Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham
Three different positions. Three different styles of play. Three different impacts on a defense that can change how an entire unit operates. The advantage to pursuing defense in the top ten, especially with these three prospects, is the fact all three have the versatility factor that can fit them into any scheme in the league. They are not one-role specialty types like a left tackle is. They can align in different spots unlike a quarterback can. Carter, Hunter, and Graham can find a way to create immediate impact on any and all defenses no matter who is on the roster. The same cannot be said with offensive skill position players.
It can be hard to stack players from different positions against each other. “Take the best player” is an easy out, but all three of these defenders are great. Let’s break them down individually and come up with a route to you stacking them on your big board. Before you go, keep these three questions in your scope.
1) What are the elite traits?
2) What kind of impact does he make on all four downs?
3) Where are the vulnerabilities?
What are the elite traits?
Carter was a versatile off-ball linebacker that had enough speed (clocked sub 4.48 in the forty last spring) to stand out among others at the position. Now that he made the move to full time edge? Carter may be the fastest and most explosive player at the position by a mile. His get off and ability to turn the corner with a low, sturdy pad level while staying square is a superpower that will, without a doubt, be weaponized in the NFL. His inside rush moves improved as the year went on which is enough to keep blockers from going all in on racing him to the top of the rush outside. That elite speed and burst show up in pursuit as well.
Hunter is arguably the most unique prospect to ever come out of college. He credibly projects to both receiver and cornerback in the top ten. Exclusively by themselves? More so corner than receiver. His elite trait is that fact he can and likely will create impact on both sides of the ball. If you want to keep this a defensive decision alone, Hunter’s trait revolves around speed and feel. We see fast corners enter the league every year. Many of them do not anticipate and react to that speed. Hunter is the anomaly. His on-field IQ is as good as any player in the class and adding that to his elite speed grade can make him a lock-you-up corner right away.
Graham was a 17-year-old recruit that arrived at Michigan in the summer of 2022 looking up at multiple future pros ahead of him on the depth chart. They couldn’t keep him off the field long. His elite upper body strength and rare lateral movement traits make him incredibly hard to latch on to. If you do get your hands on him instantly post-snap, good luck trying to sustain contact. Graham is as technically proficient with his hands as he is quick to the ball. Combining the two together gives him unlimited range as a run defender and through-the-roof upside as a pass rusher.
What kind of impact does he make on all four downs?
Carter is all over the place on his tape. There is not a blade of grass he can’t reach when he pursues the action. While you are drafting the pass rush ability when taking Carter, there is more to him than that. Against the run alone, he has made 118 tackles (33 for a loss or no gain) over his career. He has the length to keep blockers away from his frame and the immediate trigger to beat them to a spot. Very few ball carriers have the speed to get away from him. While Carter is going to be rushing the passer on the vast majority of passing plays, do not sleep on his impact in coverage. He has seven career pass break ups and an interception. Carter will never have to be taken off the field and he is a guy that will make splash plays on every down in every potential situation.
Hunter may not be an every down impact defender, corners rarely do. That cannot be held against them because of how specialized the position is. However, his every down impact is nothing like other corners because of the fact he can and likely play both sides of the ball. A strong argument can be made he will make more impact on a play-to-play basis than either of these other top ten defenders by a wide margin. If we want to keep it to defense, Hunter does have true shutdown ability in coverage. Nobody can outrun him. He has good length and ball skills. And he knows how to read routes as well as any corner in the group. He won’t win games with his run defense of physical presence as a tackler, but he does have a sub-10% missed tackle rate, a solid number for a corner.
Graham is going to be a high draft pik because of what teams will think about his ability to rush the passer. The elite run defense adds momentum to his grade, but you aren’t a top ten pick because you can stuff the run. The point here is simple; Graham has the movement traits and power to factor on passing downs right away. He can dominate one on one blocking similar to 2024 Ourlads All-Rookie Team Braden Fiske. Everybody wants that. But when you add in what we can do against the run (watch the Ohio State tape), there is another layer of not just good, but great potential that can show up right away. Good teams understand how vital a capable run defense is no matter how much you think the passing game has taken over.
Where are the vulnerabilities?
Carter is too aggressive for his own good at times. Like Parsons (the similarities are endless), he is so locked into making the explosive, big play. There are obvious, numerous examples why that is a positive and borderline lethal weapon for the defense. At the same time, some teams were able to weaponize it against the Penn State defense. He abandons his assignment, specifically on the backside or cutback lanes, to chase down the action. He will widen the pass rush lanes with the sole focus of running around blockers rather than through them. Simply put, there are moments where Carter is too fast and has too much range for his own good. He will need to be more disciplined with the scheme and his role within it.
Hunter is planning as if he is going to do something that has never been done in the modern era. Sure, we have seen players make an impact in multiple phases of the game. We have seen cornerbacks play some receiver and/or make an impact as a returner. But full time on both offense and defense? Never. Nothing even remotely close. Developing as a pro corner is an extremely difficult task; one that several fail to accomplish. The “bust” rate at corner is higher than most positions. As good as Hunter is, how much will the attention being put at receiver impede the needed development at corner? Are we aiming to be good at two things or one great at one? Hunter does have technical components to the position that need to be fixed. He is talented, yes, but in his current state he’s not a number one corner right now. Any energy given to a spot besides corner inevitably will delay his path to the ceiling at that spot.
Grahamis a great player, but his production never jumped off the screen. While all prospects are simply projections until they accomplish things on the field, the ability to point to proven production is often a pillar when labeling someone “top ten in any draft”. While numbers can be misleading in most circumstances, consider this objectivity behind that statement. Graham was on the field for 338 pass rush snaps in 2024, 20th most among defensive tackles. His PRP (a PFF metric that combines hurries, QB hits, and sacks relative to how many times they rush the passer) ranked 36th, again among just defensive tackles. Fellow interior prospects like Derrick Harmon from Oregon, Omarr Norman-Lott from Tennessee, and TJ Sanders from South Carolina were significantly higher in that metric. He has nine sacks in 39 career games at Michigan which can give legs to the feel that he absolutely needs to win immediately post snap to gain enough of an advantage to finish. If not, his lack of length can get him stalled out rather quickly with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Conclusion
The statement stands. These three are top ten in any draft. Which teams are picking in the top ten and what they need respectively could cause a slide but do not overcomplicate this especially after what we just watched the Philadelphia defense do to Patrick Mahomes with Tom Brady in the booth who experienced the same exact thing against the Giants not once, but twice. Carter and Graham are guys that change how opposing offenses gameplan. Hunter is an actual generational (most overused word in evaluation should not water it down in this case) that can change the game.
There are ZERO players (unless you need to take a quarterback) that should be drafted ahead of these three. If you can’t find a spot for them on your defense, find a new job.