Three Cal Players Ranked Among ESPN’s Best NFL Draft Picks

Three Cal players – Nohl Willkiams, Craig Woodson and Teddye Buchanan – were ranked among ESPN’s 100 best selections in last week’s NFL draft.

The story, which was posted Wednesday, carries this headline: 2025 NFL draft: Ranking the 100 best picks, steals, fits. So it is not simply a ranking of the top players drafted. All three Cal players are ranked higher on this list than the slot they were taken in the draft and higher than their pre-draft ranking.

Here’s is the explanation that ESPN’s Matt Miller has for this list:

This list isn't based purely on talent -- that's why we had predraft prospect rankings. Here, we factored in value (where a player was drafted vs. where he was ranked predraft), scheme fit, how the selection addressed a need, what the prospect brings on the field and whether additional assets were gained or lost in draft-day trades to acquire him. Every round is represented, and there are even 38 picks from Day 3 among these 100 highlighted selections.

All three Cal players are ranked between 66th and 79th. Here is where ESPN ranked the selections of the three with a comment from Miller on each:

NOHL WILLIAMS

66. Nohl Williams, CB, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 3-85)

My final overall ranking: No. 81

One of the Chiefs' top needs was an outside cornerback to complement All-Pro Trent McDuffie. Williams is a physical player with length, speed and toughness, and he had seven interceptions last season. Kansas City's ability to hit on corners should make fans feel pretty good about this pick.

CRAIG WOODSON

69. Craig Woodson, S, New England Patriots (Pick 4-106)

My final overall ranking: No. 136

Sometimes the fit between a player and a coach is perfect. That's the case with this pick, with the uber-aggressive Mike Vrabel selecting arguably the hardest hitter in the draft early in Round 4.

TEDDYE BUCHANAN

79. Teddy Buchanan, LB, Baltimore Ravens (Pick 4-129)

My final overall ranking: No. 155

Buchanan was one of my favorite linebackers to watch on film and landed with a team that has had a historic run at the position. He won't be unseating Roquan Smith anytime soon, but Buchanan has the goods to eventually start in the NFL.

The only one of the four Cal players drafted this year not listed among the 100 best picks is cornerback Marcus Harris, a sixth-round selection by the Titans.