Big Blue View
Where will Green be drafted?
The class of edge defenders in the 2025 NFL Draft is one of the very best in recent memory.
In some ways it harkens back to the 2010 EDGE class that produced five separate Pro Bowl players, and this year may be even better.
This EDGE class is so deep and talented that it can be difficult to keep all the (potentially) great players in front of mind. That gets even more complicated for players with multiple confounding factors like Mike Green out of Marshall.
Green was dominant for Marshall in 2024, something the NFL likes to see from a small school prospect. He had an incredible 17.0 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, and 3 forced fumbles last year and followed that up with a great week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
However, he has also seemed to slip back below the radar as the process has worn on.
There were allegations of sexual assault at the time of his transfer from Virginia to Marshall in 2023. We can’t evaluate the allegations here on the outside, but the NFL has the resources to do so and concerns could be driving the dip in Green’s draft stock.
How much risk is there with Green, and can the New York Giants afford to take that risk?
Prospect: Mike Green (15)
Games Watched: vs. Virginia Tech (2024), vs. Ohio State (2024), vs. Louisiana (2024)
Red Flags: Sexual assault allegations
Best traits
Mike Green is an athletic, productive, and highly competitive edge defender.
Green has solid size for a modern EDGE in a multiple defense at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds. He primarily played from a two-point stance and was used as both a downhill player and occasionally a coverage player.
He has an impressive first step off the edge, timing the snap well and wasting little energy or motion getting into his pass rush. He accelerates into the backfield well, quickly turning speed into power. Green has truly impressive play strength and plays like a much larger defender.
He’s able to control, torque, or even rag-doll offensive linemen once engaged, and can collapse the end of the line of scrimmage if he’s matched up against a tight end. Green does a good job of placing his hands, consistently seeking inside leverage and getting under blockers’ pads while extending to keep himself clean. He’s primarily a power player and uses a bull-rush as his go-to move, though his arsenal of counters developed over the course of the season. By the end of the year he was mixing in long-arm, spin, chop, rip, and arm-over moves to keep blockers from keying too hard on his power.
That play strength also allows Green to be an effective run defender, as he can control blockers or discard their blocks to make plays on the ball.
Finally, he is a relentless player who gives great effort throughout the play....
