From Jalon Walker to James Pearce Jr., the 2025 draft class will rep the Carolinas well
In a little over a week, the 2025 NFL Draft will begin, and dozens of football players with ties to the Carolinas will have their lives changed forever.
Well … “dozens” might be an understatement.
Because this year’s local class is pretty stacked.
In February, the NFL Scouting Combine invited over 30 players with connections to North Carolina and South Carolina to participate in the annual festivities. That Carolina group included some of the draft’s top talents.
Jalon Walker, a Salisbury native, is widely considered a Top 10 pick with the potential to land with the Carolina Panthers at No. 8. Charlotte’s own James Pearce Jr. also has high first-round projections.
Last year, 24 players who either went to college or grew up in the Carolinas were selected in the draft. That included Drake Maye — the Myers Park-turned-UNC Tar Heel quarterback who was drafted by the New England Patriots at No. 3 overall — as well as Xavier Legette, the Mullins, S.C., native who landed with the Panthers at pick No. 32.
Here’s a look at the 2025 potential class of draftees with ties to North Carolina and South Carolina. This tiered list aims to be comprehensive and accurate, but as loyal draft watchers know, surprises emerge every year.
The NFL Draft runs from Thursday, April 24, to Saturday, April 26, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. You can watch the draft live on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network. The first pick will be selected a little after 8 p.m.
Projected first-round players in NFL Draft
There are a handful of Carolina natives who rise above the rest and will almost assuredly be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Meet them here.
Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia. The Salisbury High School graduate has had a wonderful NFL Draft process. His on-field performance said a lot — he was given the 2024 Butkus Award, which recognizes the nation’s top linebacker — and his off-the-field impression with teams has been equally superlative. Many consider him the second- or third-best defensive prospect behind Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter, who’s in the conversation for being the No. 1 overall pick. Walker could conceivably land with the Panthers — and it seems that head coach Dave Canales would love it if that happened.
James Pearce Jr., DE, Tennessee. The Charlotte native and Chambers High star was once a Top 10 pick-in-waiting. The 6-foot-5, 243-pound defensive end’s performance at the NFL Scouting Combine — which featured a 4.47-second 40-yard dash — only seemed to seal that fate. He’s fallen a bit in recent draft projections, and media reports explain there are varying reasons for that (including run-stopping concerns), but he’s nonetheless a first-rounder.
Shavon Revel Jr., CB, ECU. Here’s a fun guy to root for. The cornerback, who arrived in Greenville by way of Winston-Salem’s Reynolds High School, is projected as a first-rounder, primarily thanks to his size — he’s 6-foot-2, 194 pounds with a great wingspan and exceptional top-end speed, per his profile on NFL.com. According to an ESPN story on him, Revel had just finished a 10-hour overnight shift at an Amazon warehouse in Kernersville before getting his chance to show out for the Pirates, and that set him on the remarkable course he’s on now.
Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina. The Clayton native had one of the most prolific years in UNC history this past season — finishing with 1,660 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns to go along with 373 yards and two touchdowns receiving. His next stop? It’ll almost certainly be in the first round, and many mock drafts suggest it’ll be with the Denver Broncos, who are picking 20th. The Broncos, of course, recently employed a Tar Heel in their backfield: Javonte Williams (who landed with the Cowboys this offseason).
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina. With a 43.0 vertical jump, a 138.0 broad jump and a 4.38-second 40 time, Emmanwori solidified himself as one of the top safeties in this year’s draft. The Panthers need another safety, and Emmanwori’s versatility/ballhawking ability would pair nicely with Tre’Von Moehrig’s physicality, but the Panthers would likely need to trade back to justify spending their first-round pick on the 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect. The first-team All American and first-team All-SEC player is a late first-round projection.
Players with Day 2 potential
Here are the players with the potential to land anywhere in Rounds 2 through 3.
Jared Wilson, OL, Georgia. The Winston-Salem native and West Forsyth High School graduate had a good final year at Georgia and is mostly projected to land on Day 2 of the upcoming draft. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound interior offensive lineman is known for his quickness — he ran a 4.84-second 40-yard dash at the combine — and made a name for himself as a pass protector for the Bulldogs.
TJ Sanders, DT, South Carolina. The 6-foot-4, 297-pound defensive tackle from Marion, South Carolina, has been predicted to land at pretty much every team in the bottom half of the first round as of late. Still, the safe money is on him making a defensive-front-seven-needy team very happy in the second round. He’s a powerful interior run stopper and that makes him useful in just about every defensive scheme, according to his NFL.com profile.
Anthony Belton, OT, N.C. State. The 6-foot-6, 336-pound offensive tackle proved to be a force to be reckoned with last season — another product of a Wolfpack offensive line, of the same lineage as current Panthers Ickey Ekwonu and Chandler Zavala. The Tallahassee native is a great run blocker with a promising wingspan — 33 7/8” arm length — and will likely find a home in the third round somewhere, per mock drafts.
Kyle Kennard, DE, South Carolina. The 6-foot-4, 254-pound defensive end earned second-team All-America honors and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. Still, the EDGE defender is a near-consensus Day 2 pick — which is explained by concerns about his ability to control and shed blocks and struggles to flatten at the top of his rush, per NFL.com. His NFL comparison, according to the league site? Panthers DE DJ Wonnum — and based on how Wonnum played at the end of last year, that’s a high compliment.
