2025 NFL preseason: Bears running back, two Vikings among 10 non-rookies we can't wait to watch

The preseason is a different viewing experience when you're a draft analyst. Can't say I'm pacing back and forth in my living room preparing for exhibition games to kick off, but the preseason provides opportunities for so many players I vividly remember scouting. Most of these outings are legitimately fun. 

Because you've read plenty about the 2025 rookie class from me, let's go another route with this article. 

This article identifies the non-rookies I'm most looking forward to watching this preseason. Beyond my actual excitement for the players listed below, I also considered those who are likely to get a reasonable amount of action this preseason, essentially players not totally cemented into starting/full-time roles just yet. 

Last year's article featured Jordan Mason, Dorian Williams and Derick Hall.

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R.J. White

Bears RB Roschon Johnson

In Chicago's backfield, there's top back D'Andre Swift, and rookie Kyle Monangai has apparently turned heads at camp. But I'm most pumped for Johnson in the preseason. This man has no off-switch. He runs ticked off with supreme power every time he touches the rock -- I don't think the word "exhibition" in front of these upcoming August Bears games will matter whatsoever to the former University of Texas star. 

And, really, there was nothing noteworthy to take from his Year 2 after a promising rookie campaign in Chicago. But I trust in Johnson's innate tackle-breaking capabilities, and believe he can mature into an efficient short-yardage/goal line back who can provide the Bears' run game flashes of juice when Swift is on the sidelines. I bet he runs like a madman this preseason.

Broncos WR Troy Franklin

Marvin Mims is the Broncos receiver I'm most excited for in 2025, but that doesn't mean I believe Franklin is going to be an afterthought. In fact, Franklin's going to make a jump this season too. 

We can't ignore the deep-rooted connection between Bo Nix and Franklin from their days together at Oregon, and while Franklin was picked much later than everyone expected in 2024, he caught multiple passes in 10 outings as a rookie, but finished with a modest 28 receptions in Year 1. The nearly 6-2 and around 180 pound Franklin has 4.41 speed, and the preseason of his second campaign in the NFL will hint at whether or not he can move into a downfield specialist role in the Broncos offense. 

In essence, I still believe in Franklin's upside behind Courtland Sutton and Mims with Nix throwing him the football. As someone down the depth chart, he should see ample playing time in Denver's three exhibition games.

Patriots TE Jaheim Bell 

Bell is a chiseled athlete at the tight end spot for the Patriots. At the 2024 combine, he measured-in at 6-2 and 240 pounds with 4.61 speed. His broad jump of 124 inches landed in the 91st percentile at the position. 

He hardly saw the field as a rookie in New England. Like the rest of the Patriots offense, mostly thanks to the presence and upside of Drake Maye, I expect Bell to take a discernible leap in 2025. He's too talented of a pass catcher, particularly post-catch, and he works tirelessly as an in-space blocker. For context on just how tremendous Bell was after the catch in college, at South Carolina for three seasons and Florida State for his final campaign, Bell forced 36 missed tackles on 94 career receptions. 

He's not a super-crafty route runner. The Patriots need to feature him on high percentage throws and let him cook with the ball in his hands. We should see a glimpse of that in the preseason.

Vikings EDGE/LB Gabriel Murphy 

Murphy possesses the advanced hand-work repertoire to overcome size and draft-status obstacles to make it in the NFL on the Vikings. He's under 6-3 and around 250 pounds, which is somewhat on the small side for the edge rusher position. And he went undrafted in 2024. But as Ivan Pace Jr. has proven, this Vikings regime has a keen eye for undrafted players and does not care much about draft position. 

Murphy was a super-slippery rusher at UCLA opposite Laiatu Latu but got injured before the start of his rookie campaign. The knee injury occurred during training camp, so we didn't even get to see him in last year's preseason. Hopefully the injury bug stays away in Year 2 for Murphy. There's plenty of Uchenna Nwosu to his game, and he might be more of a dynamic, skilled outside rusher. Murphy's honed talent feels like a nightmare for backup offensive linemen in the preseason.

Bills EDGE Javon Solomon

Solomon did everything possible to stand out for NFL GMs and scouts as an undersized rusher playing outside the Power 5 conferences in college. After 11.5 sacks as a sophomore, his sack total swelled to 16 as a senior, a figure that led the nation. 

