Carolina Panthers select Princely Umanmielen in third round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have selected Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen with the No. 77 pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He had a career year in his lone season with the Rebels in 2024 and will hope to carry that over with him to the pros.

Umanmielen transferred to Ole Miss this past offseason after spending the first four years of his college career with Florida. He would go on to finish with 37 total tackles in addition to a career-high 10.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.

Ole Miss finished 10-3 but missed out on the College Football Playoff. Umanmielen earned a first team All-SEC selection according to the league’s coaches for his efforts.

While at Florida, the defensive end appeared in 45 games with 24 starts. He ended his career as a Gator with 99 total tackles (24.5 for loss), 15 sacks and three forced fumbles. He was also named a second team All-SEC selection in the 2023 season.

Umanmielen attended Manor (TX) High School, where he was a four-star prospect in the 2020 class. He ranked as the No. 255 overall player and No. 15 edge rusher in the cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Princely Umanmielen

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein provided some additional analysis on Umanmielen in his recent scout of the edge rusher’s draft profile. He compared him to former Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus, a former first-round pick who played 10 seasons in the NFL.

Zierlein touted Umanmielen’s athleticism as being a major strength that makes him an elite pass rusher. However, he also noted that he struggles at times against the run, something he will hope to work on in the pros.

“Finesse edge defender with traits, athleticism and upside to have his sack production translate to the NFL,” Zierlein wrote. “Umanmielen is a serious ground-gainer with burst, stride and bend to create shallow edges leading directly into the quarterback’s drop space. He’s not instinctive and takes predictable pathways to the pocket, but he’s simply hard to keep out of the pocket due to his attributes.

“He lacks play strength and aggression as a run defender. He will have trouble setting edges and might not be an early down option early in his career. Umanmielen is an ascending stand-up edge rusher who might be just scratching the surface of his already threatening rush talent.”