Mike Green Draws Haason Reddick Comp From Rajvir Bal

First Round Mock NFL Draft Analyst Rajvir Bal gives Marshall Edge Mike Green an interesting comp.

Marshall edge defender Mike Green has become one of the most talked about prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Mike Green this and Mike Green that.

He’s all I’ve heard about over the past few weeks.

Green has jumped from a run-of-the-mill name to a first-round consensus prospect.

Watching how the hype train turns some of these guys into stars in a few weeks fascinates me.

After his highly publicized Senior Bowl practice performance, social media was buzzing about Green. I knew it was time to turn on the tape.

But, before we get into that, let’s look at how we got here.

Background

Green was a two-sport athlete in football and wrestling high school (247 Sports). He was a 3-star prospect out of high school and committed to the University of Virginia. After one season there, he transferred to Marshall as a zero-star.

Green’s stats:

2023: 

13 games, 43 tackles (22 solo), 4.5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble

2024:

13 games, 84 tackles (38 solo), 17.0 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles

#15 Mike Green 6-foot-4, 245 pounds 
Rajvir Bal’s 2025 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)
Projected by 34.4% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of February 28, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2024 game film reviewed: Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Georgia Southern (click to view games watched to form this evaluation) 

Pass Rush Bag of Tricks

This is probably the best aspect of Green’s game.

His pass rush bag is as deep as it gets and he has a variety of moves to shed pass blocks. He’s a sack artist in every sense of the word.

Offensive linemen couldn’t keep their hands on him.

When he went into pass-rush mode, he looked unblockable against lower-level competition. The rip, bull rush, swim move, or hand swipe ⎯Green demonstrated that he could do it all.

Too small?

As we get closer and closer to the draft, Green likely will be called “small” by a lot of NFL Draft analysts. They’re going to say his arms are too short, or that he has a tendency to get bullied by bigger tackles.

As much as I like Green, those analysts will be right.

He’s small and it shows up on game film.

Green can get overpowered too easily and he struggles to get reach-sacks where he’s engaged in blocks. He has a nasty tendency to get hung up on bigger, and far less talented blockers.

It’s something the team that selects him will have to live with.

Athleticism

Green has a mixed bag in this department.

He has an impressive initial first step in pass-rush situations and a good burst of speed. However, he also has pretty poor pursuit and doesn’t go above and beyond when it comes to his effort. He’s hardly violent while getting off blocks, and relies more on his pass-rush moves and initial first step to beat tackles. His effort level is slightly concerning, as he seemed to take plays off from time to time.

Against the Run

A popular narrative in draft circles is that Green can’t defend against the run.

I’m not buying that.

Green is not a bad run-stopper. He also has good instincts at sniffing out trick plays. The technique needs to be improved, but I feel that’s an issue that defensive coaches on NFL teams can fix.

Ten Adjectives

Explosive. Skilled. Undersized. Crafty. Relentless. Shifty. Limited. Instinctive. Dynamic. Streaky.

NFL Crystal Ball

Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Pro Comp: Haason Reddick

Reddick was a first-round (No. 13) selection by the Arizona Cardinals in 2017. He’s gone on to produce 59 career sacks (and counting) as an edge defender.

Final Thought

Mike Green will be a high-producing pass rusher for years to come in the NFL.

Rajvir Bal is a high school student from the Virginia area. He grew up a rabid Washington Redskins fan, attending more than 30 games, and has enjoyed the team’s high points and low points throughout his life. He plays varsity football and basketball. Rajvir has taken an interest in the NFL Draft since middle school when his team picked Montez Sweat and Dwayne Haskins in the first round. His favorite NFL player ever flips between Rob Gronkowski and Brett Favre, and his favorite athlete is LeBron James. He has been writing his own scouting reports since 2020, and is excited for the opportunities FirstRoundMock provides.