Shilo Sanders and Other 2025 NFL Draft Prospects Who Could Be Steals in Later Rounds

The star-studded first day of the NFL draft may draw the most attention, but championship-winning teams are often built with selections in the latter rounds.

Being able to maximize draft capital by identifying prospects who can fill a role adequately is critical to the success of any NFL front office. Unearthing backups with starting potential on Day 3 makes a huge difference over the course of a long season when injuries are adding up.

Several prospects in the 2025 NFL draft class appear to fit the bill as value picks with upside. The odds are against them turning into stars—although it’s not off the table—but they should find a way to to carve out nice NFL careers and contribute to winning teams.

With that in mind, here are five prospects who are shaping up to be late-round steals.

CB Garnett Hollis Jr., West Virginia

(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

With receivers around the NFL getting taller and stronger each year, teams can’t get enough big cornerbacks to counter that trend. Garnett Hollis Jr. could be a great late-round pickup for any club looking to bolster its secondary with a sizable corner who can battle against hulking wideouts.

Listed at 6'0" and 203 pounds, Hollis has the length and frame to battle against X receivers in the NFL. He used that size to his advantage during his tenure with the Mountaineers to take on blockers and go toe-to-toe against both wideouts and tight ends. Hollis is an aggressive defender and can strongly contest due to both his physicality and timing.

While Hollis doesn’t move well enough to be a top-tier NFL cornerback and isn’t going to create many turnovers—he recorded only two interceptions across 39 career games at both Northwestern and West Virginia—he has the potential to develop into a serviceable outside corner.

If Hollis lands with the right team that can leverage his size and skills in zone coverage, he’ll be able to hit the ground running as a rotational option. With a season or two of refinement, he could even burst into a starting lineup while playing a heavy number of snaps.

That would be quite a return on investment for a player whom the B/R Scouting Department issued a fifth-round grade on.

OT Jack Nelson, Wisconsin

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Jack Nelson has been a fixture in the offensive trenches for Wisconsin. After joining the Badgers as a 5-star recruit in 2020, the jumbo-sized lineman went on to start 50 games—37 at left tackle and 13 at right guard—over the last four seasons.

There’s plenty of tape on Nelson, so teams should have a good idea of what they are getting in him. While he’s likely trending toward becoming a Day 3 pick—the B/R Scouting Department has him rated as the No. 18 OT in the class—it wouldn’t be a shock if Nelson outperforms those modest expectations.

At 6’7” and 314 pounds, Nelson has more than enough size and an ideal build to protect a quarterback’s blind side in the NFL. He’s athletic and highly skilled, using his hands to rein in his mark and powerful lower body to anchor in and slow down rushers.

Nelson is a good run-blocker as well. He helped to drive a Wisconsin rushing attack that averaged over 150 yards per game on the ground each season he was with the program.

The biggest red flag with Nelson has been inconsistency. He’s prone to biting on fakes and has given up several painful sacks over the last few years as a result.

If he can smooth out that part of his game and avoid being beaten badly when he’s caught out of position, Nelson has a real chance to become far more than a backup in the pros. He could develop into a starter relatively early in his NFL career.

QB Kurtis Rourke, Indiana

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The evolution of the NFL has led to teams coveting mobile, athletic quarterbacks who can create on the move and make plays with their legs. Teams looking for these types of traits will not find them in Kurtis Rourke, a prototypical pocket passer who would have been far more desired in previous eras.

The Indiana signal-caller has the look of a throwback NFL quarterback, having measured in at 6’4” and 220 pounds at the combine. He has the height to stand tall in the pocket, go through his progressions and pick out targets using his football IQ, which he did often during his sensational lone season in Bloomington.

While Rourke was still recovering from recent surgery on a torn ACL at the combine—which he revealed had plagued him throughout the 2024 campaign—his toughness and body of work should be enough to convince an NFL team to take a chance on a player whom the B/R Scouting Department has ranked No. 187 (QB11) on their big board.

