peters. Peters edged Membou in the sprinting numbers by less than 0.04 seconds, and Membou got the advantage in the bench reps. Other than that, they tested the same. While we don’t have college data to make the comparison, we don’t need to. Membou’s grading profile is the best in the class.

He’s the best in pass protection overall and without the benefit of play action and graded in the 93rd percentile or better in multiple facets. Turn on the tape, and you see an athletic specimen who is arguably the best blocker in space in the class. He needs to learn how to anchor against power better, but it’s hard not to see the ceiling in his game.

LB/EDGE Jalon Walker, Georgia

Bust Potential: High

Walker is the type of player who gets drafted early because of his physical and athletic traits, but he didn’t master a position in college. His grading profile doesn’t scream “top-10 prospect,” as his 73.1 PFF overall grade in 2024 was a career high and he struggled to defend the run.

When you watch the tape, the flashes of elite play are there, but the consistency isn’t. In coverage, Walker failed to force a single incompletion and tallied just 10 coverage stops. Where Walker was best was rushing the passer, with an 83.6 PFF grade, but he’ll need to find a home in the NFL and develop. Otherwise, he’ll struggle to make an impact.

QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Bust Potential: High

I’ve been on record calling Sanders QB1, but I’ll state this again: playing quarterback is difficult. Sanders doesn’t have the same underlying issues as Cam Ward from a data standpoint, but I don’t think anyone would argue that Sanders has more athleticism than Ward, which immediately lowers his floor. Having a strong running game to complement your abilities as a passer undoubtedly gives you more time to figure out how to play the position in the NFL.

Sanders took too many sacks in college, finishing with an 18.2% pressure-to-sack rate. That number isn’t a death knell by any means, but considering how often he was under pressure, Sanders formed bad habits in college that he’ll need to break to be successful in the NFL.

TE Tyler Warren, Penn State

Bust Potential: Medium-Low

We’ve been spoiled the past few years with stellar play from rookie tight ends. Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid hit the ground running in 2023, while Brock Bowers had one of the best rookie seasons we’ve ever seen from a tight end in 2024. This isn’t the norm. Perhaps offensive coordinators are doing a better job of maximizing their talent, or it’s just that these players are that good. But we usually don’t see tight ends hit their stride until Year 3.

Warren looks like he can be the next rookie phenom at the position. He dropped just three passes and forced 19 missed tackles on receptions in 2024. He tops the charts in PFF receiving grade, at 93.4, and yards per route run, at 2.78. He has the requisite size, and his in-game athleticism charting is above the 90th percentile. If there is a risk involved, it’s that the college-to-NFL transition is difficult for tight ends.