2 weeks Ago
Welcome to The Athletic ’s pick-by-pick grades for Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft . If you missed our reactions to all of Thursday night’s action, you can catch up on our Round 1 grades here . Once again, because it’s impossible to fully judge a prospect before he’s played an NFL snap, our immediate grades will try to take into account pick value, trade cost, what other prospects were available at the time of the selection and so on.
How’d everyone do on Friday night? (Editor’s note: Scott Dochterman provided grades for odd-numbered picks, Nick Baumgardner for even-numbered picks.) Round 2 The Browns are throwing their best punch on defense, teaming Schwesinger with first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham. Schwesinger began his career as a walk-on and finished it as one of the Big Ten’s most respected defenders — he had 136 tackles last year at UCLA and has elite instincts and character.
Grade: A-minus A big, strong receiver who can play the X or the Z, Higgins is similar to current Texans star Nico Collins, in that he’ll win underneath and over the top. Higgins is also very slippery after the catch, playing with the balance of a basketball player. Collins, Higgins and a healthy Tank Dell could be a lot of fun together.
Grade: A This is the best pick of the draft so far. Few players in this class are as athletic — or, potentially, as impactful — as Emmanwori, a first-team All-American last year. Over three seasons, Emmanwori started 36 games and affected the game in every facet.
He’s a physical tackler with impressive speed. Grade: A-plus This certainly fills a need and — Judkins won’t have to travel far from where he finished his college career. A much better gap runner than former teammate TreVeyon Henderson, Judkins is a physical hammer with great burst and vision between the tackles.
Grade: B-plus (Top photo of Nick Emmanwori: Michael Hickey / Getty Images).
