College Football's Best Players Not Taken in the 2025 NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books and several big-time and high-profile college football players didn't hear their name called during the three-day event. Although productivity in college doesn't translate into NFL success, some of the players not selected came as a surprise.

Whether it was a concern about size, overall talent, an injury, how a player will transition from scheme or handle the jump to the NFL, a handful of stars from the previous college football season did not hear their name called during the draft.

Every position featured a notable college star who didn't get drafted, including quarterbacks like Memphis' Seth Henigan and Missouri's Brady Cook. South Carolina's Rocket Sanders and Michigan's Donovan Edwards highlight the undrafted names at running back, with Miami's Xavier Restrepo and San Jose State's Nick Nash leading the way at receiver. Several notable names went undrafted on defense, including Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III, Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins, and Oregon cornerback Jabbar Muhammad.

Which of college football’s biggest names (FBS only) went undrafted? Here’s a look at the best players, weighing talent, career and 2024 achievement totals.

College Football's Best Players Not Taken in the 2025 NFL Draft

First-Team Offense

QB Seth Henigan, Memphis
RB Rocket Sanders, South Carolina
RB Montrell Johnson, Florida
AP Donovan Edwards, Michigan
WR Nick Nash, San Jose State
WR Xavier Restrepo, Miami
WR Isaiah Bond, Texas
WR Andrew Armstrong, Arkansas
TE Jake Briningstool, Clemson
OL Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State
OL Clay Webb, Jacksonville State
OL Logan Brown, Kansas
OL Luke Kendra, Cincinnati
OL Willie Lampkin, North Carolina
OL Hollin Pierce, Rutgers
OL Joshua Gray, Oregon State

First-Team Defense

DL B.J. Green, Colorado
DL Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
DL Jared Ivey, Ole Miss
DL Howard Cross III, Notre Dame
LB Jay Higgins, Iowa
LB Nick Jackson, Iowa
LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV
LB Shaun Dolac, Buffalo
CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon
CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas
CB Mello Dotson, Kansas
S Sebastian Castro, Iowa
S J.J. Roberts, Marshall
S Shamari Simmons, Arizona State

First-Team Specialists

K Ryan Fitzgerald, Florida State
P Alex Mastromanno, Florida State

Second-Team Offense

QB Brady Cook, Missouri
RB Corey Kiner, Cincinnati
RB Ja’Quinden Jackson, Arkansas
AP Tre Stewart, Jacksonville State
WR Kobe Hudson, UCF
WR Traeshon Holden, Oregon
WR Theo Wease, Missouri
WR Isaiah Neyor, Nebraska
WR Bru McCoy, Tennessee
TE Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss
OL Eli Cox, Kentucky
OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, Florida
OL Xavier Truss, Georgia
OL Marcus Tate, Clemson
OL Jacob Bayer, Arkansas State
OL Jake Majors, Texas
OL Joe Huber, Wisconsin

Second-Team Defense

DL RJ Oben, Notre Dame
DL Jah Joyner, Minnesota
DL Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina
DL Tyler Batty, BYU
LB Chandler Martin, Memphis
LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Kentucky
LB Karene Reid, Utah
LB Eugene Asante, Auburn
CB Zy Alexander, LSU
CB Tommi Hill, Nebraska
CB Fentrell Cypress, Florida State
DB O’Donnell Fortune, South Carolina
S Alijah Clark, Syracuse
S Maxen Hook, Toledo

Second-Team Specialists

K Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana
P James Burnip, Alabama