Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Paul was a three-star recruit from Crisp County High School in Cordele, Ga. in the class of 2021
Ole Miss linebacker Chris Paul Jr. likely won’t be on every team’s draft board because of his physical measurements, but he’s an ascending talent with elite athleticism and exciting instincts. Paul should hear his name called in the top 100 selections of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Chris Paul Jr., LB Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt junior weakside linebacker from Cordele, Ga.
Background: Paul was a three-star recruit from Crisp County High School in Cordele, Ga. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 785 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 804 for On3.com. Paul was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Nebraska before flipping to Arkansas. Paul transferred from Arkansas to Ole Miss for the 2024 season. As a senior, he totaled 91 tackles with 20 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt in only 11 games. He also made modest contributions on offense. Paul tallied 157 tackles with ten tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks as a junior. He also carried the ball 13 times for 113 yards and three touchdowns and caught ten passes for 112 yards and two additional scores. Paul recorded 92 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks as a sophomore. He was born on Nov. 4, 2002.
Injuries & Off-Field: Minor MCL issue held him back throughout 2023 fall camp, exited 2023 game vs. Ole Miss after colliding with Jaxson Dart and missed the following game against Alabama
Awards: 2022 Freshman All-SEC Team, 2022 Second Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic), 2024 Second Team All-SEC, 2024 Third Team All-American (AP), 2024 First Team All-American (USA Today)
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, explosive athlete, loose mover with COD, sideline-to-sideline range, elite closing burst, pursuit range, run game recognition and instincts are improving, springy athleticism to survey multiple gaps, acceleration from a dead stop, speed to recover from missteps and poor angles, speed and fluidity help evade blockers, excellent lateral agility to survey gaps and spring away from blockers, flows over and around climbing linemen, gathers himself going into tackle attempts, rarely misses tackles, motor in pursuit, reads the quarterback’s eyes to undercut throwing lanes, quick to close on routes breaking in front of him, athleticism to quickly gain depth and carry tight ends/running backs downfield, blitzing threat, burst to shoot gaps
Cons: Penalized four times in 2024, frame is slightly high-cut, lean build, arm length, still room to go for run game instincts, gets too close to LOS and is picked off by linemen, eagerness to play downhill sometimes runs him out of plays, sometimes bites on misdirection, stack and shed technique needs significant work, must anticipate blocker’s angles, chewed up and bounced around by guards, gets stuck on tight end blocks, coverage instincts are a work in progress, awareness in coverage leads to him not pinching throwing lanes, limited experience covering at depth, eyes in the backfield lead to coverage lapses
Overview: Paul primarily played MIKE and weakside linebacker during his time at Ole Miss. His special teams background provides an easy path for him to see early snaps in the NFL. Paul is a loose, explosive athlete with sideline-to-sideline range and impressive change of direction. Unfortunately, he’s short with a high-cut and lean frame. His arm length doesn’t meet league thresholds. His arms measured 29 7/8 inches at the NFL Combine and 30 1/2 inches at Ole Miss’ pro day. Paul’s instincts and processing in the run game took major strides in 2024, but there’s still work for him to do in this area. He freely shifts between gaps, mirroring the running back and surveying for a lane to explode through. His elite closing burst and rare acceleration make him a weapon in small spaces, but he also possesses the sustained speed for long chase downs in pursuit. Paul’s athleticism covers for some of his mistakes. He has enough speed to recover from poor angles in run support. The redshirt junior eludes blockers with his speed and fluidity, freely flowing over the top of or ducking around climbing linemen. Sometimes he drifts too close to the line of scrimmage and makes himself an easy target for linemen. He lacks the length, mass, and play strength to stack and shed larger players. Paul must develop his block shedding technique and instincts to anticipate the direction and timing of blocks. The All-American becomes too eager playing downhill and runs himself out of plays. He also bites on some misdirection and action in the backfield. Paul gathers himself and comes to balance when attempting to make tackles, which limits his number of misses. His motor runs hot in pursuit. Paul’s athletic traits give him a high ceiling in coverage, but he’s mostly a projection in this area. His coverage instincts are still developing, and he hasn’t shown ideal awareness of passing lanes yet. He’s fast and fluid enough to quickly gain depth and carry players downfield but has very limited experience operating at depth. Paul reads the quarterback’s eyes to undercut throwing lanes and flashes the closing burst to challenge routes breaking in front of him. His focus on the backfield leads to some lapses in coverage and allowing receptions he could’ve broken up. Paul’s burst makes him a useful blitzer.
Overall, Paul is an elite athlete who uses his rare movement skills to compensate for his lack of ideal size. He’s developing into an instinctive run defender but still needs another year or two for his work in coverage to catch up. Paul projects as a starter by the end of his rookie contract.
Role & Scheme Fit: MIKE or weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme
Round Projection: Third Round
Size: 6'0 7/8", 222 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 12-05-24
Updated: 04-12-25