Maryland Football: 2025 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch

In April, things begin to heat up in the football world as the NFL draft is on the horizon. And with it, multiple college football teams will see their players taken in this event. Although the Maryland Terrapins didn’t finish with the best record this past season (4-8), they were still able to produce a few star football players that will have the chance to be selected in the 2025 NFL draft. With only 257 draft selections available, here are the Maryland NFL prospects that are most likely to get their names called come late April.

Maryland Football: 2025 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch

Tai Felton, Wide Receiver

The most familiar of the prospects is wide receiver Tai Felton, and he’s been continuing to move up draft boards. Felton started the 2024 season on fire, recording over 100 yards in his first four games, with five touchdowns to go along with it. Felton finished his senior season recording 1,124 receiving yards and nine touchdowns off of 94 catches. All three of those stats led the Terrapins offense this past year.

Felton had an impressive day at this year’s NFL scouting combine, too. The Terps receiver finished top-5 in multiple categories. That included his 39.50-inch vertical jump (fourth-best), his 10-foot, 10-inch broad jump(fifth-best), as well as his incredible 4.37 40-yard dash, which was tied for the third-highest among wide receivers.

One player that I believe Felton has a lot of similarities to is Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan. Both Felton and McMillan have tons of success working from the Z position, and have the ability to get downfield very quickly.

The consensus on Felton is that he will be selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft. And currently, he’s being viewed as a backup player according to some scouts. 

Jordan Phillips, Defensive Tackle

The highest-rated defensive player entering the draft for the Terrapins is defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. Phillips started all 12 games in 2024 for the Terps, recording 29 total tackles. PFF ranked the Maryland football product as the eighth-best defensive tackle in this year’s draft, which would place him around the third round in most mocks.

Like Felton, Phillips had a very impactful day at the NFL Scouting Combine. He impressed coaches as he led all defensive tackles in the bench press, with a total of 29 reps.

When looking at different pro comparisons for Phillips, one name that was brought up by his head coach, Mike Locksley was Daron Payne. Phillips has been looked at as a very good athlete dating back to his days in high school where he was not just a standout wrestler, but also a weightlifter. It’ll be intriguing to see where he goes in the NFL draft.

Kaden Prather, Wide Receiver

The Terps don’t just have one receiver entering the 2025 NFL draft. And with this year’s interesting receiver class, some teams may look to add Kaden Prather on Day 3. Prather spent his final two college seasons with the Terrapins where he put up just over 600 yards and four touchdowns in both seasons. 

Prather, who will be 23 years old at the start of this season, had a great showing at the combine. The Maryland receiver put up a 4.46 40-yard dash, which was the highlight of his day.

As a player, Prather has shown that he can come in and line up in the X position. He is a big receiver, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 209 pounds. While watching Prather, one comparison that came to mind was Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins. Prather uses his height to get on top of defenders and box them out. And, he also has good ball vision that pairs well with his long catch radius.