As the NFL draft is rapidly approaching, everyone is excited to see where their favorite college players will end up in the big league. On the other hand, NFL fans are anxiously waiting to see how their favorite team will fill its many holes. Without further ado, here is how I think the first round of the 2025 NFL draft will end up.
Pick 1: Tennessee Titans: QB Cameron Ward
This pick has been set in stone for a while now, similar to the quarterbacks taken first overall in the last two drafts. Ward has a very high ceiling and the potential to be a difference-maker at the position, despite reports that he is worse than all 6 QBs taken in the first round last year. Titans coach Brian Callahan takes his guy for the future.
Pick 2: Cleveland Browns: WR/CB Travis Hunter
Despite their issues at the QB position, the Browns opt for arguably the best player in this year’s draft. Hunter is one of the best on both sides of the ball and can truly be a 1-of-1 player if the Browns allow him to play at his full potential.
Pick 3: New York Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter
Another team with question marks at the quarterback position, the Giants opt to pass on Shadeur Sanders and select the best player available. Carter has a high motor and, despite being a little on the smaller side, should still make the Giants’ defensive line one of the best in the league.
Pick 4: New England Patriots: OL Will Campbell
The headline: Protect Drake Maye. While the Patriots are lackluster at the skill positions, taking their tackle of the future to protect their young star quarterback will pay dividends, especially in a deep running back and tight end class that allows them to take other positions of need later on.
Pick 5: Chicago Bears (Mock trade with Jacksonville Jaguars) RB Ashton Jeanty
The Bears have clearly had an eye on Jeanty for a while now, and after stabilizing their offensive line this offseason with Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, they draft a top-tier talent to essentially put the finishing touch on their offense.
Pick 6: Las Vegas Raiders: OT Armand Membou
After Ashton Jeanty is snatched away from them, the Raiders opt to finish their offensive line with Armand Membou, who has risen up draft boards swiftly this offseason and has high talent at the position. While they still lack an effective backfield, the Raiders stabilize protection for Geno Smith.
Pick 7: New York Jets: TE Tyler Warren
After letting Tyler Conklin walk in the offseason, the Jets lack a consistent receiving option at tight end. Warren has the versatility to play all over the field and should provide a nice safety blanket for Justin Fields while opening things up downfield for Garrett Wilson.
Pick 8: Carolina Panthers: LB Jalon Walker
The Panthers have had one of the weaker defenses in the league for a while now, and they look to change that in the 2025 draft by acquiring some high-end talent for DC Ejiro Evero. Jalon Walker is the first great step to rebuilding this Carolina defense.
Pick 9: New Orleans Saints: DL Mason Graham
With Brian Bresee having been a massive disappointment thus far in his career and Cameron Jordan nearing retirement age, Mason Graham will be a pillar of the Saints’ defensive line for years to come. I believe the news of Derek Carr’s injury will end up as a smokescreen more than anything.
Pick 10: Jacksonville Jaguars (Mock trade with Chicago Bears:) WR Tetairoa McMillian
After trading back and acquiring more picks from the Bears to improve their roster, the Jaguars take the best receiver on the board. Outside of Brian Thomas Jr, their best receivers are Gabe Davis and Dyami Brown, so this receiving core needs a boost in a big way.
Pick 11: San Francisco 49ers: CB Will Johnson
After letting Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga hit free agency in the offseason, the 49ers desperately need help in the secondary. Despite recently falling down draft boards, Will Johnson is still the top CB on the board outside of Travis Hunter, and should help out the Niners’ defense in a big way.
Pick 12: Dallas Cowboys: WR Matthew Golden
This pick just makes too much sense. The Cowboys need more star power on the offensive side of the ball, and outside of Ceedee Lamb, their top 2 receivers are Jalen Tolbert and Kevontae Turpin. Drafting the receiver out of Texas to play opposite Lamb should be a home run for the Cowboys.
Pick 13: LA Rams (Mock trade with Miami Dolphins:) TE Colston Loveland
Miami has a lot of holes to fill, so acquiring more draft capital makes sense for them. Meanwhile, for a team looking to win in the next two years with Matthew Stafford, trading up to grab a safety blanket at Tight End in Colston Loveland is a no-brainer. This would make for a scary receiving core in LA.
Pick 14: Indianapolis Colts: OG Tyler Booker
After getting traded in front of for a top-tier tight end, the Colts look to restabilize their offensive line after losing most of their interior to Minnesota in the offseason. It may not be the flashy pick they were hoping to make, but protecting Anthony Richardson is still a top-tier priority.
Pick 15: Atlanta Falcons: EDGE Shemar Stewart
Even though everyone was expecting Atlanta to take an edge last year instead of QB Michael Penix Jr, this year Atlanta finally uses some draft capital in bolstering their defense. The Falcons haven’t had a premium edge rusher in what feels like decades, so Shemar Stewart should provide a spark on their defensive line.
