With the regular season in the books and five of six wildcard games completed, we’ve got an excellent picture of what the NFL draft order will look like. More than 20 teams are locked into their draft slots and the remaining ones will only move a few picks up or down at most. That means we can start to take a guess at how the puzzle that is the draft will take shape, with each team’s specific needs and roster situation creating the overall contours of the draft.
Here are some useful links:
2025 NFL Mock Draft
1 – Tennessee Titans: Miami QB Cam Ward
I’m a little skeptical that we’ll see a quarterback go No. 1 overall but at this point, it’s hard to project a more realistic option for the Titans to upgrade over QB Will Levis going into the 2025 season. Vikings QB Sam Darnold seems a lot less realistic than a couple of months ago with how well he’s played for Minnesota. There has been some early buzz about the Titans liking Ward, and this 2022 class will very much be a “beauty in the eye of the beholder” group. Ward had Day 3 grades from the NFL draft advisory committee at this time last year but could remind Titans front office czar Chad Brinker of a player he evaluated in Green Bay — Packers QB Jordan Love.
2 – Cleveland Browns: Colorado CB Travis Hunter
The Browns could consider Hunter’s teammate and quarterback here but if they don’t feel he’s worth the No. 2 pick, there should be no qualms about Hunter. The closest thing to a blue-chip player that this draft class has, Hunter could address two needs for the Browns. He’d provide another layer for the team at cornerback — a premium position in DC Jim Schwartz’s defense — and even if he wasn’t a full-time player at receiver, he’d be a much-needed playmaker for certain packages. This Browns team has so many needs and is so stretched with its resources that a two-for-one player like Hunter is a perfect fit.
3 – New York Giants: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
Whether it’s a bad class or not, it feels like the Giants have boxed themselves into a corner where they have to draft a quarterback no matter what this year. They could look to trade up as well, and I think they’d potentially have an easier time of doing that this year than last year when they were effectively boxed out of the top three picks. Opinions will differ on Sanders and Ward but the broad consensus is that these are the only two passers in this group worth a first-round selection.
4 – New England Patriots: Penn State OLB Abdul Carter
This might actually be a bit of a steal for Carter, who looks like a future problem as an edge rusher. The Patriots’ defense is big on history and tradition but short on actual playmakers these days. A talent reload is needed on this side of the ball as well and Carter is clearly the best player available at this stage.
5 – Jacksonville Jaguars: Michigan CB Will Johnson
Jaguars GM Trent Baalke looks like he’ll be calling the shots for another offseason, which means another year of Baalke evaluation paradigms. Baalke is big on measurables like height, weight, speed and arm length. The 6-3 Johnson checks those boxes and would fill a big need for a pass defense that got shredded.
6 – Las Vegas Raiders: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
The early frontrunner for the top receiver in this class, McMillan has a lot in common with Falcons WR Drake London as a massive wideout with good agility for his size. With no quarterback jumping out among the available options here, McMillan would give the Raiders another weapon alongside TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers to make sure whoever is under center has tools to work with.
7 – New York Jets: Michigan DT Mason Graham
While the defensive line has been the strength of the team for a while, this unit slipped for the Jets in 2024. Adding Graham would go a long way toward making the front four overpowering again and potentially give the Jets one of the best defensive tackle pairings in football alongside Quinnen Williams.
8 – Carolina Panthers: Georgia LB Jalon Walker
It might be fair to question the value of taking an off-ball linebacker in the top 10 but Walker is an explosive playmaker and Carolina’s defense desperately needs those. Walker split time almost equally between the box and on the line as a pass rusher in 2024, notching 6.5 sacks. There would be a lot of parallels for his role in Carolina with former LB Frankie Luvu, who played off-ball linebacker but had some of his most impactful plays as a pass rusher.
9 – New Orleans Saints: LSU OT Will Campbell
New Orleans stays local and continues to fortify the offensive line with the selection of Campbell. He would either slot in at left tackle, pushing Taliese Fuaga to his natural spot of right tackle and sending Trevor Penning to the bench, or at left guard to form a killer interior trio with Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz. I think teams might be overthinking Campbell as a tackle even with his short arms. His production speaks for itself.
