Mason Graham had an impressive tenure with the Michigan Wolverines before entering the 2025 NFL Draft. The big defensive tackle was voted a Freshman All-American in his first year in 2022. He followed that up with Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore. Graham was a key player in Michigan’s run to the National Title in 2023, earning Rose Bowl Defensive MVP honors in what served as the CFP semi-final.
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In his final year in Ann Arbor, Graham took his game to another level. He was once again named a First-Team All-Big Ten player and was also one of just eight Unanimous All-Americans. He finished his final year of college football with 45 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. The Orange County native now enters the draft as the No. 1-rated interior defensive lineman in the class. And he knows it.
In a pre-draft interview with Kay Adams on her show, Up & Adams, Graham was asked about making the transition to the NFL. Specifically, which offensive linemen he was looking forward to matching up against the most.
Interestingly, Graham didn’t hold back with his response: he’s eager to face off against the surly and massive Trent Williams.
“I would just say, Trent Williams, I wanna see like maybe a base block, or I wanna have a run block against him. See what it really feels like, everyone talks about it so I want to see for myself,” the 21-year-old said.
Michigan DL Mason Graham is coming for Trent Williams when he gets to the league… 😤@heykayadams | @MasonGraham_55 pic.twitter.com/86Zgr5ddrx
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) April 24, 2025
There was no hesitation in Graham’s answer. It’s clear he’s thought about that question before. But his answer was still a shocker, especially to Adams, who was beside herself after hearing Graham name arguably the scariest offensive lineman in the game today. Williams’ strength is legendary, and while he had an injury-riddled 2024 season that kept him off the ballot, he’d been a First-Team All-Pro in each of the previous three years.
While Graham is an interior defensive lineman, he’s not a nose tackle. He lined up in the B gap on 75 percent of the snaps, though he split those snaps pretty evenly between the right and left side of the line, showing his versatility.
Lining up in the B gap as a 3-tech would mean Graham generally goes up against a guard, but if he lines up as a 4i on the tackle’s inside shoulder, he could definitely come across Trent Williams, who plays left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.
Graham’s ability to get a matchup with Williams will not only depend on his alignment, but on his landing spot in the draft on Thursday night as well. Originally thought to be a top-five talent, Graham is going between No. 9 and No. 15 in many of the most recent mock drafts.
The most common landing spot we saw was with the Miami Dolphins, who let their big-name DT, Christian Wilkins, leave last year, at No. 13. If that were the case, he’d only have a chance to play Williams once every four years.
However, some have mocked him to the New Orleans Saints, who play the 49ers more often since they’re both NFC teams. Most intriguing, though, is the final mock draft of ESPN’s Matt Miller. In that one, Graham heads to join Williams as a member of the 49ers. If that were the case, Graham would get all the Trent Williams matchups he could take in practice. We predict more than a few scuffles.
