We’re in the first quarter of the 2024 NFL season, but it’s not too early to run a brand new mock draft.
Several major developments — player benchings and injuries especially — have prompted us to envision a much different first-round mock draft compared to the most recent edition we ran.
So, with October approaching, let’s dive into a brand new edition of the 2025 NFL first-round mock draft.
Who are the current college prospects poised to be selected for the 2025 NFL Draft?
1. Carolina Panthers: Carson Beck
It took only two games for the Panthers to bench 2023 first-overall pick Bryce Young. Assuming they get a top-five pick in the NFL draft, GM Dan Morgan has an easy way out of the disastrous Young era.
Georgia’s Carson Beck is the most NFL-ready quarterback for the 2025 class. He would instantly bring new hope and energy to the long-struggling organization — and Morgan will have hopefully upgraded his offensive line and wide receiver room in the weeks leading up to the draft to help his new QB.
2. New York Giants: James Pearce Jr.
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Giants fans will want a quarterback here, but you can’t pass on the chance to get a true franchise-changing pass-rusher like James Pearce Jr.
Thanks to the structure of his contract, the Giants can cut Daniel Jones in the offseason with few financial ramifications. New York can add a bridge quarterback via trade or free agency OR trade up later in round one for their new quarterback. Here, they have to take the best player on the board.
Pairing a game-changing edge-rusher like Pearce with Brian Burns – to say nothing of star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence — would have Big Blue set on the front seven for years to come.
3. Denver Broncos: Travis Hunter
Sean Payton will find it too difficult to pass up on a two-way sensation and local kid in Travis Hunter. Do you pair him with All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain in the secondary or make Hunter the new No. 1 wideout for Bo Nix?
We’d guess the latter. Either way, the long-struggling Broncos are getting a new franchise cornerstone, which is making Deion Sanders a very happy man!
The Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver or rusher since 2019. We’re still baffled by the front office’s failure to bring in better weapons for Nix this offseason, but the issue is finally resolved here with the Buffaloes superstar.
4. Tennessee Titans: Quinn Ewers
We wouldn’t be surprised if the Titans finished with a top-five pick but opted to trade down for a QB. But in this exercise, we have them playing it safe and securing a new franchise quarterback in Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
Will Levis hasn’t done enough to convince the Titans’ brass that he can be their long-term answer behind center. Ewers would be ready to start right away and enjoy the luxury of offensive-minded head coach Brian Callahan.
5. Washington Commanders: Mason Graham
Graham is currently ranked as the top 2025 NFL draft prospect by several scouts and analysts. But the teams picking ahead of Washington have other needs, allowing the Michigan defensive tackle to fall into the Commanders’ laps.
A defensive guru head coach like Dan Quinn will be jumping in the closest lake to celebrate if his team gets Graham.
6. Los Angeles Rams: Tetairoa McMillan
It feels a bit early for the Rams to take Matthew Stafford’s successor, so let’s assign the best wide receiver prospect of this year’s class to play alongside Puka Nacua.
Cooper Kupp is on the back end of his career and can’t stay healthy anymore. Even if Stafford only has a couple of years left, the next Rams’ QB will be in great hands with Nacua and McMillan at his disposal.
Also Read: 9 NFL Bandwagons To Jump On This 2024 Season
7. New England Patriots: Will Johnson
Cornerback isn’t the sexiest position to take this early in most NFL drafts. But the Patriots would have Johnson AND rising superstar Christian Gonzalez leading their secondary, giving Jerod Mayo and company the league’s best cornerback tandem in a short time.
And yes, you want that with Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, and Aaron Rodgers in your division.
8. Indianapolis Colts: Malaki Starks
The Colts have plenty of talent across the board on offense and one of football’s best front sevens. They’re lacking quality defensive backs, however, and a unicorn safety like Georgia’s Malaki Starks can single-handedly change that.
Starks, like Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, can line up anywhere on defense and take over games at any given moment.
9. Las Vegas Raiders: Kelvin Banks Jr.
The Raiders already have one of the league’s top offensive tackles in Kolton Miller. So rather than reach for a new QB here, Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce shore up the book ends for the next half-decade-plus by snagging the best pass-blocker in this class.
