Former Tennessee Vols transfer defender selected in third round of early 2025 NFL mock draft

A former Tennessee Vols defender who left Knoxville this offseason is one of the players selected in an early three-round mock draft from A to Z Sports' Travis May. 

May has former Vols edge rusher Tyler Baron going to the New Orleans Saints with the No. 73 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Baron, who spent his first four seasons at Tennessee before transferring to Louisville this offseason (after a brief stop at Ole Miss), is back in the transfer portal for a third time this offseason. 

The former Vol went through spring practice with Louisville, though he suffered an injury that's expected to keep him sidelined until fall practice. 

Ole Miss and Miami are two of the programs interested in Baron. 

Baron, who is a Tennessee native, is coming off his best collegiate season, totaling 10.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks for the Vols in 2023. 

Part of the reason Baron transferred this offseason is because he wants to exclusively play the edge rusher position, presumably to increase his NFL draft stock. 

"We love the addition of Tyler," said Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm earlier this offseason. "Anytime you get a big, tall, athletic edge rusher that has played a lot of football, it's a big piece. I think he wants to go somewhere and basically play that position and try to play that position solely if he can. I think he was moved around a little bit. Proving that he can be a great edge piece and rusher is what we want to try to help him do. So we're excited to get him here and you know he gives us a lot of experience."

Baron is a former four-star recruit who signed with Tennessee during the 2020 recruiting cycle. 

You can check out the rest of Travis May's early 2025 three-round mock draft here.