2025 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: QBs Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders go in top three for Kyle Dvorchak

Yahoo

11-02-2025

With Super Bowl LIX in the books, it's mock draft SZN. The 2025 NFL Draft takes place in a little over two months, meaning we barely have enough time to project Ashton Jeanty to every team with a backfield opening and the Chargers to draft every eligible player from Michigan. With no time to waste, here's my first mock draft for how I see things playing out come April.
The Titans have already said they will take a generational talent here regardless of position if one is available. Do Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter fit the bill? I don't think so. That leaves the Titans between a non-generational defender and the most valuable position in football. Even if Ward isn't the best 1.01 in recent memory, he's a worthy candidate given his superstar traits and elite counting stats.
With Deshaun Watson possibly out for 2025 and done in Cleveland, quarterback was a consideration here. However, the defense took a step back in 2024 and is headed in the wrong direction with Myles Garrett seemingly on the move. The Browns can immediately start their efforts to replace Garrett with Carter. The Nittany Lion totaled a dozen sacks and an FBS-high 24 TFLs in his final season.
GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are both on the hot seat after a 3-14 record last year and a 6-11 outing the season prior. It's now or never for the current regime and a standout defender isn't going to change their fortunes, leaving quarterback as the only choice. Sanders is an experienced starter with elite intermediate accuracy, evidenced by his record-setting 71.8 percent career completion rate as an FBS quarterback.
03:12
Where will Ward, Sanders go in 2025 Draft?
Matthew Berry, Connor Rogers and Jay Croucher evaluate the teams with the top three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, discussing where they see Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders being selected.
The Pats will be praying both quarterbacks go in the top three, guaranteeing them one of the two blue chip players in the draft. Hunter is functionally two first-round picks in one as an elite cornerback and wide receiver prospect. How much he plays on both sides of the ball at the next level remains to be seen, but the Patriots need all the help they can get.
The Jags have all three of the major offensive positions (QB, LT, and WR1) taken care of, pushing them toward a pick on defense. Graham was Pro Football Focus's No. 1 graded interior defender in 2024 and finished top-five in 2023. The defensive tackle position is having a renaissance in the NFL and Graham is next in line to carry the torch.
The Raiders would love to see a quarterback on the board here, but likely QB3 Jaxson Dart isn't top-10 material and the two big names are gone. With Brock Bowers being an instant home run and Jakobi Meyers serving as a strong WR2, wideout can wait and the defensive-minded Pete Carroll gets a shutdown corner in this scenario instead. Johnson missed much of 2024 with a turf toe injury but posted a pair of elite seasons before last year, logging seven picks and as many pass breakups in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Jets' trade for Haason Reddick was a disaster and Jermaine Johnson is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, leaving the team undermanned at EDGE. Williams gives the team a potential star at defensive end to pair with Quinnen Williams on the interior and Sauce Gardner at corner. Williams only tallied five sacks in his final season as a Bulldog, but they came when the lights were brightest, notching four sacks in two matchups against Texas.
The Panthers made it their mission to give Bryce Young more help last offseason. Some of their efforts — additions to the offensive line and the hiring of Dave Canales — worked wonders, while others including Xavier Legette have yet to pan out. With Adam Thielen under contract for one more season and contemplating retirement, the Panthers need to add a long-term WR1 to the mix. McMillan has the size and the skills to be that guy.
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Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk did not play in 2024 and restructured his contract for an impending retirement. The Saints played 2024 first-rounder Taliese Fuaga at left tackle and 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning at right tackle. Penning has been a disappointment and Fuaga played exclusively right tackle in college. Campbell would give New Orleans the option to play Fuaga at right tackle and/or take a shot on moving Penning to guard.
The Bears' 2025 offseason is all about Caleb Williams. They added the wunderkind OC Ben Johnson as his next head coach and can focus on fixing the offensive line via the draft. Banks was a three-year starter at Texas and improved across the board in all three seasons, culminating in an elite 2024 that saw him concede a single sack across 15 games.
Nick Bosa is still playing at a high level, but his numbers have fallen in back-to-back seasons. Having a foil on the other side of the defensive line would boost Bosa's numbers and add depth to a San Francisco pass rush that ranked below league-average in pressure and sack rate. Pearce Jr. totaled 17.5 sacks and an absurd 107 pressures over his two seasons as a starter with the Vols.