10. Arizona Cardinals: Abdul Carter
The Cardinals are building something special on offense with Kyler Murray, Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr. But this team is still devoid of quality play-making defensive studs, especially in the front seven.
Penn State’s Abdul Carter changes that by giving Arizona its best pass-rusher since Chandler Jones. Carter is tailor-made for Jonathan Gannon’s defensive scheme.
11. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mykel Williams
The Jaguars’ rebuilt front seven hasn’t come as advertised, meaning it’s back to the drawing board in April. Jacksonville has a superstar edge rusher in Josh Hines-Allen, but consider that Georgia’s Mykel Williams has an even higher ceiling.
In other words, you’d be talking about the top pass-rushing tandem in the AFC. Sign us up!
12. Minnesota Vikings: Benjamin Morrison
The Vikings would be in a “take the best player available” situation here for the 2025 NFL Draft. But they could also use an elite cover corner and ball-hawker to take this defense to another level, and Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison would make an immediate impact in Brian Flores’ defense.
13. Chicago Bears: Nic Scourton
The Bears have their foundation on offense in place. Now let’s see them add another pass-rusher to take some of the pressure off of Montez Sweat.
Scourton is a plug-and-play guy who would help Matt Eberflus’ squad minimize the damage of Jordan Love, Jared Goff, and JJ McCarthy in the NFC North. A Sweat-Scourton pass-rushing tandem is a nice blueprint for long-term Super Bowl contention.
14. Seattle Seahawks: Shedeur Sanders
Geno Smith is only signed for one more year, and the Seahawks have stockpiled young talents all over the offense and defense. That means NFL GM John Schneider can sit pretty and take his next quarterback in the draft.
Shedeur Sanders lands in the Pacific Northwest and enters an ideal situation: Sit behind Smith for one year, then take over in 2026 with DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Kenneth Walker as your top weapons.
And in a short time, the Seahawks will go from borderline playoff team to long-term title contender again.
15. Miami Dolphins: Jalon Walker
The Dolphins’ lack of quality pass-rushers outside of Jaelan Phillps was exposed after his season-ending injury a year ago. Miami needs more if this constantly underachieving defense is to hit its ceiling, and Georgia’s Jalon Walker can go a long way in helping them accomplish that goal.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will Campbell
This would be a great value pick for the Bucs. Campbell is a top-10 prospect in this class, but he could easily slip due to opposing teams having more pressing weaknesses.
Veteran All-Pro Tristan Wirfs Jr. occupies one bookend, and Campbell has a similar upside that would give Baker Mayfield a dream offensive tackle tandem in front of him.
17. Cleveland Browns: Luther Burden III
There’s a good chance Amari Cooper leaves in free agency, opening up a void in the WR1 spot. The Browns can immediately occupy that by snagging Missouri’s Luther Burden III — a lightning-quick deep threat who would add another element to this offense that relies too much on the ground game.
18. Los Angeles Chargers: Emeka Egbuka
Quentin Johnston looks like he’s coming into his own as a WR1 in La La Land, but Justin Herbert could use another deep threat to elevate the Bolts’ passing game.
The Ohio State product is a smooth route-runner, averaging over 15 yards per catch in his college career. The Bolts’ rush-heavy offense would be able to run plenty of play-action and scheme up the plays to get the ball in his hands.
19. Green Bay Packers: Denzel Burke
Jaire Alexander’s inability to stay healthy could prompt GM Brian Gutekunst to add a lockdown corner to the Packers’ young secondary.
With a loaded front seven and an offense featuring zero gaping holes, Burke just feels like the ideal pickup for an inconsistent Packers’ pass defense.
20. Cincinnati Bengals: Isaiah Bond
With Tee Higgins leaving in free agency, it’s imperative for the Bengals to supply Joe Burrow with the necessary weaponry to keep the Super Bowl window open.
The best wide receiver on the board in this exercise is Texas star Isaiah Bond. His speed and ability to haul in the home run ball at any moment of the game would make Bond a beautiful No. 2 receiver for Burrow.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Deone Walker
We’d like to have a quarterback here, but the Steelers don’t need to reach this early in the 2025 NFL Draft. They have two game-wrecking pass-rushers in TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, but Kentucky run-stopping menace Deone Walker would shore up the interior and take this already dangerous Pittsburgh defense to a whole new level.
And you need that with the onslaught of elite quarterbacks in the AFC.
