The SEC is as soon as once more loaded with elite expertise.
The proof is all the time the NFL Draft. The league had a file 79 gamers chosen within the 2025 draft — 14 greater than its earlier file (most not too long ago in 2021). Virtually half of the first-round picks (15 of 32) got here from the SEC.
It might be simple to checklist the 25 high draft prospects from the SEC heading into the season and name it a day. However that’s not what that is. That is our checklist of the 25 finest gamers within the convention.
Let’s dive in.
1. LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
The 2024 SEC Freshman of the Yr and third-team all-conference choose ranked seventeenth nationally in passing effectivity after throwing for two,534 yards with 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The previous three-star recruit additionally ran for 674 yards and 7 TDs. He enters the season with the sixth-best Heisman odds, in response to BetMGM.
2. Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas
Why is Texas thought of the co-favorite with Ohio State to win the nationwide title? Let’s begin with protection, and the Horns most likely have the 2 finest defensive gamers within the SEC. Hill, a 6-feet-3, 239-pound junior and former five-star recruit, earned first-team All-America honors from The Athletic final season. He completed fifth within the league with 113 tackles and led the SEC with 16 1/2 tackles for loss whereas recording eight sacks.
3. Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
The 6-7, 360-pound junior earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2024. The Iowa native allowed three sacks and 15 pressures on 323 pass-blocking snaps, in response to Professional Soccer Focus. Proctor will workforce with heart Parker Brailsford and proper guard Jaeden Roberts to kind the core of what must be among the finest offensive traces within the nation.
4. Colin Simmons, DE, Texas
The Shaun Alexander Award winner — given to the nation’s high freshman — didn’t begin a sport for the Longhorns in 2024 however tied for third within the SEC in tackles for loss (14) and tied for fifth in sacks (9). The 6-3, 241-pound Dallas native will probably be within the beginning lineup for Texas this fall.
5. Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
The 6-foot, 175-pound sophomore’s breakout efficiency in opposition to Georgia highlighted a stellar rookie season that ended with first-team All-SEC and second-team All-American (AFCA) honors. He caught 48 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns and added two landing runs as properly.
6. Keldric Faulk, DL, Auburn
The 6-6, 270-pound junior has 20 begins in two seasons at LSU and is garnering first-round NFL Draft buzz heading into the season. He tallied 11 tackles for loss and 7 sacks final season and is the one returning full-time starter on Auburn’s entrance seven.
7. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
The fifth-year senior enters his second season because the Tigers’ starter minus 4 offensive linemen who had been drafted, together with left sort out Will Campbell. Nonetheless, LSU signed a high switch class, and Nussemeier is anticipated to have a banner season. He was one among two SEC quarterbacks to throw for at the least 4,000 yards in 2024, however he additionally tied for the league lead with 12 interceptions. He has the second-best Heisman odds behind Arch Manning of Texas.
2:46 of Garrett Nussmeier’s off platform/on the transfer throws (+ scrambles!) from the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/gJEMODQ9Cv
— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) Could 21, 2025
8. Dylan Stewart, edge, South Carolina
The 6-5, 245-pound Washington, D.C., native completed fourth within the SEC with 51 quarterback pressures in 2024, in response to Professional Soccer Focus. He made 11 begins as a real freshman and completed with 10 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks. The problem for Stewart in 2025 is to proceed dominating after the Gamecocks misplaced three NFL Draft picks alongside the line of defense — Kyle Kennard, Tonka Hemingway and T.J. Sanders.
9. Whit Weeks, LB, LSU
A primary-team All-SEC choice as a sophomore in 2024, Weeks ranked second within the league with 125 tackles, together with 10 for loss and three 1/2 sacks. The Georgia native had one interception and 4 cross breakups.
10. Jake Slaughter, C, Florida
The primary-team Related Press All-American enters his fifth season in Gainesville and is taken into account by most to be the perfect heart in faculty soccer. He’s an enormous motive Florida allowed 19 fewer sacks final season than it did in 2023 and why the Gators ought to have one of many high offensive traces within the nation in 2025.
11. LT Overton, edge, Alabama
The 6-5, 283-pound former five-star recruit from Milton, Ga., led Alabama with 9 quarterback hurries after transferring from Texas A&M final season. Overton began solely 4 video games however tallied 42 tackles, together with three for loss and two sacks. He must be one of many high gamers within the league this season as he transitions right into a full-time beginning position.
12. Christen Miller, DL, Georgia
It feels unusual not having a participant Georgia ranked increased on this checklist, however the defending SEC champions misplaced 13 gamers to the 2025 NFL Draft. Miller, a 6-4, 305-pound redshirt junior, is the one returning starter on the Bulldogs’ line of defense. He recorded 27 tackles, together with 3 1/2 tackles for loss and 1 1/2 sacks, in 2024.
