With a little over two months til the 2025 NFL Draft, the pressure is on for the 32 NFL teams to make the selections that will help them perform well in the 2025 season. The first selection goes to the Tennessee Titans, who wrested the 1st overall pick from the Chicago Bears and New York Giants after vying for it against them all season. So who comes off the board in the first 10 selections?
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado (Titans)
The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is undoubtedly going to be the 1st overall pick for a team that needs more offensive weaponry. This season, the Titans finished 3-14 while having one of the 10 worst overall offenses in the NFL, ranking 27th in points per game and 26th in yards per game. On the defensive side, Tennessee gave up the 3rd fewest points per game, which is great, but not when you’re the exact opposite on the offensive side. Additionally, the Titans allowed the 2nd least passing yards per game, only ahead of the Super Bowl champion Eagles (which I’m still not over). I guess those last two statistics were the only bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2024 season.
The one big way the Titans can win this year’s draft is by snagging the undoubtedly best player in it, while also properly developing him in his first two or three seasons. No one wants to draft another Johnny Manziel, unlike the team that’s usually #1 on draft night…
Abdul Carter, DE, Penn State (Browns)
The Browns are in the market for a fresh linebacker ahead of this draft with all the talk of their current star LB Myles Garrett potentially hitting the trade block. Carter was a dominant part on Penn State’s defense en route to a CFP semifinal appearance, racking up 13 sacks, 10 quarterback hits and 43 hurries on 352 pass rushes. The 13 total sacks were also a career high for the junior defensive end, as his previous career high was 6.5 in his freshman year. Carter’s biggest strength is how often he’s able to solo tackle, putting up 50+ solo tackles in all 3 seasons in Happy Valley.
This would be a strong pickup for a team that like the Titans, ranked in the bottom 10 of the league in offensive points and yards per game and for the record, only slightly better on the defensive side (27th in defensive PPG, 19th in defensive YPG). The Browns’ other major concern in the mock draft here would be finding a viable QB ever since Deshaun Watson virtually ended his career with back-to-back Achilles pops and the lackluster performance of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. And speaking of teams in need of QBs…
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado (Giants)
After finally cutting loose the infamous open-field tripper Daniel Jones, the Giants must not make another mistake at the signal caller position in this year’s draft. Luckily, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, son of legendary defensive back Deion Sanders, Prime Time himself, can bring that to the Giants’ poor offense. The Giants were the 3rd worst offense in the league while additionally having the NFL’s 21st and 24th ranked defense. A stellar QB like Sanders (4000+ passing yards, 37 TDs, 10 INTs) should help New York rocket from the basement.
The question is- can they also surround a Sanders selection with more offensive firepower, particularly at the RB and WR spots, where they had the 24th-best rushing offense and the 30th-best receiving offense?
Those are just the potential top three selections in this year’s NFL Draft, and this mock draft could potentially change as we get closer to draft night on April 24. Other notable first-round choices in this inaugural experiment include:
- T Will Campbell, LSU, to the New England Patriots to better protect QB Drake Maye
- DE Mason Graham, Michigan, to the Jacksonville Jaguars to build up a pass rush
- Heisman finalist RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, to the Las Vegas Raiders to finally solve their RB woes after a carousel in 2024
- Fellow Heisman finalist and Miami QB Cam Ward to the Jets to replace the ancient Aaron Rodgers
- Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan to the Carolina Panthers to rebuild a bare receiving corps
- Tennessee DE James Pearce to the Saints
- T Kelvin Banks from Texas to the Chicago Bears to help QB Caleb Williams’ protection and hopefully RB DeAndre Swift’s game improve
See also: For Teams Needing a New QB, Look No Further than Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel
