After spending seemingly the entire pre-draft process as a borderline lock to go top-5, either to the New England Patriots or the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mason Graham has seemingly started to slip down boards in the hours before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Widely considered the best player in the tier below Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, a certified three-down starter who can equally attack the run and passing game, Graham’s lack of traditional measurables, when coupled with other players rising, has some suggesting Graham might not even go in the top 6, and could even fall out of the top 10 if things really don’t break his way.
One such talent evaluator who feels that very way is none other than ESPN’s Matt Miller, who, in his final mock draft, had the Michigan product falling all the way to pick 11, where he would replace Javon Hargrave as the San Francisco 49ers’ new defensive tackle of the future, even if they’d seemingly like a very different kind of tackle at the pick.
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“The 49ers were very active bringing in offensive tackles for pre-draft visits,” Miller wrote. “According to team sources, they hosted Banks, Josh Simmons (Ohio State), and Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon), but with Banks off the board, they would pivot to a ‘best player available’ approach versus drafting right tackle Armand Membou (Missouri).”
Alright, in this particular mock draft, Kelvin Banks Jr. actually went off the board before Membou, which would be a bit of a surprise. With that being said, it is interesting to learn that if Bans and Graham are still on the board, the 49ers might still bypass the consensus better player to instead select a more pressing player of need.
So what gives? Is Mason Graham really that unattractive to potential teams, who see him as more of a high-floor than a high-ceiling kind of prospect? While landing in San Francisco would be a great fit for Graham, as he’d get to rush on the same line as Nick Bosa, what if they, too, were to pass on the Wolverine? While it’s more likely Graham will be drafted in the top 10 before John Lynch is on the clock, it’s clear things could go in the other direction to a pretty incredible degree, too.
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