Ten College Football Stars That Could Be Mid Or Late-Round Steals In The 2025 NFL Draft

These ten college football stars could be late-round steals in the 2025 NFL Draft.

We all know that college stardom doesn’t always translate into NFL success. These college stars are flying under the radar as this week’s 2025 NFL Draft approaches, but they could provide some teams a mid or late-round steal.

Penn State S KJ Winston

Winston was phenomenal in 2023, and entered 2024 as one of the nation’s top defensive players. He played just one game and a few plays of another due to a knee injury, but he dominant against West Virginia. Someone is getting a quality starting safety in the middle round.

Bowling Green Tight End Harold Fannin Jr

Harold Fannin Jr. smashed tight end receiving records all year long, and lit up two quality Power 5 opponents in Texas A&M and Penn State along the way. He has shown the ability to be a productive player, and teams could be getting a steal in the middle round.

Purdue OL Marcus Mbow

If you’re a college football ball-knower, you know that Marcus Mbow was one of the best offensive linemen in football last year despite Purdue being dreadful. For some reason, he’s slipping into the 3-5 round range, and I don’t get it. Someone could be getting a plug-and-play guard.

Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo

The Heisman candidate had a breakout season in 2024, rushing for over 1,700 yards and had a sensational performance against Texas in the College Football Playoff. It’s a deep running back class, but someone could get a grinder in the latter stages of the draft.

Ohio State S Lathan Ransom

Lathan Ransom was the unsung hero of the Buckeye defense, and is a fantastic football player. It seems like those guys end up carving out good careers for themselves in the NFL, a team would be wise to use a pick on him in the 4th round on.

Kentucky DT Deone Walker

The gigantic Walker has slipped down draft boards, but you can’t teach his size and natural athleticism. A team could get a starting nose tackle in the middle rounds.

Alabama DB Malachi Moore

Moore, who got serious playing time as a true freshman in Tuscaloosa, had plenty of up and downs in his career in T-Town. But, he has always had a lot of potential and good ball skills. He’s worth a late-round flyer.

Clemson LB Barrett Carter

Carter was an ultra-productive linebacker for Dabo Swinney, and there’s no reason to think he can’t at least help teams out on early downs. With teams starting to run the ball more, he’s worth a mid-round pick.

Miami WR Xavier Restrepo

His quarterback, Cam Ward, is going to be the first pick of the draft. Restrepo was a reliable number-one option all year for Cam Ward. In the 4th or 5th round, why wouldn’t you want a guy like that?

Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison

Before suffering a season-ending leg injury, Morrison was destined for the top-half of the first round. Now, he could drop all the way to the 3rd round. That’s ridiculous, and someone will be getting a steal..