Rourke racked up 5,464 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air during his final two seasons at Ohio. He transferred to Indiana in 2024 and helped the Hoosiers go 11-2—the program’s best winning percentage since 1945—and make the College Football Playoff bracket while completing 69.4 percent of his throws for 3,042 yards and 29 scores.

Although the 24-year-old Rourke isn’t brimming with upside and tends to struggle when protection breaks down, he’s an excellent rhythm passer who can pepper his receivers with accurate throws in the short and middle areas of the field. If he’s well-protected in the NFL, he could develop into a serviceable starter.

Rourke shouldn't be expected to create for himself or make any Patrick Mahomes-type throws on the move. But give him a clean pocket and time to go through his reads, and he could be able to win games as often in the NFL as he did in college.

S Shilo Sanders, Colorado

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Shedeur Sanders is nabbing most of the predraft headlines as a potential franchise quarterback poised to go early in the first round. But his older brother, Shilo Sanders, could be trending towards a solid NFL career as well.

The elder Sanders’ draft stock received a boost last week when he ran an impressive 4.52-second 40-yard dash at Colorado's pro day. While he didn’t quite hit the target that father and head coach Deion Sanders was hoping for—Coach Prime had promised to buy his son a new car if he ran a 4.4 or better—it’s one that should have scouts buzzing about his pro potential.

Although he’s not in the B/R Scouting Department’s top 200 prospects in the 2025 class and did not receive an invite to the scouting combine, Sanders clearly showed he has the speed to succeed in the NFL.

The safety also has adequate size (listed at 6'0", 195 pounds), a nose for the ball and a penchant for creating turnovers. He possesses a strong football IQ and has the potential to play either safety position in the NFL.

Working against Sanders is his age—he turned 25 in February—and injury history, which includes an ACL tear and shoulder injury that cut his final collegiate campaign short. He began his college career in 2019 at South Carolina and continued with stints at Jackson State and Colorado, playing 21 total games for the Buffaloes since transferring ahead of the 2023 season.

If Sanders can refine his tackling technique, sharpen up his play recognition and improve in man-to-man coverage, he could be a quality depth safety early in his NFL journey. He may not be brimming with upside and has a relatively low ceiling, but Sanders is well worth a Day 3 gamble for any team needing to reinforce its defensive backfield.

RB Brashard Smith, SMU

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The 2025 NFL draft class is brimming with quality running back prospects. Unfortunately, the position is generally undervalued across the league, so some of them are likely to slip into the late rounds or even go undrafted next month.

Brashard Smith is one such prospect who may have to wait a while to hear his name called, but the SMU star looks ready to come out of the gate strong as a rookie.

Smith broke out in a big way during his lone campaign with the Mustangs. After spending three years as an underutilized wideout in Miami, a change of scenery and conversion to RB was just what Smith needed to realize his immense potential.

Smith finished the 2024 campaign with 1,332 yards and 14 touchdowns on 235 carries and added another 327 yards and four scores on 39 receptions.

Although Smith is a bit too undersized to be an every-down back in the pros, the 5’10”, 194-pounder has the speed (he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash) and athleticism to make up for any bulk he's lacking. Smith is also extremely elusive and has an arsenal of spins and jukes at his disposal that will make defenders miss.

Thanks to the time he spent with the Hurricanes, Smith is a fantastic pass-catcher out of the backfield or split out wide. He has incredible hands and can run crisp routes, finding holes in the defense and turning short catches into big gains.

Whichever team taps Smith in the draft will also be getting an elite return man. He returned 53 kickoffs across his collegiate career, tallying 1,295 yards and a score. Thanks to his shiftiness and explosion, it’s easy to envision the dynamic back continuing to excel on special teams in the NFL.

While the B/R Scouting Department has Smith as the No. 18 RB in the class, they did single him out as the best third-down back on the board. That’s an important role on any team, so Smith should be able to carve out a nice NFL career despite being a likely Day 3 pick.