“Thirty-two teams, seven rounds, 224 young men who, today, are about to become players in the National Football League. A day where lives are changed, fates are decided, dynasties are born, and the clock is always ticking. Of course, I’m talking about… Draft Day.”
Chris Berman opens the 2014 film Draft Day, starring Chadwick Boseman, Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner, with these lines.
The plot, of course, it outlandish. Nobody trades three first round picks to move up to first overall and draft a middle linebacker, and then doubles down by trading three second rounders to get back the previous picks you traded away and turn those into a running back and punt returner.
And yet I somehow find myself watching it every year leading up to the draft, because as completely silly as the plot may be, it’s still an enjoyable movie to re-watch ahead of the real deal. This year’s draft takes place in Pittsburgh, not at Radio City Music Hall in New York, there are 257 picks instead of 224, and Fernando Mendoza, not Bo Callahan, is the slam dunk No. 1 overall pick.
But something both the movie and the real NFL Draft share is emphasizing the importance of those three days each year to both the young men fulfilling their dreams to play professional football and the teams whose future largely depend on their ability to select the right players for the future. And for a few Missouri Tigers, those three days will also be when they make the official transition from collegiate athletes to the NFL.
This draft guide will walk you through when you should expect to hear those Tigers’ names called up at the podium and why, MU’s long history in the draft, and how to make the most of your time in Pittsburgh if you’ve decided to attend the draft in person.
This Mizzou draft guide is now officially open. Our draft profiles are on the clock.
It’s hard to overstate how important Zion Young was to the 2025 Missouri Tigers, both on and off the field. He teamed up with Damon Wilson II to form a devastating duo of edge rushers, giving MU arguably the best pair in the country.
Young led the team with nine sacks, also recording 9.5 tackles for loss, 37 quarterback hurries and 23 tackles. That effort earned him Second Team All-SEC honors in his second season as a starter, a major step up from his junior year where he recorded 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
He’ll also be remembered for creating some iconic moments during his time with the Tigers, from his fumble recovery for a touchdown against Oklahoma in 2024 to his game-defining overtime performance last year at Auburn that made good on his energetic display during the OT coin toss at Jordan-Hare. That moment, alongside his status as a team captain, really drove home that Young was at the heart of last year’s team.
His importance in the locker room last season, alongside his status as an elite run defender at the edge position, have made him a popular choice to project in the late first round. It feels like a coin flip right now as to whether he’ll go on day one or early on day two, but either way, one team will get an impact defender and a possible fan favorite.
Projected range: picks 25-50 (late first to mid second round)
Trotter joined the Tigers with high expectations after being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year at West Virginia in 2024. Even so, I don’t think anyone expected him to be the absolute wrecking ball he was in his one season at Mizzou. The Philadelphia native wrought havoc on opposing offenses last year, recording 84 total tackles, 43 of them solo, with 13 tackles for loss.
That stat line was more than enough for him to earn First Team All-SEC honors and raise his draft stock to the level where it made sense to declare for the NFL Draft early. Trotter was an unstoppable heat-seeking missile when he was able to charge downhill, making life absolutely miserable for running backs before hitting his family’s famous Axe Man celebration.
Positional value and some questions about his experience in pass coverage make Trotter unlikely to become a first round pick. But he’ll be coveted by teams looking for a game-changer at the second level for their run defense (remind anyone else of a current Chiefs and former Mizzou linebacker?) and still has plenty of upside left after playing just 24 games in college.
Is it possible Trotter could fall to the third round? Sure it is; time has proven that just about anything is possible when it comes to the draft. But he is confidently a second round projection heading into this weekend, and that’s where almost everyone expects to hear his name called.
Projected range: picks 45-70 (mid second to early third round)
McClellan will be a prime example Mizzou can point to in the next few years of someone who elevated their play and turned into a pro-ready player over two years in Columbia, right alongside Young. After making nine starts and showing significant promise in 2024, McClellan had a true breakout season and led a strong defensive tackles group last year with the Tigers.
The North Tulsa, Oklahoma, native started every game in 2025 and recorded six sacks, eight tackles for loss and 48 total tackles in his senior season. Young and Wilson received a lot of the praise and attention on the outside of the line, but McClellan was consistently excellent and played in major role in MU’s suffocating run defense.
NFL teams are always in need of stronger depth along the offensive and defensive lines, and McClellan should be in high demand as someone who can provide that while also showing some versatility at his position. Expect him to come off the board somewhere late on day two or early on day three of the draft.