10 – Chicago Bears: Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
Despite the record, the Bears have a decent amount of talent on the roster and on offense. A few choice free agent moves to fortify the offensive line would put them in a good spot to add a finishing touch like Jeanty to take the offense over the top. We’ve seen the impact a good running back can have on a team this past season, presuming other pieces are in place first.
11 – San Francisco 49ers: Texas OT Kelvin Banks
Trent Williams isn’t going to play forever and the 49ers can do better than Colton McKivitz at right tackle. Banks is shorter than the prototype for tackles at “only” 6-4 but he’s been virtually a Day 1 starter for a quality Longhorns team for three years.
12 – Dallas Cowboys: Texas A&M DE Nic Scourton
The Cowboys are set to potentially lose DE DeMarcus Lawrence as a free agent this year and will be looking for a cost-effective rusher to operate opposite from LB Micah Parsons. Scourton has local connections and would be a great replacement for Lawrence’s skillset.
13 – Miami Dolphins: Georgia S Malaki Starks
If the Dolphins end up getting priced out of re-signing starting S Jevon Holland, Starks would be more than just an adequate replacement. He’d be able to bring the same kind of versatility and range that Holland has been impacting the defense with the past few years. What’s a little more interesting to think about is whether the Dolphins would double-dip, re-signing Holland to a huge deal and taking Starks to potentially create the league’s best safety duo.
14 – Indianapolis Colts: Penn State TE Tyler Warren
This will probably be a popular pairing in mocks for the rest of the spring after Warren’s breakout 2024 season and Colts GM Chris Ballard highlighting tight end as a position he hasn’t done enough to solve. Warren’s combination of size, speed and agility jumps off the tape.
15 – Atlanta Falcons: Georgia DE Mykel Williams
The production is underwhelming with no more than five sacks in any of his three seasons, but Williams has high-end NFL traits at 6-5 and 265 pounds. There’s precedent for ultra-athletic college pass rushers refining their game and seeing more production in the NFL. As for the Falcons, they need pass rush help desperately.
16 – Arizona Cardinals: Tennessee OLB James Pearce Jr.
Arizona will find it hard to take the next step on defense and as a franchise until the Cardinals get more talented in the front seven. Adding Pearce would be a step in that direction. The 6-5, 243-pound edge rusher has rare burst and bend and the frame to get stronger against the run.
17 – Cincinnati Bengals: Michigan DT Kenneth Grant
If the Bengals had even a league-average defense in 2024, they probably would have made the playoffs. Rejuvenating both the defensive line and the secondary are among the top priorities for Cincinnati this offseason, and Grant would give them a much-needed boost on the defensive interior. He’s got terrific athleticism at 6-3 and nearly 340 pounds.
18 – Seattle Seahawks: Missouri WR Luther Burden
The top need for the Seahawks is interior offensive line but GM John Schneider has long been cautious about sinking too many resources into that spot. We’ll see if that changes this offseason. Schneider is a big BPA guy and Burden is kind of sticking out at this point on the board. While Seattle has D.K. Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the roster, Burden brings something a little different from both as an explosive schemed touch player. Metcalf will also be going into a contract year in 2025.
19 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Eastern Carolina CB Shavon Revel
A torn ACL early in his final collegiate season is an unfortunate road block for Revel and will give some teams pause, along with his status as a small school player. But Revel is a traitsy player who was on pace for a huge final season with two picks in three games. The secondary was a big weakness for the Bucs all season and they take a stab at fixing it here.
20 – Denver Broncos: Michigan TE Colston Loveland
The next step for the Broncos after exceeding expectations and making the playoffs is adding more firepower on offense. Denver didn’t have an established player on offense outside of WR Courtland Sutton and HC Sean Payton coached his tail off to get useful reps out of WR Marvin Mims and unheralded rookies like WRs Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele. Tight end sticks out as a position in particular that needs more juice, and Loveland gives Payton some intriguing mismatch-generating potential.
