Biggest 2025 NFL Draft Day 3 Steals

The top picks grab the headlines, but every year, a number of Day 3 selections make key impacts for their teams as well. Some become role players as rookies, while others develop into starters over the course of their rookie contracts.

For this article, I picked out eight Day 3 players who can make a difference for their new teams. These aren’t all the Day 3 picks I liked, or all the Day 3 players who could star. I tried to highlight a mix of players who will be a factor right away and a few who might have to wait due to the depth ahead of them, but should eventually make their teams very happy.

Browns Fourth-Round RB Dylan Sampson

A dynamic back out of Tennessee, Sampson wasn’t the first back the Browns took. After drafting Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins at the top of the second round, they came back and nabbed Sampson in the fourth, overhauling their backfield with those two deft moves. Each back provides a different — and complementary — skillset. Judkins is your more traditional bell-cow runner, while Sampson is a speed demon with receiving skills.

It’s great for the Browns that Sampson was available for them in the fourth, but it’s a little surprising he hadn’t been taken yet. I had similar grades on both players pre-draft, and Sampson was a consensus top-five back among media evaluators. There’s a chance he’s simply the better player between the two backs Cleveland drafted, and his workload could adjust accordingly.

Chiefs Fourth-Round WR Jalen Royals

A deep threat speedster wide receiver from Utah State, Royals fell a bit and went after some less talented players at his own position. Despite his bread-and-butter being downfield targets, he proved at the Senior Bowl he can run a more complex route tree and win in a variety of ways. He’s a complete receiver who can take the top off a defense — a valuable commodity at any level.

Royals probably enters the season as the fifth receiver on the Chiefs’ depth chart, behind Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Short of injury, his role in 2025 may be limited. But long-term, he might be the successor to Brown as the vertical threat on the outside. I love Royals’ tape and he’s the perfect complement to Rice and Worthy to round out that receiver room.

Titans Fourth-Round WR Elic Ayomanor

I was shocked Ayomanor lasted until the end of the fourth round. The Stanford receiver is one of the most talented in this class and possesses a skillset coveted by the NFL: the ability to win down the field, on the outside, as a true X-receiver. He needs to get stronger at the catch point, but he runs a full route tree and can shoulder a large target share as someone the offense runs through.

Despite where he was taken, Ayomanor might start as a rookie. Outside of Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett, this Titans’ receiving depth chart is undetermined. He’ll compete with Treylon Burks and fellow fourth-rounder Chimere Dike for that final starting spot, and I’d bet Ayomanor wins that battle.

Browns Fifth-Round QB Shedeur Sanders

By now, everyone knows Sanders’ draft story. Once a projected first-round pick, his stock began to slip as the draft approached, but he was still expected to come off the board in the late first or early second. Instead, he fell like a rock, before the Browns traded up to end his slide in the fifth round despite already having taken a quarterback earlier in the draft. Reports have since circulated about Sanders’ underwhelming pre-draft interviews, leading to speculation this pick may have been forced by the owner. The dynamic at quarterback in Cleveland is certainly awkward.

That said, Sanders might be the best quarterback on Cleveland’s roster. Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles twice in the last six months and isn’t expected to play at all in 2025. It didn’t look like Joe Flacco had much left in the tank in Indianapolis last year, and Kenny Pickett started for two years in Pittsburgh before his hometown team traded him away despite their own uncertainty at the position. I don’t know of a single evaluator who had Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick, ahead of Sanders pre-draft. While the circumstances that got him here were unexpected, Sanders might very well win the Browns’ quarterback competition — if they give him a fair shot at it.

Patriots Fifth-Round OLB Bradyn Swinson

An edge defender originally at Oregon before transferring to LSU, Swinson is one of the best pure pass rushers in this class. He’s physical and explosive, winning with a quick first step and fighting through offensive linemen with a variety of lethal moves. His fall into the middle rounds surprised me, as he was a quintessential Day 2 pick on tape.

The Patriots’ defense is loaded, especially after their free agency spending spree, but there’s room for a dominant pass rusher to emerge. Keion White showed flashes last year but needs to put it all together. Harold Landry III was brought over from Tennessee to start, and K’Lavon Chaisson and Anfernee Jennings will be factors as well. But if Swinson can be the force off the edge his college tape showed, he’ll earn a significant role as a rookie.

Colts Fifth-Round RB DJ Giddens

A home-run threat at running back from Kansas State, Giddens is a versatile player who should factor into the Colts’ offense as a rookie. When he hits the hole, he’s gone, and he’s adept at breaking tackles in the open field. Whether he’s stretching a run to the edge or knifing up a hole in the middle, he can make plays, and he’s a decent receiver out of the backfield as well. While he was expected to be a Day 3 pick, I had him as a top-10 back in the class, and this is great value for him.

Behind Jonathan Taylor, Indy doesn’t have a lot standing in Giddens’ way. Free-agent signee Khalil Herbert is the presumptive RB2 at the moment, and Tyler Goodson is still on the roster. Giddens could win the backup job out of camp, and he’s probably the best receiving back on the roster.

Giants Fifth-Round OL Marcus Mbow

I called Mbow the steal of the draft when this pick was made, and I stand by that over a week later. A versatile offensive lineman out of Purdue, Mbow played both right tackle and right guard during his time with the Boilermakers. He projects to the interior in the NFL, either at guard or center, but he has the ability to kick out and play tackle if needed, giving him immense value on an NFL roster. He’s a little undersized, but he’s a plus athlete with incredible range in his pass protection.

New York’s offensive line is a work in progress. Outside of LT Andrew Thomas, there are a lot of question marks across the line. Second-year man John Michael Schmitz Jr. is expected to start at center, and Jermaine Eluemunor was signed to play right tackle. Jon Runyan should reprise his role at left guard, and Greg Van Roten is the projected starter at right guard. Mbow, Aaron Stinnie and Evan Neal will push Van Roten, however. There’s a world where Mbow wins a starting job out of camp, and even if he doesn’t, he could ascend to it before too long. At worst, he’ll provide critical depth across the offensive line as a rookie, and his long-term outlook is that of a starter.

Chiefs Seventh-Round RB Brashard Smith

If you’re looking for a late-round fantasy sleeper, this is your guy. Smith, who played college ball at SMU, offers a skillset that no other back on this roster has. He’s a fast, explosive runner with great hands and the ability to win the edge against the defense. Though pass protection is a work in progress, I like his ability to be a third-down or change-of-pace receiving back in the NFL.

The Chiefs have Isaiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and Elijah Mitchell on the roster, but none of them do what Smith does. All three of those backs are tough runners best deployed in downhill situations, and their receiving upside is limited. There’s a chance Smith wins the receiving back role as a rookie and is able to contribute early in his career.