2025 NFL Draft Overview

By David Thatcher, Clarion Sports Co-Editor

Day One Overview

The first night of the 2025 NFL Draft began with the selection of QB Cam Ward (Miami) who has become the first zero star recruit to ever be selected first overall in a NFL Draft. The pick wasn’t all that surprising considering the Tennessee Titans have a need at the QB position and information coming from insiders had pointed towards the Titans staying put at the first overall pick and selecting who they believe to be their next franchise quarterback.

The first trade of the night didn’t take long as the Cleveland Browns would trade the number two pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The trade details consisted of Jacksonville exchanging their 2025 first round pick (No. 5), 2026 first round pick, 2025 2nd round pick, and 2025 4th round pick for Cleveland’s 2025 first round pick (No. 2), 2025 4th round pick, and 2025 6th round pick. Jacksonville then selected the dynamic Colorado Heisman trophy winner two-way player WR/CB Travis Hunter. 

Surprisingly, at the number 10 pick of the NFL draft TE Colston Loveland (Michigan) was selected by the Chicago Bears ahead of Penn State’s Tyler Warren who was regarded as TE1 by many draft analysts. Clearly Chicago favored Loveland’s skillset as a receiver and thought the value to take him at the 10th pick was appropriate. With both Kmet and now Loveland in their tight end room paired with head coach Ben Johnson, I expect Chicago to utilize 12 personnel (1 back, 2 tight end formations) frequently to create mismatches, offer versatility in both the pass and run game, and create headaches for opposing defenses. 

In New York, specifically the Giants, had an active day one with taking Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter with the 3rd overall pick. Carter is a phenomenal athlete who showcased impressive pass-rushing and run defense skills despite switching from being an off-ball linebacker to an edge rusher in 2024. He should immediately be a day one starter for the Giants and be an extremely valuable asset to their defense this upcoming season. The Giants then traded back into the 1st round giving up their 2025 2nd round pick, 2025 3rd round pick, and a 2026 3rd round pick in exchange for Houston’s 2025 1st round pick (No. 25) to select QB Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss). The pick was a draft day shocker for many considering Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders was regarded by many media analysts as QB2 in this year’s draft which the Giants passed on.

Atlanta was also active day one by selecting EDGE Jalon Walker (Georgia) at pick 15. A very athletic player with edge and off-ball linebacker versatility who needs some polishing in the NFL, but definitely has lots of upside for Atlanta’s defense that is desperate for some pass-rush. The Falcons then also traded back into the 1st round, trading their 2026 first round pick, 2025 second round pick, and 2025 7th round pick in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams 2025 1st round pick (No. 26) and their 2025 3rd round pick. Atlanta then selected EDGE James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee) to continue to add to their pass-rush. Pearce has lots of promising traits as a pass rusher, but does have some concerns regarding his character which Atlanta seems okay with. The Falcons pass-rush could see a gigantic leap in performance from last year to this year which would be immensely helpful for their defensive unit. 

2025 NFL Draft tracker: Complete results, list of picks for Round 1 (Entire 1st Round Selection Tracker) 

My Top Five Picks 

I’m personally not all that big on draft day “winners” and “losers” for the sole purpose that each team’s draft class has yet to take a single snap of professional football. While I understand the nuance of projecting prospects' future success in the NFL and draft pick value that goes into these grades from draft analysts; I still stand by waiting to see how these players perform this upcoming season and the future seasons ahead before placing any grade on a class. However, I will list my top five picks and an honorable mention that I thought were some of the best in the 2025 NFL Draft and granted there were many, many more strong picks throughout the draft that I will not be able to list. 

Jihaad Campbell (Alabama), is an off-ball linebacker out of Alabama who likely fell to the late first round due to injury concerns regarding a torn labrum. However, Philadelphia once again is able to pick up a quality defender with promising traits at great value (Selected Campbell at pick No. 31). Eagles general manager Howie Roseman pairing this year’s top linebacker prospect with Defensive Player of the Year finalist Zack Baun should yield favorable results for Campbell’s development and wouldn’t be shocked if he establishes himself as one of the league’s better linebackers in the next couple of seasons. 

Jahdae Barron (Texas), a cornerback from Texas and Jim Thorpe award winner was selected by the Denver Broncos at pick No. 20, pairing him with Defensive Player of the Year CB Patrick Surtain II and being added to a very strong secondary. The pick was somewhat surprising as many expected Denver to select an offensive player such as UNC HB Omarion Hampton or Texas WR Matthew Golden. However, Denver elected to continue to add a stacked defense that consists of Nik Bonitto, Patrick Surtain, Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, Brandon Jones, and more. In a conference with some of the NFL’s best conferences and being in what is shaping up to potentially be the toughest division in the NFL (AFC West) you can’t go wrong with continuing to add to an already strong defensive unit. 