CeeDee Lamb is a cornerstone piece for the Dallas offense, but the Cowboys are embarrassingly light on pass-catchers outside of him. Burden is a dynamic athlete with the ball in his hands and would complement an intermediate threat like Lamb well. At his peak in 2023, Burden finished eighth in the nation in yards 1,212 and 16th in catches with 86.
Austin Jackson has been an average (at best) right tackle for most of his career and will be a cut candidate as early as this offseason. Patrick Paul, a 2024 second-round pick, is a left tackle by trade and struggled in his few appearances as a rookie. Miami has to do a better job protecting their left-handed quarterback's blindside this year, and that starts by investing in Simmons, who played both left and right tackle with the Buckeyes.
The Colts have been projected to add a first-round tight end for years. They have instead spent mid- and late-round picks on the position. Indy has unsurprisingly gotten little from their ragtag crew of tight ends. With strong run-blocking acumen plus absurd receiving numbers, the 6-foot-6, 261-pound tight end is a throwback to the Gronk and Travis Kelce archetypes.
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The Falcons are stunningly set on offense. They have an elite offensive line with multiple skill position superstars plus a young quarterback. Things aren't as rosy on defense. Atlanta ranked 31st in pressure rate and 30th in sack rate last year. Stewart is more of a project than most first-round picks but comes with untapped upside. The 6-5, 281-pound EDGE has rare athletic traits and is more than willing to contribute against the run. On the other hand, he amassed a paltry 4.5 sacks over three seasons. These contradictions will weigh heavily on NFL teams, though I think his potential will win out when draft day comes.
The Cardinals have invested top-10 picks on offense in back-to-back drafts. They were 10th in EPA per play on offense and 24th on defense in 2024, making their focus in this draft clear. Per PFF, Nolen finished top-five among Power Four interior defenders in sacks and pressures last year. They graded him as their No. 3 defensive lineman in a major conference.
The Bengals let key defenders walk in each of the past two offseasons and paid the price for that in 2024, ranking 25th in points allowed, compared to sixth in 2022. Starks is an extremely versatile safety who can step up and defend the run or play a deep role and hang with wide receivers. He tallied 17 pass breakups and six interceptions in three seasons at Georgia.
Grant played under head coach Mike Macdonald at Michigan and would replace Jarran Reed, an impending free agent, on the interior. Grant is a space-eating tackle who clogs running lanes with ease. His pass-rushing prowess leaves something to be desired, though Leonard Williams is already locked in as Seattle's nightmare for quarterbacks.
Bucs legend Lavonte David contemplated retirement last offseason before returning on a one-year deal. The 35-year-old linebacker appears more likely than not to hang up the cleats this time around. Campbell is a do-it-all inside linebacker with some extra juice as a pass-rusher. He was recruited as an EDGE defender but moved to inside linebacker once on campus. Campbell got to play more as a true pass-rusher in his final season, allowing him to generate five sacks in 2024 on top of his 117 combined tackles and 12 TFLs. All three marks led the Crimson Tide. While the first-round inside linebacker is going out of style, Campbell's versatility could make him an exception in April.
Sean Payton's run/pass splits were malleable in New Orleans, but his running backs were always a focal point of the offense. His Saints teams finished top 10 in rushing touchdowns in 10-of-15 seasons and were at or near the top of the league in pass-game usage almost every year. Jeanty does everything you can ask of a running back and he does it better than any back. He ran for 2,601 yards as the nation's best back in 2024 and leveraged his underrated receiving skills for a 43/569/5 line in 2023. Positional value is likely the only thing keeping him out of the top five in this draft.
03:02
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Pittsburgh can't run it back with George Pickens and a cast of NPCs at wide receiver this season. Pickens, who is entering a contract year, went for 352 more yards than the Steelers' WR2 and over 600 yards more than their WR3. That was despite missing three games. Egbuka's ability to navigate the middle of the field and create easy completions is the perfect complement to Pickens' splash play style.
Walker is a strange evaluation because he played primarily off-ball linebacker at Georgia but did his best work as an on-ball pass-rusher. He led the Bulldogs with 6.5 sacks and 34 pressures despite ranking seventh on the team in pass-rush reps. Listed at 6'2/245, Walker also lacks true EDGE size. Still, the talent is undeniable and the Chargers could be without one or both of Kahlil Mack and Joey Bosa by the time the draft comes around. Mack is a free agent and Bosa can be cut or traded this offseason to save the Bolts over $25 million in cap space.