13. John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
Mateer accounted for 44 touchdowns — greater than another QB nationally — at Washington State in 2024. He ranked eighth in passing effectivity, finishing 64.6 % of his makes an attempt for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and solely seven interceptions whereas additionally dashing for 826 yards and 15 scores. Going through SEC defenses will probably be a unique chore, however Oklahoma coach Brent Venables is relying on Mateer, Cal switch Jaydn Ott and a number of other different additions to revive an offense that struggled mightily in its first tour by the league.
14. Michael Taaffe, S, Texas
The 6-foot, 190-pound fifth-year senior has began 26 video games in his profession and earned second-team All-America honors from the AP final season when he had 78 tackles, 5 1/2 tackles for loss, two sacks, 12 cross deflections and two interceptions. Not dangerous for a former walk-on. He’ll workforce with cornerback Malik Muhammad to anchor the Longhorns’ secondary in 2025.
15. Cam Coleman, WR, Auburn
The 6-3, 195-pound sensational sophomore from Phenix Metropolis, Ala., lived as much as his five-star hype in Yr 1, catching 37 passes for 598 yards and eight touchdowns. He ought to thrive with a bunch of recent weapons round him this fall, together with receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest).
16. Arch Manning, QB, Texas
Even when his final identify weren’t Manning, odds are excessive that the quarterback at Texas would’ve entered this season among the many favorites to win the Heisman. Manning, although, seems the half, having made loads of big-time throws in addition to performs along with his legs when he stepped in for Quinn Ewers final season.
17. Jalon Kilgore, CB, South Carolina
Solely two full-time starters are again on South Carolina’s vaunted protection. We already ranked the opposite, Stewart. Kilgore, a 6-1, 211-pound junior, tied for the SEC lead with 5 interceptions and added 10 cross breakups to go together with 48 tackles final season.
18. Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
The 6-foot, 193-pound junior from Texas was a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist final season after transferring from Oregon State. He earned first-team All-SEC honors and was among the many league leaders with 13 cross breakups and 4 interceptions. McCoy could be increased on this checklist had he not torn his ACL in January. He’s anticipated again in some unspecified time in the future this season.
19. Suntarine Perkins, LB, Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin had eight gamers drafted — essentially the most for Ole Miss because the starting of the seven-round format in 1994. There’s not lots of beginning expertise again on protection apart from this speedy 6-1, 210-pound junior who had 14 tackles for loss, 10 1/2 sacks and 31 pressures final season.
20. R Mason Thomas, edge, Oklahoma
The 6-2, 249-pound senior from South Florida cracked the beginning lineup final season and earned second-team All-SEC honors, ending with a team-leading 12 1/2 tackles for loss, 11 hurries and 9 sacks.
21. Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
The previous Texas A&M quarterback recruit earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2024 after transferring from New Mexico State, catching 49 passes for 638 yards and 5 touchdowns. With quarterback Diego Pavia again, count on one other productive season from Sowers.
VANDY’S ELI STOWERS WITH AN UNREAL CATCH TO SET UP ANOTHER PAVIA TOUCHDOWN 🔥
IT’S ALL VANDERBILT AT THE BIRMINGHAM BOWL 😤 pic.twitter.com/ipl0ulmMPw
— SEC Community (@SECNetwork) December 27, 2024
22. DJ Lagway, QB, Florida
The sophomore from Texas went 6-1 as a starter in 2024, tying Chris Leak for essentially the most wins by a real freshman quarterback at Florida. He accomplished 59.9 % of his makes an attempt for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions whereas dashing 51 occasions for 101 yards. He missed the spring recovering from shoulder and hamstring accidents.
23. Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia
Everette, a third-team All-SEC choice in 2024, is coming into his third season as a starter. The 6-1, 190-pound junior from Virginia had 58 tackles and a team-high three interceptions, together with two within the SEC title victory over Texas.
24. Tyreak Sapp, DL, Florida
The fifth-year senior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., led the Gators with seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss final season and may line up anyplace on the line of defense. Sapp was one among 4 Florida gamers who obtained the Tim Tebow Management Award this spring. Jake Slaughter, No. 10 on this checklist, was one other.
25. Will Lee III, CB, Texas A&M
The 6-3, 190-pound Kansas State switch earned second-team All-SEC honors in his first season in School Station. Lee intercepted two passes and had 10 cross breakups and 42 tackles in 2024.
10 others to look at
26. KJ Bolden, S, Georgia
27. Deontae Lawson, LB, Alabama
28. Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt
29. CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
30. Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU
31. Eric Singleton Jr., WR, Auburn
32. Zachariah Department, WR, Georgia
33. Austin Barber, OT, Florida
34. Cayden Inexperienced, OG, Missouri
35. Caleb Banks, DL, Florida
(Picture: Brian Bahr / Getty Photographs)
