Cowboys draft 2025: DT Mason Graham scouting report

Here is our scouting report on defensive lineman Mason Graham from Michigan

We continue our 2025 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at defensive lineman Mason Graham, from Michigan.

Mason Graham

DT
Michigan Wolverines
Junior
4-star recruit
6’3”
320 lbs

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

History

Mason Graham played on the defensive line and at offensive tackle at his high school, Servite High School. Another huge feather in his cap is the fact he was also the school’s star wrestler on the wrestling team. In 2021, Graham officially committed to Michigan as a four-star recruit.

In his freshman year, Graham was thrown in the deep end and played in every game that year on Michigan’s schedule. He played a total of 303 defensive snaps and totaled 13 pressures, three sacks and 27 tackles.

In 2023, Graham improved dramatically and caught the eye of a lot of scouts. He was instrumental in helping Michigan win the National Championship where he delivered four tackles and five pressures. During the rest of the 2023 season, Graham registered 442 snaps (328 of those snaps at the three-tech position). He made 33 tackles, 29 pressures, eight tackles for loss and four sacks.

Last season, Graham had his best season and improved even more. He played a total of 548 defensive snaps and was one of the best run defenders on the team while still maintaining a high level of pass rush production. He had 45 total tackles and seven tackles for loss. As a pass rusher he totaled 34 total pressures and had 3.5 sacks.

2024 Statistics

548 Defensive snaps
45 Total Tackles
7 Tackles For Loss
34 Pressures
3.5 Sacks
1 Pass Breakup
1 Penalty

NFL Combine/Pro Day

TBC

Awards

All-America (2024)
First-team All-Big Ten (2024)
First-team All-Big Ten (2023)

Scorecard

Overall- 92.3
Speed- 73
Acceleration- 95
Agility- 93
Strength- 86
Tackling- 78
Pass Rush- 90
Run Defense- 90
Discipline- 97

THE GOOD

• Graham has an insanely hot motor. The first thing you notice from snap to snap is his relentless play.
• Extremely athletic for the position.
• His acceleration and burst off the line is elite.
• A very savvy hand fighter with fantastic hand strength.
• Due to his wrestling days he’s able to slip and pass by blocks with clever use of hands or to out leverage lineman if they try to hold him up.
• Good speed-to-power skills.
• He diagnoses the play quickly and knows when to hold his gap or half-man his blocker to locate the rusher.
• Times himself well when two-gapping and blocking the hole.

THE BAD

• Size is a huge concern. Graham measures up better as a five-tech than he does playing the nose or A-gaps.
• Coaches in the NFL may look to restructure his play which will take him time to develop.
• He will fail to disengage from blocks wanting to purely go straight at the offensive linemen and never back down.
• More of a “guy in the way” at times rather than leading the charge.
• He’s all too often wanting rip or spin (his spin move is elite however) and that leads to him being easy to predict.
• Arm length is his biggest weakness.

THE FIT

Graham is very enticing and all his issues are extremely fixable and can be resolved quickly thanks to Graham’s high IQ. His size is somewhat a concern but on the right defense that will look to employ a slanting defensive line or rotated often, Graham can easily be a success in the NFL. His general defensive techniques need very little coaching and his tackling skills are right where they need to be at this stage.

His scolding hot motor makes for him to be an early key defender in the NFL and his understanding of balance and getting linemen off-balance is a fantastic trait to watch on tape. His technique, speed and power all make for an ideal candidate at this stage to go very early in the 2025 NFL Draft.

COMPARISON

Sharrif Floyd, Minnesota Vikings

BTB GRADE

Top-15 prospect

CONSENSUS RANKING

4th
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services)