In his final projections before the NFL Draft in a few weeks, ESPN’s Mel Kiper (somehow) has Michigan DT Kenneth Grant falling out of the first round and being picked in the middle of the second round:
A few former Michigan Wolverines are expected to be picked in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft in just a few weeks from now. Mason Graham, Colston Loveland and Will Johnson are bona fide first-round picks. Kenneth Grant is considered a mid-to-late selection on Day 1, but a Day 1 selection nonetheless.
However, that line of thinking doesn’t apply to one of the industry’s most well known and polarizing NFL draft experts. In his most recent mock draft — which was a two-round mock draft — ESPN’s Mel Kiper inexplicably has Grant being drafted in the second round by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 43 overall.
Here’s what Kiper had to say:
Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins were released. Grant would clog up the middle in their place. He’s 6-foot-4 and 331 pounds, and he has explosiveness and good instincts to his game. Hitting on Day 2 picks would help San Francisco replenish its roster and remain a contender in the NFC. Grant has the potential to immediately contribute in a big way.
Kiper doesn’t even give a reason for why Grant would slip out of the first round. Either he forgot to give one, he didn’t care enough to give one, or he knows this makes no sense considering Grant has been steadily projected to go in the first round throughout the entire draft process.
Sure, Grant had a somewhat underwhelming Pro Day last month — running a mediocre 5.13 40-yard dash and only doing okay in other drills — but his potential at 6-foot-4 and 331 pounds is too good to pass up on the first night of the draft. He was a third-team All-American and a second-team All-Big Ten performer this past season with 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and five pass breakups.
If there’s a world where Grant doesn’t get picked in the first round of the draft, I don’t want to live in that world. And as my friend and colleague Matt Hartwell put in the Maize n Brew Slack room, “KG at 43 would be the steal of the century.”
In case you don’t have an ESPN+ subscription and you are curious, Kiper has Graham going at No. 5 to Jacksonville, Johnson going at No. 11 to San Francisco, and Loveland being picked at No. 14 to Indianapolis.
What do you think? Is Kiper crazy, or is he onto something that we don’t know? Let us know down in the comments below.