Demetrius Knight, LB, South Carolina. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker notched 82 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception in his final year as a Gamecock. He’s fast and instinctual, and, as his NFL.com profile put it, his “football character should seal the deal as a future starter at inside backer.”
Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Suwanee, Georgia, native finished 2024 with 82 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Recent mock drafts have him as a third- or fourth-round pick, and mostly everyone, including NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, says he has a “good chance of becoming a quality starter as a run-and-chase WILL linebacker.”
Early Day 3 guys with ties to the Carolinas
These are the players whose projections have them in the fourth or fifth rounds.
Aeneas Peebles, DL, Virginia Tech. The Knightdale High School graduate and 6-foot-1, 290-pound defensive lineman has been projected anywhere from the third round to the seventh round in recent mock drafts. The native of the Triangle, however, controlled what he could, finishing his final year in college with an AP third-team All-American distinction to go along with a first-team All-ACC nod.
Jake Briningstool, TE, Clemson. The 6-foot-6, 241-pound tight end out of Clemson is considered a fifth-round pick by multiple projections. The receiving tight end arrived at Clemson from Brentwood, Tennessee, and notched 49 catches for 530 yards and seven touchdowns for the Tigers in 2024.
R.J. Mickens, DB, Clemson. Mickens had a senior year as a Tiger to remember — and a good NFL Combine. Pair those two things, and he’s played his way to being a draft pick, according to NFL Mock Draft Database. Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus points out that Mickens’ father, Ray, was drafted by the Jets in 1996 and that his zone coverage grade was in the 98th percentile this past college football season.
Willie Lampkin, C, North Carolina. Lampkin will be an interesting guy to keep an eye on come draft time. The biggest reason? He’s the shortest offensive lineman in the draft; he’s 5-foot-10, 279 pounds. The three-year starter at Coastal Carolina and then two-year starter for the Tar Heels has a wide range of projections — from Round 4 to Round 7, according to an aggregation of mock drafts provided by Mock Draft Database.
Kaimon Rucker, DE, North Carolina. Rucker returned to UNC for a fifth year this past season, and though his numbers were slightly down from previous seasons — 30 tackles and six sacks, mostly due to a season-ending fractured fibula in early December — his NFL potential remained relatively steady. He told reporters at UNC’s pro day that he only participated in position drills at the combine because of his injury, but that he now feels good.
Tonka Hemingway, DL, South Carolina. Hemingway is a 6-foot-3, 284-pound defensive lineman from Conway, S.C., with a knack for getting after the quarterback. According to his NFL.com profile, he’s a “tweener” who “displayed enough quickness and lateral movement to flash for the South Carolina defense,” and who “will need to align as a 4i (inside shoulder of OT) or five-technique as he simply doesn’t have the strength to leverage his gaps as a run defender inside.”
Late Day 3 and undrafted free agent prospects
Here are some sixth- and seventh-round local prospects to know, as well as a few players who might make splashes as undrafted free agents.
Carson Vinson, OL, Alabama A&M. The Morrisville, N.C., native and Panther Creek High School graduate has been projected to land at a variety of different spots. The Draft Network, in fact, had the 6-foot-6, 305-pound interior offensive lineman land with the Panthers in a projection from February.
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, RB, South Carolina. The 6-foot, 224-pound running back is projected as a sixth-round pick. As The Observer’s Mike Kaye wrote in a feature in January: There’s an underlying intensity to the running back — one that could propel a good pro career.
Power Echols, LB, North Carolina. The undersized Tar Heel linebacker is hoping to live up to his name in his NFL career. Projections have him peaking as a sixth-rounder.
Marcus Tate, OL, Clemson. The 6-foot-5, 316-pound interior offensive lineman has some Round 6 potential, according to mock drafts.
Bryson Nesbit, TE, North Carolina. The South Mecklenburg High graduate and son of a former Super Bowl champion is projected as a seventh-round pick, per many recent mock drafts.
Torricelli Simpkins III, OL, South Carolina. The Olympic High graduate has slipped out of the seventh round since the combine in February, according to NFL Draft Buzz.
O’Donnell Fortune, CB, South Carolina. SB Nation’s James Dator had Fortune going to the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round in his latest mock draft.
Zeek Biggers, DT, Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-6, 321-pound interior defensive tackle will get a shot with a team at training camp, even if he goes undrafted at first.
Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson. Clemson’s leading rusher in 2024 is expected to be an undrafted free agent.
Payton Page, DL, Clemson. He’s likely an undrafted free agent.
Jahvaree Ritzie, DT, North Carolina. He’s projected to be an undrafted free agent, despite showing out at UNC’s pro day last month. He told reporters that he met with the Panthers during the February combine.
Alijah Huzzie, CB, North Carolina. He’ll likely go undrafted.
Bam Martin-Scott, LB, South Carolina. He’ll likely be an undrafted free agent; he finished 2024 with 67 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Joshua Simon, TE, South Carolina. He’ll likely be an undrafted free agent, but his 6-foot-4, 259-pound frame — plus his 40 receptions and seven touchdowns in 2024 — should warrant him some desirable UDFA looks.
DeAndre Jules, DL, South Carolina. He’ll likely go undrafted.
Robbie Ouzts, TE, Alabama. The Rock Hill High School graduate will likely go undrafted.
Jaylin Lane, WR, Virginia Tech. The Clover, South Carolina, native has impressed in the pre-draft process — especially when he got to show off his athleticism. If he isn’t drafted late, he will be an undrafted free agent to watch.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
