During every NFL season, late-round, under-the-radar rookies emerge as vital contributors to their respective NFL teams. And this year will be no different. Eventually, those underrated rookies move into key roles by Year 2 and Year 3 -- like Chase Brown of the Bengals, Levi Drake Rodriguez in Minnesota, and Moro Ojomo on the Eagles' defensive line. 

Let's make some selections from the 2025 draft class. 

Every player I carefully picked for this article was selected in the sixth or seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The Titans are distinctly in rebuilding mode, and the indicator of that is not just because their starting quarterback was the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. The roster is, in my estimation, the most barren in the NFL, and it's time for first-year GM Mike Borgonzi to evaluating the youthful talent that can be foundational pieces on the club in the coming years. 

Harris can be one of the those young -- and cheap -- pieces in Tennessee. The sixth-round pick from Cal has had a fine preseason to date. He's been sticky in man coverage, knocked away two passes and has not missed a tackle while bringing ball-carriers to the turf on five occasions.  

NFL preseason Week 2 grades for first-round rookies: Who impressed, disappointed and surprised

Chris Trapasso

From 2021 to 2023 at Idaho, before transferring to Cal, Harris was outrageously productive, with a total of six interceptions and 35 pass breakups. For the Golden Bears in 2024, snagged two more interceptions and defended six other passes. The Titans are not only needing L'Jarius Sneed to play better football this season. They're looking for his running mate at outside corner. Harris can be that guy. 

We know Sean McVay and Co. are unafraid to insert lower-drafted players into sizable roles in Los Angeles, and the seventh-rounder from Pittsburgh could very well be in line to see the fourth-most targets on this Rams team in 2025. 

Now, given that Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are distinctly ahead of everyone else in the receiving pecking order, who knows how many targets will be left over for Mumpfield and the other receiving options in L.A., but as a seventh-round pick, it'd be an accomplishment to see considerable run as a rookie.

Mumpfield ran 4.59 in the 40-yard dash, frankly very slow for a 186-pound receiver. However, his 6.82 three-cone time placed in the 74th percentile at the position. His 4.15 in the short shuttle placed in the 65th, and he did 23 reps on the bench (96th percentile). 

Altogether, Mumpfield's combine suggests he's a smaller, somewhat light receiver -- even by today's standards -- with nimble feet and surprising strength to his game. 

By all accounts, he's overachieved in camp, and he has four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown through two preseason contests. Don't be surprised if Mumpfield snags some slot targets away from Tutu Atwell in 2025. 

Wohler was a seventh-round pick after a decorated career at Wisconsin. In his final two seasons in Madison, the safety/linebacker hybrid made 191 tackles with seven tackles for loss, 12 pass breakups, and two interceptions. 

In today's NFL age of versatility, I'm still not exactly sure how and why Wohler fell to the seventh round. At 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds, he ran 4.57 with a 37-inch vertical and 10-foot broad jump -- he's quite clearly an explosive athlete. 

And his instincts and range have jumped off the film in the preseason. He has eight tackles -- while only missing one -- along with just two catches for 16 yards allowed in his coverage area. Most outside linebackers play in the 210-225 range weight-wise in today's NFL anyway. And because of his time spent at safety in college, he brings plenty of coverage chops. 

Wohler will become a key, multi-faceted piece on Indianapolis' defense as a rookie. 

Nnamdi Madubuike is the interior anchor in Baltimore. He needs help collapsing the pocket from the inside. And Peebles, a sixth-round pick, can be that secondary rusher the Ravens have been looking for next to Madubuike for a while now. 

A somewhat disappointing combine workout -- headlined by a reasonably slow 4.95 in the 40-yard dash at 282 pounds likely precipitated Peeble's fall to the sixth round. In college, at Duke then Virginia Tech, he steadily increased his pressure total in each of his final four seasons -- from 10 to 18 to 28 to 37.

Through two preseason outings, Peebles has registered four pressures on 45 pass-rushing snaps and has chipped in with four tackles without a miss. When I think of the Ravens defensive front, I always envision large, oversized block-eaters who keep the linebackers clean. Peebles is a different type -- a slightly undersized but dynamic mover who wants to win through a gap in a flash. 

I maintained through the entire draft process that Powell-Ryland was going to be picked relatively late but if he had longer arms, he'd have been a Day 2 selection. His 31 1/4" arms placed in the 2nd percentile at the edge-rusher position. Everything else about his physical profile was fine. He measured in at nearly 6-3 and 258 pounds, and his 40-yard dash, vertical, and broad jump all placed in the 75th percentile or higher, per Mockdraftable. 

On the field, Powell-Ryland was as polished of an outside rusher as was available in the 2025 draft. I really mean that. In his final two seasons at Virginia Tech -- post Florida transfer -- he accumulated 25.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss. Powell-Ryland plays with a ridiculous collection of pass-rush moves, plus bend, and surprising power. 

Of course the Eagles snagged him in the sixth round. He's had somewhat of a slow start in the preseason, but his one-on-one wins have been of the highlight-reel variety. In the late stages of the 2025 campaign, he'll be a fun pass-rush specialist in Philadelphia.