The NFL Draft is quickly approaching and in a 3 day span in late April – NFL teams can change the future of their franchise for better or worse. There’s an old saying that in order to build a successful NFL team – you must build through the draft. And in today’s video we’re going to break down 2 NFL teams that can’t afford miss during the 2025 draft. These are teams that are at pivotal points in their franchises timeline and teams that are in a position to take the next step. The Lions entered the 2023 draft in this type of situation and absolutely nailed their draft that year as they selected Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch all within the first two rounds. The Texans also needed to nail the 2023 draft as they were entering a new era – and selected CJ Stroud and Will Anderson with two of the top 3 picks in the class. But not every draft goes that way for all 32 teams. Not even close. And if the teams we discuss in today’s video have a bad draft – well seats will get warm and a lot of people could be out of a job. Now a preface for this video is – no teams wants to miss on a draft so don’t think there’s 28 teams that can completely whiff on the 2025 draft because that’s not the case either. But each situation in today’s video is unique and there is a lot to breakdown so without further ado – let’s dive right in
And we are starting today’s video with the Miami Dolphins. Miami finished the 2024 season with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in the Mike McDaniel era. It was a long year for several reasons, but I do believe that even if Tua plays all 17 games – and even if they finish 10-7 or 11-6 and make the playoffs – that it wouldn’t have really mattered because this team shows pretty regularly that they do not have what it takes to beat the best of the best in the NFL when it matters. And it’s frustrating for Dolphins fans as whether you know this or not – the last time this team won a playoff game was all the way back in the year 2000. And the average one bedroom apartment’s rent was about $542 per month. That’s’ how long it’s been since Miami won their last playoff game. And one of the biggest reasons in particular as to why the Dolphins struggled so much in 2024 – when it mattered – was – they were not a strong team up front. And it’s not a coincidence the Dolphins went from 1st in yards per carry in 2023 – in a year where they averaged 5.1 yards per carry as a team – to 28th – in a year where they averaged over a yard less per carry as they averaged just 4.0 yards per carry as a team in 2024. Left Tackle Terron Armstead retired this offseason and Terron Armstead was good to miss a few games per year – but he played in 15 games in 2024 – and he actually played at a pretty high level. So having to replace a left tackle who played at a high level is already a difficult task in itself – but there’s the rest of the offensive line that has to play better – which is a unit I admittedly have questions about – and then the Tyreek Hill situation. 2024 second round pick Patrick Paul is slated to replace Terron Armstead and Paul played sparingly in his rookie season at both the left and right tackle position – and there were mixed results for Paul during his rookie season. And I think expecting Paul to take a big step in year 2 is a lot to expect from a developmental tackle.I’ve said before I’m not a big fan of veteran guard Liam Eichenberg, but I do want to credit the Dolphins for taking a risk and signing James Daniels this offseason to a 3 year deal. It was a relatively low risk signing and if it works out – then the Dolphins have a solid starting guard for an average of $8 million dollars per year. Now for Daniels specifically – it is worth noting he is coming off of a torn achilles and that obviously played a big part as to why he only received an average of $8 million per year. All of this to say – that Miami’s offensive line already has questions up front prior to the 2025 draft. And I’m also not the biggest Austin Jackson fan either and I think it’s more than reasonable to say the Dolphins should try and address the offensive line early and often within the 2025 draft. Unfortunately I think Will Campbell is too talented to fall to pick 13 – but there is a real possibility that either Josh Simmons from Ohio State – or Kelvin Banks from Texas are there – both of whom I think would upgrade the offensive line. And both of whom I think would be long time starters. But why this draft in particular is so important for the Dolphins is they just signed Tua to an extension and there’s some questions about the culture within the Dolphins locker room. And that’s already not good – especially when their GM is – or at least should be – on the hot seat – as again – they haven’t won a playoff game in a quarter of a century. They’re also in a division with the Josh Allen led Bills who of course aren’t going anywhere – and the Drake Maye Patriots – who appear to be on the rise. Miami has finished second in the AFC east for 3 consecutive years – and their way to trying to dethrone the Bills – and winning the AFC east – starts in the trenches – and it starts – with a successful 2025 NFL Draft.
Next up is the Carolina Panthers and they make today’s video for a couple of reasons. The big story with the Panthers entering the 2025 offseason was how they ended their 2024 season compared to how it started. They were outscored 73-13 in the first two games of the 2024 season and they didn’t look like a bad football team – they looked like one of the worst teams over the past 5 to 10 years. Bryce Young was benched after a 26-3 week 2 loss and 14 year veteran Andy Dalton came in and led the offense to 36 points in a week 3 win over the Raiders. Bryce Young eventually became the starter again and the time on the bench proved valuable. And in the final 10 games of the year – the. Panthers had a 4-6 record and Young had 20 total touchdowns to just 6 interceptions. And where the Panthers are today – is a position that they seemingly never thought they would be in after just 2 games were played to start the 2024 season. And for how good of an end to the year that it was for Carolina – they still need to improve the roster if they want Bryce to take a bigger step in 2025 – and for him to solidify himself as the Panthers franchise quarterback. This team has just 3 selections in the top 100 as they have their own first round pick at pick 8, the Rams second round pick at pick 57, and their own third round pick at pick 74. They do not have their second round pick this year because of the Bryce Young trade. This team is an interesting situation because their defense last year wasn’t just below average or bottom 5 – no it was horrific and when you factor in just how bad their defense was in 2024 – along with a not great receiving core entering a put up or shut up season for Bryce Young – this is why the Carolina Panthers can’t afford to miss in the 2025 draft.
The Panthers leader in sacks last year was a tie between A’Shawn Robinson and Jadeveon Clowney and neither player was particularly great last year and even despite adding guys in free agency to try and help both the pass rush and run defense – like Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown, and Patrick Jones – they still lack a true alpha pass rusher that could consistently be a double digit sack player. And whenever we do mock drafts – there’s a reason that I’ve mocked Marshall edge Mike Green to the Panthers not just once – but multiple times. And it’s because a great edge rushing prospect would be going to a team that had one of the worst defenses we’ve seen over the past couple of years in 2024. And while Mike Green would obviously be a great addition to the Panthers – so would Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan. I am a huge Tetairoa McMillan believer and I think he is one of the more overthought prospects in the entire 2025 draft and I absolutely love the idea of pairing T Mac with Bryce and having that be a quarterback and receiving duo in the Queen City for the next several years. Why this draft is also critical to the Panthers is – head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan are both entering year 2. And obviously the defense is important – nobody is denying that – and especially the pass rush in today’s era – but you’re also in a very critical situation with your quarterback who’s future at this point – is hopeful – but by no means is their guaranteed success. Entering the 2025 offseason – that is one thing that I think gets kind of forgotten about or at least not discussed as much as it should – is some people legitimately think Bryce Young is here to stay and that the 10 game stretch we saw to end the 2024 season – is his floor as a player for the next 4 or 5 years. And while I hope that’s the case – nothing is guaranteed. And whether the Panthers choose to go receiver or edge with their first round pick – for the sake of their hopeful franchise quarterback, head coach and GM – this draft is absolutely crucial for the Carolina Panthers.
The video below discusses two other teams that can’t afford to miss in the 2025 NFL draft. I hope you enjoyed today’s article and hope you have a great rest of your day!
