Sorting through the grittiest offensive skill players in the 2025 NFL Draft and looking for Dan Campbell/Detroit Lions-type guys.

The Grit Index has returned and we’re unveiling the results in a new series of articles. First up, we take a look at the offensive skill players in the 2025 NFL Draft class.

In a recent article, we detailed how our process of developing the Grit Index has evolved over the past three offseasons, but the CliffsNotes version is that we’ve expanded our tiers from three to five, and have scaled out the scoring on a 0-100 grading system. Tier 1 players score 80+, Tier 2 land between 70-79, Tier 3 is 60-69, Tier 4 covers 50-59, and anything 49 and below is Tier 5.

It’s important to remember that this entire system is based on collecting data from draft analysts’ opinions of prospects, making it an imperfect system. However, we’ve tried to counter those flaws by adding volume and giving weight to analysts who have proven trustworthy. Every analyst has a different set of values in their assessments and our formula is our best attempt at aggregating imperfect and incomplete information.

Quarterbacks

The quarterback position has an unusually high imbalance between the tiers because the nature of the position typically uses language that coincides with our Grit Index key terms. This creates an obstacle that essentially puts quarterbacks in an entirely different group than the rest of the position groups, as they can’t be equally compared.

Fortunately, the Lions likely not being in the market for a quarterback in this draft class affords us some time to make adjustments for next year’s index.

Running backs

It’s no surprise that Cam Skattebo sits at the top of this list, but it is mildly surprising that both Ohio State backs made it into Tier 2. When you combine Treveyon Henderson’s (8.87) and Quinshon Judkins’s (9.90) RAS scores with their Tier 2 ranking, it makes sense why they’ll be so highly coveted in the draft.

Kyle Monangai has been on our watchlist since the NFL Combine and his high ranking justifies that thought process. Kalel Mullings, who was also featured on our watchlist, checks in at the top of Tier 3, putting him in a good spot as well. However, it was a bit disappointing to see Jaydon Blue—who was coached by Lions running back coach Tashard Choice at Texas—only receive minimal attention.

Wide receivers

Emeka Egbuka is a heck of a player, an impressive athlete (9.72 RAS), and far and away the grittiest receiver (Tier 1) in this class. He’s so good and such a clean grit fit, you’d have to wonder if the Lions wouldn’t mind having two Amon-Ra St. Browns on the roster.

The two receivers that jump out in Tier 2 are Elic Ayomanor and Isaac TeSlaa, as both have WR-X range and connections to Detroit. Ayomanor was recruited to Stanford by Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw and is arguably the best blocking receiver in this class. TeSlaa is a Michigan native and was recently in Allen Park for a pre-draft visit with the Lions.

Matthew Golden—who also took a Top 30 visit to Allen Park—leads off an impressive Tier 3 group that also features potential WR-X options Tetairoa McMillian, Jack Bech, Tory Horton, Pat Bryant, and Bruy McCoy.

Jayden Higgins leading off Tier 4 was a tick surprising (I expected him higher due to his competitiveness and blocking skills) but there’s a ton to like about his game beyond this score.

Tight ends

For as many gritty blocking tight ends as this class has, their collective scores were much lower than expected. For example, I would predict that Alabama’s Robbie Ouzts and CJ Dippre grit scores should be higher than where we have them slotted, but there’s just not a ton of sourced data out there on them and as a result, they end up in Tier 4. Thomas Fidone and Jackson Hawes landing in Tier 3 is perfectly acceptable, but one could make an argument they’re low as well, as they also fell victim to sparse information.