It’s been said for a while now — we all know team and scheme fit is vital for players once they enter the NFL. Not just quarterbacks. Every position. From scheme to teammates to coaches, environment is often the imperceptible element that makes or breaks a young player as he’s acclimating to the league.
Let’s pinpoint the absolute best prospect-team fits from the 2025 NFL Draft.
These players are in the finest environments to excel immediately and over the long term on their new NFL teams.
- Draft pick: Round 2 (No. 53 overall)
During the Super Bowl-winning season in 2020, the Buccaneers were loaded at cornerback, especially those with man-coverage chops. That year, Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis combined for 25 pass breakups and five interceptions in the regular season.
Dean remains, and while Zyon McCollum emerged in Year 2, the Buccaneers had a clear need on the outside in the defensive back room, and Morrison excels following in man coverage. Before his 2024 injury at Notre Dame, he registered a seismic nine interceptions and 14 pass breakups in 25 games. He’s as fluid as they come at the position with natural route-mirroring instincts with plus ball skills.
In Todd Bowles’ aggressive system, Morrison, if healthy, can thrive instantly as the Buccaneers’ No. 2 or No. 3 cornerback.
- Draft pick: Round 2 (No. 41 overall)
The Bills rotate along the defensive line more than any other team in football. I’ve written that sentence for years. It’s become a staple of a Sean McDermott-backed defense, meaning Sanders will not have to be Aaron Donald to be successful in Buffalo. And he’ll rush next to comparably athletic Ed Oliver on the inside.
Buffalo is clearly ready to win now. So is Sanders. While he’s still not 22 years old, he had back-to-back seasons with a pressure rate over the magical 10% threshold in the SEC. He deploys his hands like an NFL veteran and can win with power or first-step quicks off the snap. The Bills have a history of developing linebackers and safeties. And another serious interior penetrating defender was needed next to Oliver. They got that with Sanders.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 24 overall)
The Vikings had a left guard problem. Even as Kirk Cousins played his typically efficient football in 2022 and 2023, and Sam Darnold removed the draft-bust shackles from his arm in 2024, that position in the trenches held back an otherwise remarkable Minnesota attack, led by perennial All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
Astutely, the Vikings addressed that weakness first in the draft, with a guard who enters the league with a sterling reputation at the position, dating back to his high school days. Jackson was the No. 1 interior offensive line recruit in the country in the graduating class of 2021, per 247 Sports. He quietly went about his business at guard with the Buckeyes, playing remarkably reliable football for three seasons — while allowing a mere 23 total pressures in that time frame — before being asked to moonlight at left tackle after Josh Simmons‘ torn patellar tendon in 2024. Jackson passed that test with flying colors.
A long, athletic, well-balanced NFL-ready blocker is precisely what Minnesota needed as it enters the J.J. McCarthy era, and I also love this prospect-team pairing because Jackson will get to play between Christian Darrisaw at left tackle and Ryan Kelly at center.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 21 overall)
Harmon couldn’t be more of a Steelers-type defensive tackle. Oversized, high-motor, powerful at the point of attack, lengthy. It’s all there. Frankly, there is some Cam Heyward to his game. And all the way back in 2011, Heyward was 6-feet-5 and 294 pounds as the Steelers’ first-round pick.
Harmon was over 6-4 and 312 pounds, and beyond Heyward, he’ll play next to the nearly 6-4, 309-pound Keeanu Benton, another ferocious, no-nonsense power player at defensive tackle, along the Steelers’ front.
And Harmon won’t have to be an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate in 2025 to be deemed a quality first-round investment. Glorious situation for him and outstanding depth up front on defense in Pittsburgh … which is how it should be.
- Draft pick: Round 2 (No. 60 overall)
Sean Payton wants a dynamic, pass-catching running back in his offense. That’s precisely why the Broncos selected Harvey in Round 2. The UCF star went over 1,400 yards in back-to-back seasons — while running much more on the inside than expected for a shorter, slashing back — and caught 61 passes in his final three campaigns in Orlando.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, the stocky, 5-8, 205-pounder ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash with a vertical jump in the 85th percentile and a broad jump in the 91st percentile at the running back position. With Javonte Williams in Dallas, and Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime the other two notable backs on the Broncos roster, I expect Harvey to be the clear-cut, Bucky Irving-type bellcow by November, at the latest.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 19 overall)
Not expecting your first-round pick to be the true No. 1 player at his position is a smart strategy teams don’t employ enough. The Buccaneers did here with the selection of Egbuka on a team with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Egbuka was completely content playing second fiddle to the likes of Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and ultimately Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State. In doing so, all Egbuka did was finish his career as the all-time leader in receptions in Ohio State history. That’s quite something.
