The 2025 NFL Draft gets underway Thursday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI., running from April 24-26. As 257 players will hear their name called, signaling their entrance into the NFL, a handful of former Tar Heels will hope to be among those drafted. Six former UNC players in RB Omarion Hampton, TE Bryson Nesbit, DL Jahvaree Ritzie, LB Power Echols, and CB Alijah Huzzie took part in the NFL Combine earlier this year, and two others in OL Willie Lampkin and DL Desmond Evans have made their way onto the NFL Draft radar.
Here’s a breakdown of where each former Tar Heel is projected to go in the 2025 NFL Draft:
RB Omarion Hampton
As the draft approaches, Omarion Hampton has found himself creeping up draft boards, and making noise as a potential first round draft pick. Hampton will be the first UNC taken in this year’s draft after a record-breaking three-year career with the Tar Heels. The two-time All-American finished his career in a Tar Heel uniform with 3,565 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns on 622 carries. Hampton added in 635 receiving yards and four scores on 73 receptions. He currently ranks fourth in UNC history in rushing yards, his 1,660 rushing yards in 2024 are the second-most in a season by a Tar Heel, and his 622 carries are the fourth-most at North Carolina.
CBS: Rd. 1, Pick 20, Denver Broncos
ESPN: Rd. 1, Pick 20, Denver Broncos
Yahoo: Rd. 1, Pick 20, Denver Broncos
The Ringer: Rd. 1, Pick 12, Dallas Cowboys
DE Kaimon Rucker
Kaimon Rucker spent five seasons at North Carolina, appearing in 58 games and tallying 180 total tackles, 38.5 tackles-for-loss, and 22 sacks. Rucker earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2023, and in his final season in Chapel Hill recorded 30 tackles, including eight sacks, in eight games played. The Hartwell, GA native ranks eighth in North Carolina history in tackles-for-loss and sixth in sacks (22), one ahead of Lawrence Taylor.
CBS: UFA
ESPN: UFA
OG Willie Lampkin
Perhaps one of the most notable omissions from the NFL Combine was Willie Lampkin, who made up for his exclusion with a solid performance at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL. Lampkin finished the 2024 season as the seventh-highest ranked guard in college football with a PFF grade of 88.8 in pass blocking. He played all 851 snaps in the 2024 season at right guard, allowing just four quarterback hits and zero sacks. Lampkin recorded 4,122 snaps across five seasons at the collegiate level with UNC and Coastal Carolina, allowing just three sacks (all at Coastal Carolina), and just eight quarterback hits.
CBS: 4th Rd., Pick 124, Green Bay Packers
ESPN: 7th Rd., Pick 249, San Francisco 49ers
CB Alijah Huzzie
Prior to transferring to North Carolina, Alijah Huzzie was a two-time FCS All-American at East Tennessee State, tallying 179 tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, and 12 interceptions across 34 games. Huzzie spent his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, appearing in 24 contests, amassing 82 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and four interceptions. The Honorable Mention All-ACC selection in 2023 assumed the punt return duties for the Tar Heels, scoring two touchdowns on 19 tries, averaging 13.9 yards per return. Huzzie surrendered just 22 catches on 47 targets in 2024, finished with a PFF grade of 73.2, good for first in the UNC secondary.
CBS: Rd. 5, Pick 146, Carolina Panthers
ESPN: Rd. 7, Pick 226, Kansas City Chiefs
DE Jahvaree Ritzie
Jahvaree Ritzie was a staple along the Tar Heel defensive line over the last four seasons, playing in 51 games in Chapel Hill since 2021. Ritzie finished his career at UNC with 138 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, and nine sacks, including 40 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2024.. He tallied 1,833 snaps in a Tar Heel uniform and had a PFF grade of 63.4 in 2024.
CBS:
ESPN: UFA
TE Bryson Nesbit
Nesbit appeared in 44 career games at UNC, missing the final six contests in the 2024 season due to injury. He recorded 20 or more receptions in three of his four seasons in Chapel Hill, ending with 1,510 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 107 receptions. Nesbit’s 13 career touchdowns are the most by a tight end in Tar Heel history. His best season in a North Carolina uniform came in 2023, when he was a First Team All-ACC selection after hauling in 41 passes for 585 yards and five touchdowns, all of which were career-highs. Nesbit will look to become the first UNC tight end drafted since Eric Ebron in the 2014 NFL Draft.
CBS: UFA
ESPN: UFA
LB Power Echols
Following the departure of Cedric Gray to the NFL, Power Echols became the leader of the UNC linebacker corp. He tallied 789 snaps in 2024, earning a PFF grade of 71.5. Echols recorded 76 tackles across 12 games in 2024, and concluded his career with 306 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss, and 2.5 sacks in 52 career contests. Echols notched 100 or more tackles in both 2022 and 2023, earning Third-Team All-ACC honors in 2023. With the performance in 2023, Echols ranked seventh in the ACC in tackles (103) and was one of the just seven players in the league with over 100 tackles.
CBS: UFA
ESPN: UFA
DE Desmond Evans
Desmond Evans entered UNC as a five-star prospect in 2020, and exits Chapel Hill with 55 career games and 124 total tackles. Evans was part of the Tar Heel team in 2020 that reached the Orange Bowl. In 2024, he amassed 38 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, and five sacks, all of which were career-highs. He also tallied a PFF grade of 67.5, recording a season-high rating of 84.2 in the loss at Duke. Evans saw exactly 1,900 snaps in a Tar Heel uniform.
CBS: UFA
ESPN: UFA
