According to the Dane Brugler-led 2025 NFL Draft guide known as The Beast on The Athletic, the exhaustive database and per-position rankings placed Mike Green behind only Antonio Carter, Jalon Walker, and Shemar Stewart i
When you consider what he accomplished in 2024, perhaps he earned that top-five billing among a class of pass rusher considered to be the deepest position across the board in this class.
No matter how challenging the opponent, the 6-foot-3-plus, 251-pound Marshall product got to the quarterback and created stops in the backfield. Across Marshall’s three losses, including its Sept. 21 matchup at Ohio State, Green logged four sacks along with five tackles for loss and 10 total tackles.
A prime component in Marshall’s 10-win season, Green wrapped up his final collegiate season having led the FBS with a staggering 17 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, 84 total tackles, two passes defended, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery across 13 contests.
Highly experienced coaches gushed over the Williamsburg (Va.) Lafayette High School product’s swift twitchy get-off, the nucleus of his body of work, striking fear in tackles who consistently struggled to contain Green.
Green does have some question marks looming over his future on the NFL stage, of course. The Day Two selection has faced accusations of sexual assault back in high school and again during his time at the University of Virginia where he spent his freshman year in 2022.
The young defender reportedly denied both allegations adamantly, and he hasn’t faced charges. However, it was unknown across the football community that what led Green to Marshall was not a typical transfer decision but the result of being dismissed from the university altogether.
Even so, it’s fair to assume the decision-makers dug deep into the troubling headlines prior to the 2025 NFL Draft. Whatever the outcome of that homework was, Baltimore clearly felt confident enough in Green to spend its second draft pick on bringing the pass rusher into the organization.
The Ravens recorded more sacks than 30 of the additional 31 NFL defenses. However, in contrast, only the Jacksonville Jaguars gave up more passing yards than the Baltimore defense, a unit that also gave up more pass completions than all of its peers except for the Bucs, the Falcons, and the Vikings.
So, perhaps Baltimore feels the pass rush could use much more help than the 2024 sack total would suggest.
Green certainly proved last season that he was as equipped as any edge rusher in the country when it came to creating stress in the backfield.