The longer Egbuka ran route in Columbus, the more he played in the slot, and his efficiency remained. Guess who else started as primarily a boundary receiver and extended his career by a bump inside? Godwin. The similarly sized stud receiver can show Egbuka the ropes as the rookie begins as the No. 3 in the target pecking order in Tampa Bay.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 26 overall)
This is more about need than anything else — and Pearce is the exact type of specimen at defensive end the Falcons have needed for over a decade. He’s long, bendy, surprisingly powerful and understands he can’t lean solely on his supreme athletic gifts alone to generate pressure on a consistent basis; his hand work is advanced for someone who only rushed the passer in two full seasons at Tennessee.
Speaking of, those back-to-back seasons with a pressure rate over 21% in the SEC didn’t happen by accident. Atlanta will be relying mostly on youngsters to attract attention on the inside, but when he gets clear one-on-one situations on the outside, Pearce will produce at an efficient clip for the pass-rush needy Falcons. Music to the ears of defensive-minded head coach Raheem Morris.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 10 overall)
In 2023, second-round tight end Sam LaPorta went berserk with Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator in Detroit: 86 catches, 889 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He was a core element to the Lions‘ attack. On LaPorta’s more than 1,100 snaps, he was in-line 61% of the time, aligned in the slot 19.6%, played on the outside 17.7% and even took 17 snaps from in the backfield.
Johnson is going to move Loveland around the formation like a chess piece, and deploy motion at one of the highest rates in football to handpick advantageous matchups for the young, sleek and highly athletic tight end.
- Draft pick: Round 1 (No. 6 overall)
Chip Kelly has a long history of maximizing running backs in his scheme. Think of his illustrious tenure at Oregon. The tailback was always the focal point. First LaMichael James went over 1,500 yards, then 1,700, for the Ducks with Kelly. After that, Kenjon Barner nearly hit 1,800 yards on the ground in Eugene.
When Kelly was the hottest head coach candidate in football and landed with the Eagles, LeSean McCoy subsequently set career highs in carries and yards en route to an All-Pro distinction in 2013 and followed with the second-most rushing yards he ever had in the NFL the next season.
Even in the disastrous, 2-14, one-year stint in San Francisco, Kelly got 988 yards at what proved to be a career-high 4.6 yards-per-tote from Carlos Hyde. Last year at Ohio State, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson eclipsed 1,000 yards each. Kelly knows and wants to feature running backs in his scheme.
Jeanty is a special runner with deceptive speed, otherworldly contact balance and impeccable vision between the tackles. He’s in for a monster Year 1 with Kelly as his offensive coordinator in Las Vegas.
- Draft pick: Round 2 (No. 35 overall)
Emmanwori and head coach Mike Macdonald could not be a better match. Even if you don’t believe Emmanwori is a Kyle Hamilton clone — and Macdonald was integral to Hamilton’s early-career development in Baltimore — you have to admit there are striking similarities from size and athleticism perspectives.
Safeties who move as fast as Emmanwori and Hamilton at their intimidating size do not enter the NFL often. Hamilton was 6-4 and 220 pounds with 4.59 speed and a 38-inch vertical in 2022. His broad jump was 10-feet-11, and he had a three-cone time of 6.9 seconds. Insane workout.
Emmanwori surpassed those figures at 6-3 and 220 pounds by running 4.38 with a 43-inch vertical and an 11-foot-6 broad. In his first two seasons, under the watchful eye of Macdonald in Baltimore, Hamilton was fully accentuated in a variety of pre-snap alignments. Expect Emmanwori to receive the same treatment as a versatile weapon on Seattle’s defense in 2025. I couldn’t love this prospect-team pairing any more.
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