As a prospect, I wasn't nearly as concerned with Solomon being under 6-1 and around 245 pounds because of his length. His 33 7/8" arms are in the 64th percentile at the edge rusher spot. He quietly went about his business as a rookie, learning from the likes of Von Miller on the outside. 

On 89 pass-rushing opportunities, Solomon generated 14 pressures, good for a hefty 15.7% pressure rate. Beyond a stellar collection of pass-rush moves to deploy at the point of attack, Solomon plays with surprising power because of his naturally low center of gravity. The Bills are highly unlikely to utilize Joey Bosa much -- if at all -- in the preseason, so August should be Solomon's time to shine before what I feel will be a mini-breakout in 2025 during the regular season.

Eagles DT Moro Ojomo

I'm still wondering how and why Ojomo wasn't selected until the seventh round in the 2024 NFL Draft. Of course, Howie Roseman scooped up him then, and the former University of Texas star was a tremendous deep depth pass rusher on the inside for the Super Bowl champions as a rookie. 

At over 6-2 and around 290 pounds with long levers and high-caliber explosiveness (that was confirmed at the combine), Ojomo is the precise type of specimen to get upfield and disrupt on a routine basis. With Thomas Booker traded to the Raiders and Milton Williams on the Patriots, it's suddenly time for Ojomo to assert himself as more than a player who garners fewer than 400 snaps during the regular season. 

However, he's still young. Only in his second season. So there should be plenty of playing time for him during the Eagles' preseason, and I expect him to look outstanding as the primary backup to Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.

Chargers LB Junior Colson 

Colson was one of the surest tacklers in the 2024 class, and he was picked by the head coach who recruited him to Michigan in Jim Harbaugh. From an appendectomy to a hamstring and ankle, Colson went through it on the injury front in 2024, essentially washing away his rookie season in Los Angeles. 

The one concern I had with the thick and athletic linebacker as a prospect was his ability to routinely make plays on the football in coverage. The preseason should provide ample pieces of evidence regarding Colson's pass-down skills and how they've advanced from his time playing for the Wolverines. 

Daiyan Henley has emerged as one of the better young coverage linebackers in football, so if Colson has soaked up knowledge from him, he should be well on his way to maturing into a three-down stud at the position. 

Broncos CB Kris Abrams-Draine

The sooner the Broncos realize Abrams-Draine is better than Riley Moss, the better their already elite-level defense will be. But wait, is Abrams-Draine too small to man an outside corner position?

Not exactly. He's just under 6-0 and 180 pounds, a height-weight combination much more common at cornerback today than it was even five years ago because the receiver position has shrunk of late. 

And his lack of size didn't stop Abrams-Draine from producing on the outside in the SEC. In his final three seasons at Missouri, he managed seven interceptions and a seismic 34 pass breakups. As a fifth-round rookie in 2024, he hardly got an opportunity. When he did, he made the most of it with nine tackles, two passes defended, and an interception on a mere 123 snaps. 

This preseason, Abrams-Draine will once again prove he deserves more playing time on one of the best defenses in football. 

Vikings NT Jalen Redmond

Redmond is another weird undrafted free agent case study. He flourished at Oklahoma and tested through the roof at the combine but wasn't selected in the 2024 draft. After a brief stint in the XFL, the Vikings signed Redmond, and unlike the vast majority of undrafted rookie defensive linemen, he made an impact in Year 1 in the NFL. 

Of his 15 tackles in a very limited role as a rookie, 14 were stops -- which are tackles that constitute a loss for the offense based on down and distance. 

The nose tackle didn't provide much in the pass-rush department in Minnesota a season ago, which was slightly strange, because he thrived as a pocket-pushing rusher for the Sooners. I'm fascinated to watch Redmond this preseason to see if he can not only continue to prove the NFL wrong by making more impact plays against the run but also creating pressure on a routine basis. 

Titans LB Amari Burney

Burney was one of the most athletic second-level defenders in the 2023 class. He ran 4.51 with a 120-inch broad jump and 7.00 three-cone time at the Florida Pro Day before the draft two years ago. 

This came after a long and illustrious career with the Gators which culminated in a senior season with 79 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four pass breakups, and two interceptions. He only saw the field for 190 snaps in his first two years with the Raiders, and the new regime waived him this offseason. 

The Titans were quick to claim him, and now the veteran linebacker is part of a clear-cut rebuilding process. For being a relative unknown name, I'm expecting Burney to be a tackle-generator this preseason. He has plus sideline-to-sideline range and is not lost or stiff in coverage.