NFL Draft prospect comparisons: Anime and pop culture comps

When discussing NFL Draft prospects, player comparisons are a popular theme. Everyone falls victim to it. Heck, I even said a player was similar to A.J. Brown in a previous column. However, comparisons often feel shallow or set unrealistic expectations for draftable prospects, never letting them establish an NFL career without those looming conjectures.

So let’s have some fun with comparisons while not setting these guys up for failure. With these comparisons, I’m going to tie in things that I love outside of football: anime, cartoons and other aspects of pop culture. I promise these are going to make sense; you just have to walk with me on them. Other than that, let’s have some fun!

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza: Takehisa Hinawa, Fire Force

Some context on this comparison before I get into the nitty-gritty: in Fire Force, there are three generations of pyrokinetics. The third generation of pyrokinetics are the strongest, able to create their own fire from their bodies or through objects. Second-generation pyrokinetics can manipulate preexisting flames to their will, but obviously need a fire source to be at their best. 

Hinawa is a second-generation pyrokinetic, using the flame created by the firing of a gun to manipulate his bullets. He doesn’t miss, especially from distance. He manipulates the trajectory of bullets to hit their intended target. While he can’t create his own fire, he’s one of the strongest fighters in the show.

Fernando Mendoza doesn’t have the superpowers of guys like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, but his strongest trait is his ability to put the ball wherever it needs to be. His ball placement, especially on downfield passes, is among the best I’ve seen among recent quarterback prospects. He is built Ford tough, able to stand in and fire under pressure. His creation outside the pocket isn’t fantastic, but he’s a big guy who can pick up a first down with his legs when he needs to. I think he’d be great in a play-action, under-center offense where he attacks downfield. Mendoza and Hinawa feel perfect for each other.

Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love: Monkey D. Luffy (Fifth Gear), One Piece

Jeremiyah Love runs like he has plot armor. The Notre Dame product does things as a running back that simply don’t make sense, in a good way. He’s so creative at the second level, using jump cuts, spins and hurdles to make good players look silly. I mean, who would even think to do this during a game, where he did?

That’s where this comparison to 5th Gear Luffy really hits. Nothing makes sense when Luffy goes 5th gear, and the entire environment becomes a Looney Tunes cartoon. Luffy can turn his body into anything and pull whatever he needs from seemingly out of thin air. He’s turned the battlefield into a bounce house, created a baseball bat and also just changed the animation style by himself when he goes into fifth gear, making it nearly impossible to stop him.

Neither gets enough credit for their strength and resiliency. Love is well built at 212 pounds, and while his footwork and quickness are the stars of his game, he’s shown a lot of leg drive breaking tackles at the goal line. Luffy is uncommonly strong, and in fifth gear can take a considerable amount of damage and keep getting up. Love is one of the best players in the draft class and gets the loftiest comparison.

Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.: Rhyno, ECW/WWE/TNA

All my wrestling fans, stand up! Rueben Bain Jr. is a positional outlier: his 30 ⅞ inch arms are in the first percentile among all EDGEs since 2000, per Mockdraftable, and he’s got stiff ankles and lower body movements. But that’s not how he wins; how he wins is by running through the tackle’s face over and over again. His ability to get his hands into the chest of offensive tackles and drive them into the lap of opposing QBs. He also has the most advanced hand usage of any EDGE prospect in the class, keeping his frame clean with a variety of swipes and attacking the leverage of opposing linemen. But make no mistake, Bain’s game is all about converting speed to power, and he does it at a very high rate.

Rhyno wasn’t the biggest guy in the ring, he’s only about 5-foot-10 and didn’t look like the traditional powerhouses of professional wrestling lore. However, he became a legend in ECW and TNA because he would gore the crap out of you. The conversion from speed to power in his initial burst to close speed is so strong, and does mimic how Bain can convert speed to power without being the tallest or longest guy.

Both Rhyno and Bain are absolute powerhouses who win in spite of their lack of length, and will become cult favorites among old school pass rush purists and ECW heads alike.

USC WR Makai Lemon: If Kirby absorbed Captain Falcon

Makai Lemon is my favorite receiver in this draft class for the sole reason that he plays so much bigger than his 5-foot-11, 192-pound frame. His body control and nuance as a slot route runner help him out a lot in that, but he can go up and get the ball in contested catch situations. He’s strong over the middle and can win after the catch. Despite being more exclusively a slot guy in 2025, he showed some traits to win on the outside in 2024.

