The 2025 NFL Draft is starting to take shape as 71 players opted to forgo eligibility and enter the draft early. The list includes two out of four Heisman Trophy finalists and 10 first-team members of the CBS Sports All-America Team. With that in mind, we decided to look at the teams whose 2025 seasons will be most shaped by losing underclassmen to the draft.
Need any indication of how much these decisions can flip a season? Last year, Ohio State managed to retain key pieces like offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, defensive end Jack Sawyer and cornerback Denzel Burke. One year later, they keyed a national championship run. Last season, more than 90 players entered the draft early. This year, that number is down by nearly 20 players.
Losing a quantity of players alone doesn’t land you on this list. Penn State lost three players to early entry, but the returns of quarterback Drew Allar and defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton helps ease the pain. Similarly, LSU has to rebuild its offensive line because of early entries, but bringing back quarterback Garrett Nussmeier makes the job much more manageable.
Here are four teams that are most impacted by early-entry departures to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Losses: QB Quinn Ewers, OT Kelvin Banks, WR Isaiah Bond, RB Jaydon Blue, OT Cameron Williams, WR Matthew Golden
The Longhorns are a popular pick for preseason No. 1 in 2025 as the program transitions to Arch Manning, but the underclassman losses are significant. Ewers and Banks were obvious draft entrants after strong…
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