Ashton Jeanty (Boise St.), The Pete Carrol influence is definitely showing itself in Vegas with him getting a great back and building a strong defense. There isn’t much to add to the conversation about Jeanty that hasn’t already been said, but being a Denver fan I can say I hate the idea of having to face Ashton Jeanty two times a year. The Raiders struggled with running the football last year and they address it by getting a dynamic, athletic back, who is also extremely difficult to tackle. The Raiders last year took a highly sought after offensive piece in TE Brock Bowers to then follow it up again this year with Jeanty (Selected with pick No. 6). Having Jeanty, Bowers, and upgrading the QB position with Geno Smith the Raiders offense should be significantly better than last year’s making the AFC West more competitive. 

Tyler Warren (Penn State), as previously mentioned Colston Loveland was the first tight end off the board and selected ahead of Tyler Warren. Indianapolis went ahead and drafted Warren at pick No. 14. Warren is regarded as the top tight end in this year’s draft by many who offers versatility, size, and strength. His skill set should give the Colts’ offense a constant mismatch on the field with his versatility, be a great safety net for QB Anthony Richardson, and be a valuable red zone threat. 

Will Johnson (Michigan), fell all the way to the second round despite being regarded as a first-round talent due to injury concerns surrounding him. The Cardinals picked Johnson at pick No. 47, getting insane value. Johnson has athletic profile and all of the traits to be a franchise CB1 in the NFL the only question is whether or not he can stay healthy, but if he can, and is the player as advertised, the Cardinals might have the steal of the draft. 

Honorable Mention -- Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), is my honorable mention for being one of the best picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. I personally viewed Sanders as more of a day-two talent (second-third round pick) due to some limitations with his arm talent and athleticism that may hinder his ceiling as a player in the NFL, but had some likable traits with processing ability, instinct, and pocket feel, just to give a brief prospect overview. The Cleveland Browns were able to select Sanders in the 5th round of the draft at pick No. 144 marking this as one of the best value picks regardless if you view him as a day-one or day-two talent. If Cleveland gets their franchise QB of the future or even a viable starter in Sanders in the fifth round then this could very well be the steal of the draft. 

Storyline Of The Draft

The main storyline of the 2025 NFL Draft was about Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders who is also the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Many media analysts had Sanders ranked QB2, with some even saying QB1, but the overwhelming majority in the media viewed Sanders a round-one talent. However, Sanders not only wasn’t drafted in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft but fell all the way to the 5th round being selected by the Cleveland Browns at pick No. 144. 

Cleveland selecting Shedeur was also surprising for another reason, as they had selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the 3rd round of the Draft at pick No. 94. The addition of Sanders makes him the fifth QB in Cleveland’s QB room which consists of Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. This raises questions on Cleveland’s thought process behind the pick and how are they going to be able to evaluate their QB choices with only so many reps to go around to evaluate each QB?  

Many media analysts were shocked by the outcome and couldn’t stop talking about how Shedeur Sanders was falling throughout the draft causing speculation on what the reason may be. Some believe the NFL was sending a message to Shedeur Sanders due to his lack of participation and how he handled himself in some pre-draft processes such as opting out of the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, not throwing at the combine, numerous sources reporting that Sanders “tanked interviews” (Sports Illustrated), such as Sanders reportedly showing up unprepared to his Giants interview which led to frustrations between head coach Brian Daboll and Shedeur Sanders (Sporting News).

However, others have cited that the plausible explanation may be Sanders not being viewed as day one or day two talent by NFL evaluators. The NFL is notorious for valuing talent over red flags whether they are injury or character concerns, which was certainly seen this draft as well as numerous prospects with red flags were still drafted within the top 50 picks despite having “red flags.” Essentially, if Sanders was viewed as talented enough by evaluators, teams would have drafted him regardless of any character or maturity concerns. 

What’s Next? 

Now that the 2025 NFL Draft has concluded teams have already begun signing UDFAs (Undrafted Free Agents) to hopefully find some hidden gems that slipped through the draft. 

Coming shortly in May teams will host their rookie minicamps, then OTAs, Mandatory Minicamps, Training Camp, then get to the preseason to evaluate their players and determine who will make the final 53-man roster come September.

The 106th NFL season is slated to start Thursday, September 4, with the defending Super Bowl Champions the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the first game of the 2025-2026 NFL season. 

*Full 7-round Draft Tracker: https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/picks/1/7/2025 (NFL)