Jackson Woodard Headlines Mountain West's Top Defensive Prospects in 2025 NFL Draft

Where does UNLV standout linebacker Jackson Woodard rank among all Mountain West defensive players entering the 2025 NFL Draft?

UNLV Rebels linebacker Jackson Woodard (7) and defensive back Cameron Oliver (5) celebrate after a play in the first half against the California Golden Bears at SoFi Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Mountain West Conference has a ton of talented young prospects who have declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. We are going to take a look at the top prospects from the conference and see where Jackson Woodard fits in. Here, we are going to focus on defensive prospects who we have graded out to be drafted and not be post-draft free-agent pickups. 

2025 NFL Draft: Mountain West Conference Defensive Prospect Rankings

1. S Kitan Crawford, Nevada Wolfpack

2. DL Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State Broncos

3. LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV Rebels

4. S Jack Howell, Colorado State Rams

This is a small but strong group of defensive players. Crawford is just such an explosive athlete that there is no doubt that he is the best in this group. I wouldn't even take issue if some scouting department fell in love with him and made him a late Day 2 pick. His physical ability combined with his high football IQ make him an intriguing prospect. 

When it comes to Hassanein, he is not a better football player than Woodard and he's not really even close. However, he is good enough to have an immediate role in the NFL as a situation edge rusher on obvious passing plays. The reason he is ranked above Woodard is because he has the physical tools to potentially develop into a high-end starter which Woodard just doesn't have that elite athleticism despite having everything else. While Woodard is more likely to be a contributor and is more NFL ready, NFL teams simply value upside more than just about anything else. 

Jackson Woodard Wave Drill #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/YE6F9THn9z

— WalkTheMock (@WalkTheMock) February 28, 2025

Howell is a solid player who has had some wow moments, but he doesn't project to be much more than backup safety on the next level. Woodard may be relegated to a two-down role as more of a run stopper, but it would be a surprise if he doesn't secure a safe roster spot once a team gets to watch him in camp. That may not be the case for Howell who will be fighting to prove that he belongs on the next level. 

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