2025 NFL Mock Draft 1.0
With just two days remaining before the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and 32 players will find their first professional franchise, there are still a lot of questions for a lot of teams. Will the Giants take a Quarterback with Shedeur Sanders? Does Cleveland take Travis Hunter and fill two massive needs? Which Wide Receiver will be the first off of the board? The First Round of the NFL draft is always the spectacle of the NFL Offseason, and fireworks are almost expected at this point. Major trades happen each and every season, and I expect this season to be no different than previous iterations.
For the purposes of honesty, and not wanting to favor any one team or any one prospect, there are no trades done in this Mock Draft. As always, we will be using the PFF (Pro Football Focus) Mock Draft Simulator to assist us in this draft, as well as any PFF rankings that come with the upcoming class of rookies. Lets begin:
Teams near the top of the draft, like Tennessee, Cleveland and New England have very clear needs, and very clear prospects to address those needs. It was discussed, for a while, that Tennessee should take Abdul Carter instead of Cam Ward first overall. And while I believe that Carter is the more impactful athlete at this point in his career, Tennessee fans are tired and fed up with watching the memes from Will Levis each and every week. Cam Ward to Tennessee makes sense, and with a solid draft class, Mike Borgonzi can get the Titans back on the right track.
Cleveland has a lot of needs, and needs someone that can fill multiple needs at a time. Enter Travis Hunter. Much like the Cam Ward pick, Hunter to Cleveland just makes sense. Not only is he a stud Wide Receiver, but he is also a lock down defender. Grading out with an 88.2 Coverage grade in 2024, Cornerback is how many teams will view Hunter. He has made it clear, however, that he will not play Football if he is not allowed to play both Corner and Receiver. That remains to be seen, but Cleveland has needs at both Corner and Receiver. Hunter is the easiest pick the Browns can make this entire draft.
The first surprise of this draft comes at the #3 pick, with the Giants. A team that continues to frustrate fans year in and year out with questionable decisions in free agency (Yes, we are talking about Saquon Barkley), bad draft choices, and mediocre coaching. Having just signed both Jameis Winston and Russel Wilson, Quarterback could be the play here. Shedeur Sanders is the next QB on the Big Board after Cam Ward, but I believe the Giants go in a different direction. Planning for the future and the 2026 Draft class (Arch Manning, Drew Allar, LaNoris Sellers), instead of reaching here, the Giants take the best Tackle in the class with Will Campbell. While probably not the largest need here, Campbell has only allowed 4 sacks in 3 seasons as the Left Tackle starter for the LSU Tigers. I believe if the Giants want to get back to being competitive, it starts in the trenches.
The Raiders surprise everyone in the draft and take Ashton Jeanty at #6. Pete Carrol is known for a ground and pound style of offense that he had both in Buffalo and in Seattle. Along with Carrol comes Geno Smith, a seasoned pro at Quarterback who is one of the leagues best game managers. Bring in Jeanty, a new Quarterback in Geno Smith, and All-World sensation Brock Bowers at Tight End, the Raiders could surprise a lot of teams this season.
The first Wide Receiver off the board comes at #8 with the Carolina Panthers. Tetairoa McMillan has had at least 8 touchdowns in each of the last 3 seasons, and topped 1300 yards in back to back seasons for the Arizona Wildcats. Bryce Young showed strides of becoming a capable NFL starter last season, and while he continues to grow, it would be beneficial for Dan Morgan to give him another budding star to catch passes along with Xavier Legette.
The second Wide Receiver comes 4 picks later at #12 to the Dallas Cowboys. McMillan has been linked to Dallas a lot during the mock draft process, and if he is there then he is the pick. But since he is not there, Dallas looks elsewhere in the form of Luther Burden III. Luther Burden has 6 touchdowns in each of the last 3 seasons and has nearly 1900 yards in the last 2 combined. Dallas needs another pass catcher to take some of the pressure off of Ceedee Lamb, and there are a lot in this draft. Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden are all names that we could hear called here too, but I expect Dallas to go Burden in the event that McMillan is not available.
Probably the steal of the draft at this point is at #14 with the Indianapolis Colts drafting Tyler Warren. Warren, a very versatile Tight End out of Penn State, could hear his name called much earlier than this. Should he fall to this point, the Colts would be foolish to not jump at the chance to take a generational tight end. Over 1200 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns makes Warren far and away the best receiving tight end in this draft. Anthony Richardson needs someone to aid with Michael Pittman and Josh Downs in the passing game, and Warren adds a threat that many defenses are not prepared for.
Down at Pick 22 we see a reunion of athlete with coach, as the Harbaugh led Chargers take Colston Loveland out of Michigan. Albeit not as productive in college as Warren, Loveland still boasts a 90.6 receiving grade per PFF. The Chargers have one of the best young Quarterbacks in the NFL in Justin Herbert. It would be wise for them to give him some more weapons, and reliable pass catchers. Loveland knows the Harbaugh system, and while the Chargers could go in a different direction here, it almost makes too much sense for Loveland to be in Los Angeles with his former coach.
The rich keep getting richer with picks 31 and 32. Kansas City and Philadelphia faced off in the Super Bowl last season, and received the last 2 picks in the draft. Kansas city was ripped apart by the Philadelphia run game in the big dance to the tune of over 130 rushing yards between Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Derrick Harmon out of Oregon fills a huge need next to Chris Jones. Primarily a B-Gap rusher, Harmon brings in an 86.3 Pass rush grade and an 80.5 run defense grade per PFF. Being able to rush the passer and stop the run is an asset that teams like the Chiefs need to add to their team in order to continue their dominant run over the AFC.
The Eagles are one of the few teams with nearly 0 major holes at this moment in time. Sure they could add a stud Wide Receiver to go with AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, but there is a different direction to go here. The Eagles were far and away the best rushing team last season. What better way to continue their success then to dive right back into that narrative. Tyler Booker out of Alabama is the highest rated Guard in this draft class, and for good reason. He has allowed 2 sacks in the last 3 seasons total, both coming in 2023. He has shown the ability to play both Left and Right Guard, although primarily Left, as well as Left Tackle if need be. Booker has the versatility that Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman look for in an offensive lineman, and it fits like a glove that Booker would be in Philadelphia.
