The first round of the 2025 NFL draft proved to be a great night for the Michigan Wolverines as three Michigan players were selected in the first 13 picks.
One of those was Kenneth Grant, a former three-star recruit. The 6-foot-3, 340-pound defensive tackle is known for his freakish athleticism.
Grant has always been a favorite of Michigan football fans. However, after he was selected 13th overall by the Miami Dolphins, it became clear that Jon Gruden was a huge fan of his, too, saying on the Barstool draft broadcast that Grant was among his favorite players in the entire NFL draft.
Gruden knows ball pic.twitter.com/SLS2RwX8xd
— Barstool Michigan (@BarstoolUofM) April 25, 2025
"He might have been my favorite player in the whole draft. He comes out of the stack. You wanna throw a bubble screen over there? Kenneth Grant will walk you down man. He comes from the trash. This guy plays his ass off."
"He can move. He's a great football player at Michigan. I love this pick."
Grant was dominant for Michigan football. Grant and Mason Graham teamed up to form one of the most dominant defensive tackle tandems in college football history. Nick Saban talked about that on Thursday night, too, essentially saying he couldn't remember two more dominant.
Nick Saban still has nightmares from the Rose Bowl pic.twitter.com/UBK8RV3RZn
— TheWolverine.com (@TheWolverineOn3) April 25, 2025
While Grant had 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, he's just scratching the surface of what he can do. I would have been stunned if he fell out of the first round, or even the top 20.
Defensive tackles that can do what Grant can do don't grow on trees. You could hear the excitement in Gruden's voice, and Miami Dolphins fans should be equally excited.
As good as Mason Graham is, the upside for Kenneth Grant might be even higher.