The ability to play much bigger than your actual frame is exactly why I made this comparison. Captain Falcon is listed as 6-foot-8 and 310 pounds, and has the ability to be devastating in close combat with fire powers (you know what the Falcon Punch is). In Super Smash Bros, Kirby has the power to absorb the powers of anyone he eats and can use their power against him, albeit in a diminutive frame. Imagining the power of Captain Falcon in Kirby’s frame could make for some very funny images, but that’s what Lemon is. A power puncher playing above his weight in a smaller frame.

Ohio State S Caleb Downs: Shikamaru Nara, Naruto

Caleb Downs has a Ph.D in ball knowledge. Lining up at safety or nickel for the Buckeyes, his spatial awareness stands out on every snap. His route recognition and ability to seemingly be everywhere at once are his special traits, even more than his athleticism. He is also the most fundamental player in the class, rarely missing tackles and closing ground from depth or at nickel deftly.

He compares to Shikamaru because both guys are known for things that aren’t physical in their games. Shikamaru is known as one of the smartest ninjas in the Naruto universe, always having a plan and preparing for every inevitability. His shadow jutsu also allows him to manipulate and control other objects or ninjas from a distance or up close. I’m sure if Downs had shadow jutsu, he would be the most dominant player in NFL history, but even without it, the Shikamaru comp makes sense.

Ohio State LB/EDGE Arvell Reese: Mamoru Takamura, Hajime No Ippo

They don’t make many players like Arvell Reese. The violence and power with which Reese plays are superb for a guy who would be considered an undersized EDGE at 6-foot-4 and 241 pounds. Coming downhill, Reese is a forceful player who can discard linemen in the run game and produce knockback in pass rush situations. He has the potential to be even better in pass coverage as well, mainly because he split time between EDGE and LB this season. But what brings Reese to the party is the knockout power in his hands.

Which brings me to one of my favorite anime characters, Takamura from Hajime No Ippo. Takamura has some of the strongest hands in his boxing universe, with his strongest feat being…KNOCKING OUT A GRIZZLY BEAR. Literally! Takamura has the ability to fight in multiple styles, but where he wins is by knockouts with heavy hands. Reese and Takamura both can do a lot of things, but they both do what they do with incredible force.

Oregon OG Emmanuel Pregnon: Cherno Alpha, Pacific Rim

Speaking of guys that win with power, Emmanuel Pregnon is one of the strongest players in this draft class. When the Ducks wanted to move the ball on the ground via gap scheme runs, Pregnon was a master at moving people against their will. His ability to torque defensive tackles out of the way is what’ll get him on the field early, and I think he could play early despite some issues with his range and lateral quickness. Keep him working in a downhill run game and play action, and he’ll win.

Cherno Alpha is similar to Pregnon. They’re here to move things against their will, without the frills of long-range shooting. Cherno Alpha is one of the oldest and heaviest Jaegers in the Pacific Rim world, but it’s also one of the strongest and most durable units ever made. The Cherno Alpha unit has withstood a lot of damage but like Pregnon, they’re built tough and produce a lot of raw power.

Ohio State LB Sonny Styles: Charlotte Katakuri, One Piece

We’re going back to Ohio State for our final comp with Sonny Styles, who is one of the three best players in this entire draft class. Styles is a jumbo-sized linebacker who moves like a safety. Because two years ago, he was a safety. He’s got really nice instincts in the run game and has the range to be a factor in pass coverage immediately in the NFL. It’s almost like he’s moving faster than everyone else on the field, even when he can get caught up at times when trying to get off blocks.

This comp works because, first of all, Katakuri is HUGE. He’s 16 feet tall in the One Piece universe, but he also doesn’t move like a big guy. He’s got what’s called in the One Piece universe “Observation Haki”, which, when trained, allows you to see attacks before they happen (Future Sight). Think of it like football instincts. Katakuri can see things before they happen, allowing him to move faster. Then, along with his Mochi-Mochi fruit, he can stretch and extend just like Luffy, making him super formidable. Styles and Katakuri both are jumbo-sized athletes who move so much faster than others, but the crazy thing is: Styles is going to keep getting better.