21 – Pittsburgh Steelers: Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
Morrison looks exactly like an All-Pro corner getting off the bus but a hip injury this year has injected some uncertainty into his outlook. If he hits, this pick would finally make cornerback a strength instead of a weakness for the Steelers.
22 – Los Angeles Rams: Ohio State OT Joshua Simmons
Simmons was making a charge at the top tackle spot in this class before tearing his ACL midseason. That will push him down draft boards but a team with the ability to remain patient could reap the benefits. The Rams could re-sign OT Joseph Noteboom to an affordable bridge contract while letting current starting LT Alaric Jackson walk and adding Simmons as a higher-ceiling long-term option to take over for Noteboom whenever he’s ready, whether that’s in 2025 or 2026.
23 – Los Angeles Chargers: Texas A&M DE Shemar Stewart
Revamping the edge rush is going to be the top priority for the Chargers with the futures of both OLBs Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa uncertain. Stewart is another toolsy prospect with questionable production. At 6-6 and 290 pounds, he could play multiple spots on the Chargers’ front.
24 – Green Bay Packers: Texas CB Jahdae Barron
Cornerback looms as one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster for the Packers right now, with veteran Jaire Alexander’s uncertain status for 2025 with his injury history and contract and the lack of other established options outside of him. Barron doesn’t have the prototypical size some of the other corners in this class do but he has started three years at Texas and racked up plenty of solid tape.
25 – Houston Texans: Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka
Egbuka could end up going several picks higher than this but the opportunity to reunite him with Texans QB C.J. Stroud, his college teammate at Ohio State, was hard to pass up. Receiver has become a weakness for the Texans after season-ending injuries to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell — and in the case of Dell, the implications could extend for the rest of his career. Egbuka would fit right in as a do-it-all, move-the-chains type for Stroud and the Houston offense.
26 – Washington Commanders: Missouri OT Armand Membou
One of the top things the Commanders will have to do to sustain the unexpected success of this past season is improve up front, as the offensive line has overperformed expectations for much of this season. Membou should pick up some steam the closer to the draft we get, as while he doesn’t have the prototypical dimensions of a tackle, he has the athleticism and demeanor.
27 – Baltimore Ravens: Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer
I’m not sure how high of a ceiling Sawyer has but he has oozed the aura of a 10-year pro since early on at Ohio State, and the Ravens just have a way of finding those players and getting the most out of them. Baltimore might actually be a great fit for Sawyer since the Ravens’ scheme will highlight his effort and IQ and doesn’t just ask their edge rusher to beat the man in front of them in two seconds snap after snap.
28 – Minnesota Vikings: Kentucky DT Deone Walker
There’s a lot of depth at defensive tackle in this draft class, which lines up well with what looks like will be Minnesota’s biggest need. There are a number of players who would make sense here but at 6-6 and 345 pounds with eight sacks in 2023, none of them look like Walker.
29 – Buffalo Bills: Oregon DT Derrick Harmon
The Bills have been a little soft up the middle on defense this year and could use some more help on that side of the ball. Harmon would team with Ed Oliver and 2024 third-rounder DeWayne Carter for a promising interior trio.
30 – Philadelphia Eagles: Texas OT Cameron Williams
The Eagles like to draft ahead for needs so the answer is already on the roster when the time comes for a player to leave. They could do that with Williams, who has top tackle traits but needs seasoning behind the scenes before he’s ready to start. Fortunately a doctorate at the Jeff Stoutland School of OL Play in Philadelphia is just the thing to prepare a player to take over for a future Hall of Famer like Eagles RT Lane Johnson.
31 – Kansas City Chiefs: Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams
Williams has been a productive member of a deep Ohio State defensive line since his freshman season and would fill a similar role in Kansas City along DT Chris Jones, keeping the Chiefs stout up front on defense.
32 – Detroit Lions: Ohio State OL Donovan Jackson
Jackson has turned heads with how he’s stepped in at left tackle for the Buckeyes during their playoff run and more than held his own against top competition. He projects as a guard in the pros but that toughness and versatility will catch the eye of a team like the Lions that emphasizes being strong in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
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