Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Bowman was a four-star multi-positional recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2021

Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman Jr. has some of the best ball skills in the 2025 NFL Draft class, and he’s a threat to return any interception for a touchdown. Bowman’s track background pops on tape, but he doesn’t have an ideal frame for an NFL defensive back.

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Billy Bowman Jr., S Oklahoma: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior safety from Denton, Texas

Background: Bowman was a four-star multi-positional recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2021. He was the No. 44 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 48 for Rivals, and No. 60 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 79th in the nation with an 85 grade out of 100. Bowman originally committed to Texas before flipping to Oklahoma. As a high school senior, he amassed 86 receptions for 1,207 yards and 15 touchdowns as Ryan went 15-0 and won the Class 5A Division I State Championship. He also carried the ball 26 times for 158 yards and four touchdowns and added 32 tackles, four interceptions, six passes defensed, and two forced fumbles on defense. Bowman helped Ryan go 15-1 and finish as the state runner-up in 2019. He caught 17 touchdown passes and totaled more than 800 receiving yards. Bowman added 55 tackles and three interceptions, all of which he took back for touchdowns. He boasts a long list of accolades, including earning MaxPreps 2020 Second Team All-American, AP 2018 Class 5A First Team All-State (cornerback), 2018 District 4-5A-I Co-MVP, and 2017 Second Team All-District (wide receiver) honors. Bowman was invited to the 2021 Under Armour All-America Game. He also competed in basketball and track and field for Ryan. He ran on the 4x100 relay team and posted an individual 10.84 100-meter dash. He also jumped 22-8.75 feet in the long jump.

Injuries & Off-Field: Left 2022 TCU game with a knee injury and missed the next two matchups

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big 12, 2023 First Team All-Big 12, 2023 First Team All-American (CBS Sports)

Pros: Minor experience returning kicks, special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, rarely penalized, good long speed, track speed translates, excellent front-facing vision, reads the QB’s eyes to jump routes, reaction time to QB preparing to throw, quick to click and close, quick to recognize and trigger on route combinations in front of him, reads and sees through switch releases and overloads, instinctive route jump vs. BYU produced a pick-six (2023), keeps head on a swivel, patiently waits for receiver at the top of the stem when covering slot options, ball production, excellent returns after interceptions, plays more physical than build suggests, motor runs hot, quick to attack WR screens, no issues coming downhill to make a stop, effort in pursuit, delivers big hits when he lines up the ball carrier

Cons: Lean and undersized, arm length will need verification, single-high range will be tested in NFL, some tightness in hips, sometimes more read and react than truly instinctive, focus on QB and slow backpedal let receivers get behind him when not in deep coverage, puts too much faith in his eyes, bites hard on route fakes, play action and RPOs suck him downhill consistently, gives a massive cushion, movement gets frantic when forced into tight man-to-man situations, lacks twitch and recovery burst for man coverage, effectiveness in coverage plummets when his back is to the QB, misreads a few throws and can’t reach them when he jumps, some downhill angles are too steep, ridiculous number of missed tackles, doesn’t come to balance as a tackler, dives and misses tackle attempts, slips off arm tackles

Overview: Bowman plays several roles for Oklahoma’s defense. He lines up as the single-high safety in Cover 1 and Cover 3, plays off-man coverage against slot receivers, occasionally drops down into the robber role, plays two-high in Cover 4, and rotates from single-high to two-high post-snap. Bowman has some experience returning kicks, and that dynamic athleticism and open field agility show up on interception returns. He has also taken snaps on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. Bowman is lean and undersized with arms that might not meet NFL thresholds. His short-area speed isn’t the best, but his track background shows up on long plays or reps where he needs to close wide space quickly. The Texas native’s range in single-high will be challenged in the league. Tightness occasionally shows up in his hips when he attempts to open them and close in on receivers quickly. Bowman has excellent front-facing vision that helps him read the quarterback’s eyes to jump routes. His reaction to the quarterback preparing to throw is lightning quick. Bowman quickly recognizes route combinations and triggers with impressive closing burst. His instincts occasionally lead to big turnovers, but he is more of a read-and-react defender than a truly instinctive safety. The senior reads and sees through switch releases and wide receiver stacks. His tunnel vision on the quarterback and slow backpedal sometimes let receivers slip past him to access deep portions of the field. Bowman’s faith in his eyes leads to him biting on route fakes and being sucked downhill by play action or RPOs. He has had some success in off-man against slot options but isn’t a man coverage defender. Bowman allows too much cushion in man coverage, and his movements become frantic when he’s forced into tight man-to-man situations. The former four-star recruit’s ball production is awesome, and he’s a threat to return any interception for a touchdown. However, his effectiveness in coverage is predicated on his vision of the quarterback, and he occasionally shortchanges throws and whiffs when jumping to bat the ball away. Bowman plays physically despite his small build. He attacks wide receiver screens and doesn’t fear coming downhill to make a stop. Bowman has an excellent motor and shows great effort in pursuit. Unfortunately, he takes steep angles to the football and misses a ridiculous number of tackles because his form is very poor. The NFL has quickly pivoted away from the Earl Thomas, single-high days where teams attempted to imitate the Legion of Boom’s Cover 3 success. A team that runs a higher percentage of deep single-high coverages will be more likely to value Bowman’s talents as soon as the third round. However, it’s also possible he slips to the fifth round because of concerns about his size, ideal role, and long-term durability. 

Overall, Bowman’s vision, football IQ, and reactive quickness jump off the tape, but his limited size, lack of elite coverage versatility, and inability to tackle consistently make it harder to sell him as a top 100 selection. Bowman’s alignment versatility likely won’t translate to the NFL because of his limitations in man coverage and fears of putting him near the line of scrimmage.

Role & Scheme Fit: Free safety in a two-high coverage shell with some single-high

Round Grade: Fourth Round

Size: 5'10", 191 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 07-09-24