One of the best weeks of the year is finally here with the 2025 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama! For me, this is my 7th season covering the event and it’s always such a surreal experience. From the talent on the field to bumping elbows with key personnel members of each NFL team, it’s always humbling.
As we move onto draft season, the Senior Bowl is the first step for the off-season. The players at this event get their first crack at trying to impress NFL decision makers. If there’s any struggles or concerns with a specific player, teams will adjust their draft boards accordingly. The same goes for the players that make a strong impression.
Now that my draft board is starting to take shape, here’s five prospects that I’m most excited about here in Mobile for the 2025 Senior Bowl!
Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr
Not enough people are talking about Fannin as one of the better prospects in this draft or even at his position. Now, I’m not discrediting Colston Loveland from Michigan or Tyler Warren from Penn State but Fannin should be in the same category as both of them for the top tight end in this draft.
As for the talent at the Senior Bowl, Fannin is near the top for best players here. His production is off the charts with 117 receptions for over 1500 yards and 10 touchdowns. In addition to that, he’s only got a 2.2% drop rate and was asked to do a variety of things in the Falcons offense such as blocking, catching, passing and he even has 33 carries for five touchdowns in his career.
Teams will love his ability to threaten defenses vertically. Going up the seam, getting open and running after the catch is a great perk to his game. When running routes, he consistently dips his shoulders to avoid contact from defenders and it helps keep him clean as he looks to change direction in and out of his breaks. During the draft, he’ll only be 20 years old, so teams should be jumping at the chance to mold him into the next great tight end. Look for him to have a strong week in Mobile.
Texas A&M DL Shemar Stewart
The Aggies have three defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, and two of them have the first name Shemar. I’ll talk about one here and the other in a separate article. For starters, we’ve got to talk about Shemar Stewart. He’s listed at 6’6″ and 285 pounds and he screams first round talent.
Stewart has a nice blend of speed and power to his game but there’s an arsenal of moves that he uses and it’s very impressive. For example, you’ll find him take a post step and create separation with his inside arm but while maintaining that separation, he can counter inside or outside on the opposition.
Texas A&M 4 Shemar Stewart flashes consistently on tape. On this play, he displays a good base, separation and arm over to make the tackle. pic.twitter.com/tETHhEjCTF
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) January 15, 2025
The lack of production will be concerning — only 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in three seasons. However, teams will be chomping at the bit to try and develop his rare physical traits into something that is elite. Stewart will be labeled as one of the better prospects in Mobile, and he’s got a chance to solidify his status as a first-round pick.
USC RB Woody Marks
There’s a lot of love for running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft and you can add USC running back Woody Marks to that list. Potentially, he’s one of the most underrated players in Mobile and in the entire draft. Highly productive during his 57 games played and five year collegiate career, we saw Marks really take off for USC this season.
After four seasons at Mississippi State, Marks transferred to the Trojans and saw his first season with over 1000 rushing yards. Most importantly, his production as a pass catcher didn’t decline. This season, he had 47 receptions for 321 yards.
Mississippi State RB 7 Jo’quavious Marks is one of my favorite players in the country. The dude has the juice. pic.twitter.com/sEcPJ2XmtP
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) October 4, 2023
Overall, Marks will be primarily viewed as a pass catcher. After all, he’s recorded 261 receptions for over 1500 yards in his career. But don’t let that fool you, he’s got good vision and burst to make defenders regret poor angles when he attempting to tackle him. In high school, he was on the track and field team and his PR for the 100-meter dash was 11.16 seconds as a junior. On his scouting report, I wrote down “open field nightmare” so we’ll see if he proves me right this week at the Senior Bowl.
Missouri OT Armand Membou
Just off studying some of the tape of each offensive lineman at the Senior Bowl, it appears that Armand Membou from Missouri is the best one in Mobile. It felt like he may go “under the radar” some with the love for other offensive tackles in this class, but that’s starting to change quickly. Through some of the limited measurements recorded so far for players at the Senior Bowl, Membou checked in at 6036, 332 and 3400 arms.
Missouri OT 79 Armand Membou is a well built OL at 6’3″ / 325 with 30 starts at RT for the Tigers. Shows good balance and consistently plays under control with a square base. Plays with heavy hands and didn’t give up a sack in 2024. Will compete at the @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/gHlSqYGsNs
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) January 13, 2025
Membou was a 13-game starter at right tackle for Missouri this season. He’s got a thick frame with a strong lower half. He’s consistently square with his base in the run and also the pass game. For a player of his size, he moves well laterally when zone blocking. That lateral movement helps him reach block effectively but it also helps him follow or stay attached to a guard with his drag hand when blocking in zone.
There were times on tape that his foot speed would get tested against line stunts and blitzes. Additionally, his hand placement can hit wide in pass protection. Seeing how those aspects of his game improve throughout the week will be important.
Florida State CB Azareye’h Thomas
During the draft process last year, I loved what I saw from Renardo Green at Florida State. Compared to the consensus, Green ranked relatively high for me and it’s trending in that same direction for his college teammate, Azareye’h Thomas.
https://x.com/RussNFLDraft/status/1883933450450919471
The Florida State corner is listed at 6’2″ and 198 pounds and really looks the part on the perimeter. He’s at his best when playing press-man and he ONLY gave up 94 total yards this season.
Playing with tremendous body control and fluidity, Thomas just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. His arm length is a bonus for how he can break up passes but jamming and redirecting receivers is what he does best. Teams searching for a boundary corner will be intrigued with Thomas’ skill set, and if all goes right, they should go from being intrigued to in love after the Senior Bowl.