Jaire Alexander and the Packers appear to be heading for a split, with a post-June 1 trade or release netting Green Bay $17 million in cap relief. Morrison has been destined for the first round ever since he picked off six passes as a true freshman. He then broke up 10 attempts in his second campaign. A season-ending hip injury quashed his junior season after six games. It was his second surgery — the other being a shoulder procedure in the spring of 2024. Morrison's medicals will get extra scrutiny from teams. Should they check out, he is locked in as a first-round selection.
Byron Murphy, Cam Bynum, and Harrison Smith led the Vikings' defense in snaps. All three had their contracts expire at the end of the season. Add in Stephon Gilmore plus Shaq Griffin and the Vikings have 4,539 regular season snaps from their secondary set to hit the open market. I doubt all of them will be back in 2025, creating a sizable void on Minnesota's roster. The Vikings can inject some youth into their secondary with Emmanwori. The former Gamecock racked up four interceptions, two of which were house calls, in his final season.
While there were many issues with the Texans' offense in 2024, the offensive line was at the top of the list. C.J. Stroud struggles against pressure and the Texans allowed an above-average pressure rate. In fact, no team conceded more unblocked pressures. Membou was one of three Power Four tackles who didn't concede a sack on at least 400 pass-blocking reps last year. Listed at 6-3, 325 pounds, Membou may wind up as a guard in the NFL, though I'd expect any team taking him in the first round to let him try out at tackle first.
The Rams made a serious effort to move up the board and land Brock Bowers last year. With Cooper Kupp expected to be traded, their need for another pass-catcher has grown exponentially. Loveland isn't a Bowers-level prospect, but he is in the next tier of tight ends to come out in the past decade, topping 2.6 yards per route run in each of his final two seasons. He was the entirety of the Wolverines' passing game as a junior, more than doubling the team's No. 2 receiver in catches and yards.
While the Ravens' defense rebounded over the second half of 2024, that was based in part on a cakewalk schedule down the stretch. Baltimore can't count on that version of the team sustaining into 2025 without any additions. Revel Jr. was on track to go in the top half of the first round heading into his final season, but a torn ACL in September has his stock down a bit. The Ravens have taken shots on injured players in the past from Marshall RB Rasheen Ali last year, to Michigan LB David Ojabo in 2022. Revel could be ready for Week 1 and has CB1 upside.
The Lions need a second pass-rusher to counterbalance Aidan Hutchinson. Za'Darius Smith, who they traded for at the deadline, is a free agent and despite playing just eight games for Detroit, his four sacks were second on the team to Hutchinson's seven. Green's stock is already on the rise after an impressive Senior Bowl week, consistently being named as the best defender on the field by both onlookers and players.
The Commanders' No. 2, 3, 4, and 6 targets leaders from the 2024 season are all free agents. Even with a handful of them likely to return, Washington needs another threat for Jayden Daniels and Golden is starting to pull ahead as the WR4 in this class. Golden did a little bit of everything at Texas and Houston, winning on downfield routes and with yards after the catch. For a Commanders team with one high-end pass-catcher, that versatility will come in handy.
The Bills were 21st in pressure rate and 24th in sack rate last year. Plus, Von Miller's status is up in the air as the Bills can save $17.4 million in cap space with a post-June 1 cut. Ohio State has two potential first-round EDGE defenders that would be viable selections in this spot between Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer. However, Tuimoloau held a significant advantage in sacks (12.5 vs. 9), TFLs (22 vs. 9) and is a year younger than his teammate. Sawyer has the edge in some other metrics — pressures and PFF's pass-rush grade — but I'll side with the younger, larger, and better run defender in Tuimoloau.
The Chiefs' offensive line was out-played and outright embarrassed by Philadelphia in the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes took a career-high six sacks in a game that will fundamentally change Kansas City's approach to roster construction. Conerly was one of the top tackle recruits out of high school and started two seasons at left tackle with the Ducks. He did his best work in pass protection and isn't a mauler on the ground, though he can more than hold his own when run blocking. For a Chiefs team whose entire offense is centered around the pass, that's an acceptable tradeoff at the end of the first round.
Right guard Mekhi Becton was a diamond in the rough for the Eagles but is set to hit the open market and will want to cash in on his rebound campaign. If he walks, an Eagles squad dependent on its behemoth line will need a fifth member once again. The SEC supremacist front office in Philly would have no problem adding Booker, who was more recently a left guard but played on the right side as a freshman.