22. Atlanta Falcons: Kenneth Grant
Grady Jarrett has been a top interior defensive lineman for almost a decade now. Could you imagine if the Falcons got even more dangerous, thereby adding Michigan’s Kenneth Grant to the mix?
A defensive-minded coach like Raheem Morris will wanna get his hands on the most expensive bottle of champagne available if the Falcons pair Grant with Jarrett.
23. New York Jets: Cam Ward
The Jets have assembled a strong win-now roster for Aaron Rodgers, so this is a good spot for GM Joe Douglas to select his quarterback of the future.
Miami’s Cam Ward can sit behind Rodgers for the rest of his Hall of Fame career before assuming the duties down the road. Hey, the Jordan Love-succession plan worked well for the Packers, so why shouldn’t the Jets do the same while Rodgers is here?
24. Dallas Cowboys: Ashton Jeanty
We don’t usually endorse taking a running back in round one these days, but Najee Harris, Bijan Robinson, and Jahmyr Gibbs are firm reminders that it can be worthwhile.
The Cowboys did a horrible job rebuilding their running back room following Ezekiel Elliott’s departure. That changes here with Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty to complete the new big three on Dallas’ offense with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
25. Baltimore Ravens: Jack Sawyer
The Ravens curiously neglected the need to shore up the defensive end and outside linebacker spots last offseason. They go back to their DNA here and take a scrappy, explosive edge-rusher in Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer to fill that void in the 2025 NFL Draft.
26. New Orleans Saints: Colston Loveland
We’re loving the Saints’ well-oiled offensive machine under new OC Klint Kubiak, but why not add even more weapons to the mix? Michigan’s Colston Loveland is the best tight end in this class and would give the Saints their best player at the position since an in-his-prime Jimmy Graham.
27. Philadelphia Eagles: Kevin Winston Jr.
Winston is a big-bodied, 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety and ball-hawking specialist who would be an upgrade over Reed Blankenship on the back end of the Philly secondary.
NFL GM Howie Roseman hit the jackpot by drafting two top corner prospects in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, a year ago. Let’s take the secondary a step further here by adding a do-it-all safety like Winston to the mix.
28. Houston Texans: Tyleik Williams
As if Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter weren’t terrifying enough as edge rushers…now you’d have a three-headed monster with Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams shoring up the middle.
Good luck running on DeMeco Ryans’ defense with Williams in the mix.
29. Detroit Lions: J.T. Tuimoloau
If there’s one weakness on Detroit’s defense, it’s the pass-rushing depth outside of superstar and 2022 second-overall pick Aidan Hutchinson. We’ve seen the Lions struggle against top-flight offenses because the lack of potent pass-rushers isn’t there when other teams neutralize Hutchinson.
That changes here with hulking Ohio State star JT Tuimoloau, who would draw plenty of favorable matchups with opposing teams focusing on stopping Hutchinson. If he hasn’t bitten off kneecaps before, Tuiomoloau will enjoy a nice juicy kneecap-biting meal under Dan Campbell.
30. Buffalo Bills: Landon Jackson
Von Miller’s bounce-back season has been a nice surprise in Buffalo, but the future Hall of Famer is nearing the end of his career. Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane didn’t find a suitable replacement for 2023 sacks leader Leonard Floyd last year, but they make up for it here with the Arkansas standout.
31. San Francisco 49ers: Tacario Davis
It’s already evident that the 49ers need more cornerback depth to contain other star wide receivers. We saw this secondary get shredded in the playoffs last year, and the unit has again been vulnerable against the deep ball aplenty this season.
Arizona corner Tacario Davis is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound menace who had 15 pass defenses a year ago. Davis would fit in nicely with Charvarius Ward and All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga.
32. Kansas City Chiefs: Princely Umanmielen
Chris Jones is the best defensive tackle in the game, and 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis is coming into his own as a star defensive end. But we can’t help but wonder what defensive wiz Steve Spagnuolo could do with a third superstar-level player in his blitz-happy defense, which brings us to Princely Umanmielen.
The Ole Miss star has the ideal combination of athleticism and size at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds to be a multi-time All-Pro. Jones isn’t getting younger either, so it doesn’t hurt the Chiefs to think long-term here and add another young pass-rusher to the mix.