Pick 16: Arizona Cardinals: OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
After recently drafting Paris Johnson Jr. for one side of their line, the Cardinals stabilize their tackle position for the next five years by taking Kelvin Banks Jr. Although I could see the Cardinals drafting more defense, they had several additions in the offseason, and protecting Kyler Murray is important as well.
Pick 17: Cincinnati Bengals: EDGE Mike Green
With a defense that not only ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but also certainly kept them out of the playoffs, the Bengals improve in a big way with Mike Green, who would play opposite of Trey Hendrickson and create a scary duo for opposing offensive lines to deal with.
Pick 18: Seattle Seahawks: OL Grey Zabel
I considered going receiver here for Seattle, after they lost both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in the offseason, but the interior offensive line is another area of weakness that Seattle needs to address, especially after Sam Darnold was used to a top-of-the-league O-Line in Minnesota last year.
Pick 19: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: CB Jahdae Barron
Jahdae Barron gives a massive boost to the Bucs’ secondary, already highlighted by great players like Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jamel Dean. Unfortunately, both were injured at times last year, so Jahdae should improve the unit as a whole.
Pick 20: Denver Broncos: RB Omarion Hampton
Hampton would finally solve the Broncos’ woes at the running back position after moving on from Javonte Williams in the offseason. Running behind the best statistical offensive line in the league, Hampton would instantly be a great pickup for fantasy football managers.
Pick 21: Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Shadeur Sanders
I wasn’t sure about selecting Shadeur here due to reports that he might fall out of the first round entirely, but the steelers have no idea if Aaron Rodgers will join them or not, and their other option is trading for a washed-up Kirk Cousins, so drafting a potential Quarterback of the future is a must for the steelers in this spot.
Pick 22: LA Chargers: EDGE Mykel Williams
The top tight ends are off the board, and following along with Jim Harbaugh’s mentality of investing in the trenches, the Chargers add another body to their defensive line. Williams will take the spot of Joey Bosa, who was let go in the offseason.
Pick 23: Green Bay Packers: WR Emeka Egbuka
I know, I know, the Packers never draft first-round receivers, but with a decently stable offensive line and a defense that was near the top of the league last year, investing in a potential #1 receiver for Jordan Love is a must.
Pick 24: Minnesota Vikings: S Malaki Starks
The Vikings are a team that doesn’t have a whole lot of readily apparent needs, so they end up drafting for the future and taking the heir apparent to franchise legend safety Harrison Smith. Starks wouldn’t even have to start right away, but it still would be a big boost to the Vikings’ secondary.
Pick 25: Houston Texans: OT Josh Simmons
In the offseason, the Texans began the process of rebuilding their entire offensive line, even trading away superstar tackle Laremy Tunsil in a move that shocked many. Josh Simmons is a pick in a huge area of need for Houston, as he could protect CJ Stroud’s blind side for years to come.
Pick 26: Miami Dolphins (Mock Trade with LA Rams:) DL Walter Nolen
The Dolphins are another team that has been criticized in recent years for being soft upfront, so they desperately need to invest in the trenches. With some of the top O-linemen off the board, they opt to go defense with Walter Nolen.
Pick 27: Baltimore Ravens: DB Nick Emmanwori
I wasn’t really sure what to do with the Ravens here at 27, since in this simulation, the top interior linemen are off the board, which is the position the Ravens need to address most. So instead, they make a strong point of their defense even stronger with Nick Emmanwori.
Pick 28: Detroit Lions: EDGE James Pearce Jr.
The Lions’ defense was great last year, and part of that was due to guys stepping up to replace injured edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. This year, Hutchinson will have a great complimentary pass-rusher across from him in James Pearce out of Tennessee.
Pick 29: Washington Commanders: LB Jihaad Campbell
In this sim, the Commanders would be thrilled that Campbell fell all the way to them at 29, as he could end up being one of the best players in this entire draft, but that’s just the way that the board fell in this situation. He would be an absolute monster in the middle of their defense.
Pick 30: Buffalo Bills: CB Trey Amos
Ideally, the Bills could take a receiver like Luther Burden III to bolster their offense in this spot, but I think that HC Sean McDermott is happier with the receiver-by-committee style of offense that the Bills currently run, so instead, they bolster their secondary with CB Trey Amos.
Pick 31: Kansas City Chiefs: OL Josh Conerly Jr.
The Chiefs are in desperate need of offensive line help after they were exposed in the Super Bowl last year. They signed former 49ers’ backup tackle Jaylon Moore in the offseason, but drafting Josh Conerly would hopefully bring their offensive line back to what it was in recent years.
Pick 32: Philadelphia Eagles: EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku
After losing pass-rusher Josh Sweat in the offseason to the Arizona Cardinals and Milton Williams to the Patriots, the Eagles still have some depth on their defensive line, but opt to add another stud with Ezeiruaku joining the likes of Bryce Huff and Nakobe Dean.
