Swapping reaches in the 2025 NFL Draft with more alluring prospects

The Saints should have taken advantage of Donovan Ezeiruaku's availability: The Boston College edge defender was one of the top 20 players on PFF's big board and earned a 90.7 PFF pass-rush grade against true pass sets with an 18.2% pass-rush win rate in 2024.

Smael Mondon Jr. was a better linebacker option for the Ravens in the fourth round: Mondon has more experience against top competition and brings the same athletic strengths to his game as Teddye Buchanan.

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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

You never know how the NFL draft will play out until, well, it does. Teams will reach for their desired prospects, while others will pounce on fallers.

Some 2025 NFL Draft reaches could have been swapped with better prospects on PFF's big board. Here are the players we would have rather seen teams select in their place.

CB Jacob Parrish for CB Upton Stout

LB Danny Stutsman for LB Nick Martin

If you’ve been reading my post-draft work, you know by now that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the 49ers' approach and how they chose to prioritize certain players. The biggest critiques stem from selecting Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin at pick No. 75 in the third round and Western Kentucky‘s Upton Stout 25 picks later. Both were major reaches.

I would have liked to flip the order of positions selected by giving them cornerback Jacob Parrish, who went to the Buccaneers at pick No. 84, and linebacker Danny Stutsman, who went to the Saints at pick No. 112.

I am more comfortable with Parrish's size, at just under 5-foot-10 and 191 pounds — placing him in the 8th and 28th percentiles for the cornerback position, respectively. Meanwhile, Stout, at just under 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds, places in just the 2nd and 10th percentiles for height and weight, respectively. Martin brings slightly more athleticism than Stutsman, but Stutsman is not the outlier Martin is in terms of size for the position in the pros.

At just over 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, Martin ranks in the 6th and 2nd percentiles, respectively, for the position. Both Parrish and Stutsman have fewer NFL-level holes in their games than Martin and Stout.

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WR Elic Ayomanor for WR Pat Bryant

The Broncos put together one of my favorite drafts. I gave them a B+ for picks such as Jahdae Barron, Sai'vion Jones and Que Robinson. Running back RJ Harvey was drafted a little earlier than expected, but anyone who followed my work throughout the draft process knows how highly I think of him.

I like wide receiver Pat Bryant, whom the Broncos took at pick No. 74 in the third round, but would have much preferred wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. Bryant was likely selected due to his size, strength and blocking ability, which make him an ideal candidate to be an X receiver on the line of scrimmage. But those strengths can also be found in Ayomanor, who I believe has more athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability.

Ayomanor’s 40-yard dash time, vertical jump and broad jump all placed above the 74th percentile, while Bryant’s 4.61-second 40-yard dash ranked in the 16th percentile.

LB Smael Mondon Jr. for LB Teddye Buchanan

The Ravens earned an A draft grade for the value picks of Starks and Green compared to where they were on PFF's big board. I don’t mind the Emery Jones Jr. pick, as well, because he is a scheme fit as a guard for Baltimore.

However, while I can see the allure of Cal linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who is a good athlete for the position, Georgia's Smael Mondon Jr. has more experience against top competition and brings the same athletic strengths to his game as an undersized linebacker. Buchanan’s 77.5 PFF overall grade in 2024 was slightly higher than Mondon’s 72.4, but I give Mondon the nod due to facing SEC competition.

EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku for QB Tyler Shough

This pick swap can be summed up as: I was not big on Tyler Shough, who ranked 133rd on my big board, and the Saints took him at pick No. 40. Even with the quarterback position tax, that is a reach.

The need for a quarterback is understandable, as Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury, but Shedeur Sanders, Will Howard or even Riley Leonard should have been considered before Shough — though I would have only considered Sanders at No. 40.

The Saints could have instead moved away from the quarterback position entirely, especially with a top pass rusher still on the board in Donovan Ezeiruaku. He was one of the top 20 players on PFF's big board as a player who earned a 90.7 PFF pass-rush grade against true pass sets with an 18.2% pass-rush win rate in 2024.

New Orleans still needs to get more one-on-one winners on the edge, and he could have been a year-one impact player for the team.

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DI CJ West for WR Tai Felton

The Vikings surprisingly did not trade down from pick No. 24, knowing they had only four selections entering the draft. But Donovan Jackson was an understandable pick as a potential piece of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

Perhaps even more surprising was the Vikings' decision to draft a wide receiver at pick No. 103 with such limited ammo. Wide receiver is a luxury for the Vikings with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor already on the roster. Even if Tai Felton is a future Nailor replacement, they didn’t have to use a third-rounder on the position.

Instead, I would have gone to the defensive trenches to get CJ West, one of the top nose tackles left on the board, and a player who I thought had third-round value as a run stuffer (88.1 PFF run-defense grade in 2024) and flashes of production as a pass rusher (10.6% pass-rush win percentage in 2024).

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