Here’s where North Carolina high school athletes are headed after the NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft is over and eight former N.C. and Charlotte-area high school athletes were selected.

Saturday’s fourth through seventh rounds

The final day of the NFL draft featured the fourth through seventh rounds.

▪ No former North Carolina high school players were taken in the fourth round.

▪ Morrisville’s Carson Vinson went to the Ravens in the fifth round with the 141st overall pick. Vinson was a star at Panther Creek High School but didn’t receive a college offer until after his senior season. He played in college at Alabama A&M. Vinson, a 6-foot-7, 314-pound offensive lineman, was the only HBCU player invited, among 329 prospects, to attend the NFL Scouting Combine.

▪ Virginia Tech defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles was selected by the Ravens in the sixth round. Peebles, 6-1 and 290 pounds, was an Associated Press third team All-American this year after starting 12 games and getting 31 tackles and three sacks. Peebles was a star at Knightdale High School and was a high school conference player of the year.

▪ Former West Rowan High star Zeek Biggers was drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh round, with the 253rd pick. Biggers, a defensive tackle from Georgia Tech, had the biggest wingspan, 85 inches, at the NFL Combine. In high school, the 6-5, 321-pounder played football and basketball. He was an All-ACC pick last season.

Friday’s second and third rounds

Friday’s second day of the draft features the second and third rounds of the seven-round event. No former North Carolina high school players were taken in the second round.

▪ The first former N.C. high school star selected on Day 2 of the NFL Draft Friday was Shavon Revel Jr. of East Carolina University, who played his high school football at Reynolds in Winston-Salem. Revel, a 6-foot, 200-pound cornerback, was picked by the Cowboys with the 76th overall pick in the third round.

ESPN commentator and former Alabama national championship coach Nick Saban said he picked Revel to his personal All-American team. Saban said he would have Revel as a sure-fire first round pick except for the torn ACL he suffered last fall that cost Revel his final college season. Revel also missed nearly extended time in high school with a fractured skull, a broken nose and a broken collarbone. At ECU, he also missed time with a broken bone in his hand.

▪ Another Winston-Salem product went in the third round Friday when the Patriots selected Georgia offensive lineman Jared Wilson with the 95th overall pick. In New England, Wilson will help protect another former N.C. star — Patriots QB Drake Maye, who played at Charlotte’s Myers Park High. Wilson, who played center in college, is 6-foot-3, 310 pounds and played at West Forsyth High School. He was a second-team all-SEC pick last season.

Thursday’s first round

▪ The first N.C. player off the board was former N.C. high school Gatorade player of the year Jalon Walker of Georgia. Walker went to the Atlanta Falcons with the 15th overall pick in the first round. Walker was a first-team All-American last season at Georgia. Walker was a standout at Salisbury High, helping lead the Hornets to the spring 2021 state championship. His father, Curtis, is a former head coach at Catawba and assistant at Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina.

▪ Former UNC running back Omarion Hampton went to the Chargers with the 22nd overall pick in the first round. Hampton was named N.C. Mr. Football at Cleveland High School in Johnston County, southeast of Raleigh. In the past two seasons at UNC, he rushed for 30 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards. With the Chargers, he’ll play for a coach (Jim Harbaugh) who likes the running game.

▪ The first Charlotte-area player off the board was former Chambers High star James Pearce Jr., who won two state championships in high school. The Rams traded the 26th pick to the Falcons and Atlanta selected the defensive end from Tennessee. Atlanta traded a second-round pick this year and a first-round pick in 2026 to move up to get Pearce. At Tennessee, Pearce had 17 sacks and was a two-time first-team SEC performer. He runs a 4.47 40-yard dash.

North Carolina players selected

This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 9:52 PM.

Langston Wertz Jr.

The Charlotte Observer

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Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription