From first-round pick Grey Zabel on down, we’re looking at the FCS football selections and storylines in the 2025 NFL Draft.
If you wanted an early sense of the 2025 FCS NFL Draft class, the Stats Perform FCS All-America Team back in December provided it.
Seven first-team All-Americans and eight overall – with four of them offensive linemen – were draft selections from Thursday to Saturday nights.
Of course, the big men have been the big story with the FCS this decade as 23 of the 72 selections (31.9%) across the six drafts have been O-linemen.
We’re reviewing all of the FCS NFL Draft picks.
NFL Draft Picks by FCS Conference5 – Big Sky2 – Ivy; MVFC1 – CAA; Patriot; SWAC; UAC pic.twitter.com/YJZFPKTKq8
— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) April 26, 2025Five FCS Football Storylines
1. North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel became the highest-drafted offensive lineman in FCS history, going 18th overall to the Seattle Seahawks as the Division I subdivision’s first first-round pick since 2022 and the 24th all-time.
2. The Las Vegas Raiders selected Montana State’s Tommy Mellott, the 2024 Walter Payton Award recipient, and NDSU’s Payton runner-up Cam Miller two picks apart late in the sixth round – pairing the starting quarterbacks in the 2021 and ’24 FCS national championship games as teammates.
3. David Walker, the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award recipient, added another footnote to being the most decorated player in Central Arkansas history. His fourth-round selection at No. 121 was their highest ever out of 14 all-time draft picks.
4. As expected, the Big Sky enjoyed a strong draft with an FCS conference-high five selections, including two former all-conference players, Teddye Buchanan (Cal Poly) and Marcus Harris (Idaho), who played their final season at Cal.
5. The Jerry Rice Award (FCS national freshman player of the year) added fifth and sixth draft selections in its 15-year history (and only 12 draft classes), but they came in much different fashion. Miami (FL) quarterback Cam Ward (2020 Rice recipient at UIW) was the No. 1 overall pick of the Tennessee Titans, while Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2021 Rice recipient at Jackson State) – long viewed for a high first-round selection – plummeted to the fifth round, going 144th overall to the Cleveland Browns.
FCS NFL Draft Picks
Seattle Seahawks: Grey Zabel, C/OG, North Dakota State
Round: 1; Overall Pick: 18 Height: 6-6; Weight: 312 Notable: NDSU’s sixth offensive lineman to be drafted since 2014 and the Bison’s 13th overall pick in that time. (NDSU all-time draft picks)Las Vegas Raiders: Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary
Round: 3; Overall Pick: 99 Height: 6-5; Weight: 311 Notable: The only offensive lineman to be a 2024 Walter Payton Award finalist has 34 3/8-inch arms to keep defensive linemen at bay.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: David Walker, Edge, Central Arkansas
Round: 4; Overall Pick: 121 Height: 6-1; Weight: 267 Notable: In addition to receiving the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award, Walker was a rare three-time first-team Stats Perform FCS All-American. Graphic by Graham Bell.Indianapolis Colts: Jalen Travis, OT, Princeton/Iowa State
Round: 4; Overall Pick: 127 Height: 6-8; Weight: 341 Notable: The two-time All-Ivy League second-team selection (2022 and ’23) was one of the largest players in the draft class.Baltimore Ravens: Teddye Buchanan, LB, UC Davis/Cal
Round: 4; Overall Pick: 129 Height: 6-2; Weight: 233 Notable: Good size and testing results added to statistical results that only seemed to get better with each season.Baltimore Ravens: Carson Vinson, OT, Alabama A&M
Round: 5; Overall Pick: 141 Height: 6-7; Weight: 314 Notable: Started all 48 games of his A&M career, allowing just one sack as a senior (against Auburn).Tennessee Titans: Jackson Slater, OG, Sacramento State
Round: 5; Overall Pick: 167 Height: 6-3; Weight: 311 Notable: Sac State’s fifth draft pick during its FCS era (since 1993) tied for the second-most bench press reps (31) among O-linemen at the NFL Combine.Buffalo Bills: Jackson Hawes, TE, Yale/Georgia Tech
Round: 5; Overall Pick: 173 Height: 6-4; Weight: 253 Notable: Known for his physical blocking, Hawes earned second-team All-Ivy League honors in both 2022 and ’23.Tennessee Titans: Marcus Harris, CB, Idaho/Cal
Round: 5; Overall Pick: 183 Height: 5-11; Weight: 190 Notable: Set the Vandals career record for passes defended (36, including six interceptions) over the 2020-23 seasons.Chicago Bears – Luke Newman, OG, Holy Cross/Michigan State
Round: 6; Overall Pick: 195 Height: 6-3; Weight: 312 Notable: Made the switch inside to guard at Michigan State, making 12 starts and leading the Spartans with 739 offensive snaps.Las Vegas Raiders – Tommy Mellott, QB, Montana State
Round 6; Pick: 213 Height: 6-0; Weight: 208 Notable: Led the FCS in total touchdowns (46) while earning the 2024 Walter Payton Award. Passed for 55 TDs and scored 44 more in his career.Las Vegas Raiders – Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State
Round: 6; Overall Pick: 215 Height: 6-1; Weight: 217 Notable: Set NDSU career records for total offensive yards (11,998), passing yards (9,721), completions (759) and completion percentage (69.4).San Francisco 49ers: Junior Bergen, WR/RS, Montana
Round: 7; Overall Pick: 252 Height: 5-10; Weight: 185 Notable: Finished career with 4,468 all-purpose yards and tied the FCS record for career punt return TDs with eight.Undrafted Free Agents
Some of the key FCS players who were available to teams as undrafted free agents following the 2025 NFL Draft:
Chandler Brayboy, Elon, WR/KR (6-0, 205) Max Brosmer, New Hampshire/Minnesota, QB (6-2, 217) Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington, WR (5-10, 193) Darius Cooper, Tarleton State, WR (5-11, 210) JJ Galbreath, South Dakota, TE (6-3, 231) Kenny Gallop Jr., Howard, SS (5-11, 212) Thor Griffith, Harvard/Louisville, DT (6-2, 320) Brendan Hall, Montana State, P (6-7, 235) Tyron Herring, Dartmouth/Delaware, CB (6-1, 202) Keondre Jackson, Illinois State, SS (6-1, 211) Nick Kubitz, North Dakota State, ILB (6-2, 224) Lan Larison, UC Davis, RB (6-0, 215) Robert McDaniel, Alcorn State/Jackson State, SS (6-1, 212) Dymere Miller, Monmouth/Rutgers, WR (5-11, 181) TJ Moore, Mercer, CB (6-0, 187) Sone Ntoh, Harvard/Monmouth, FB (5-11, 220) Wande Owens, Yale, New Hampshire, SS (5-11, 205) Jared Penning, Northern Iowa, OT (6-5, 319) Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly, Edge (6-3, 251) ShunDerrick Powell, Central Arkansas, RB (5-7, 183) Ja’seem Reed, San Diego, WR (6-0, 190) Carter Runyon, Towson, TE (6-4, 234) Torricelli Simpkins, North Carolina Central/South Carolina, OT (6-5, 319) Aaron Smith, South Carolina State, ILB (6-0, 234) Mike Smith Jr., Eastern Kentucky, SS (6-0, 213) Isas Waxter, Villanova, CB (6-1, 209) Phillip Webb, Jackson State, Edge (6-5, 265) Marcus Wehr, Montana State, OG (6-2, 300) Elijah Williams, Morgan State, Edge (6-3, 270) TaMuarion Wilson, Central Arkansas, OLB/S (6-1, 215) Marcus Yarns, Delaware, RB (5-11, 189)Enjoy the FCS NFL Draft picks? Follow our coverage on X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
FCS Football NFL Draft Picks: 2025 Review Opta Analyst.
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