Texas NFL draft projections: Where Longhorns are being mocked in 2025
Texas football will be one of the most represented programs at the 2025 NFL Draft, with a chance at even having the most first-round picks.
The Longhorns have three projected first-round picks on Thursday, which is tied with Georgia for the most in USA TODAY Sports' first-round mock.
Texas, which is losing quarterback Quinn Ewers and replacing him with heralded prospect Arch Manning next season, fell to Ohio State in the semifinals of the first 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024.
Coach Steve Sarkisian has revitalized the program and has the Longhorns consistently one of college football's most talented teams since taking over in 2021.
Here's a look at where Texas players are being projected for the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Texas NFL mock draft projections
WR Matthew Golden, No. 12 overall to Dallas Cowboys
Golden has made quite the rise since transferring from Houston to Texas last offseason, as he led the Longhorns in receiving and ran a blazing 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
One of the best overall athletes in the draft is projected as the first receiver off the board by USA TODAY Sports. Here's what Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz said of Golden:
"After again treating free agency like a yard sale while other teams operated as though they were at the auction house, Dallas is due for a spark. Golden certainly provides that, with his knack for creating separation making him an enticing asset for Dak Prescott and a Cowboys offense searching for some semblance of a threat beyond CeeDee Lamb."
OT Kelvin Banks Jr., No. 13 overall to Miami Dolphins
Banks Jr. won the Outland Trophy in 2024 and was a unanimous All-American after being one of the best offensive linemen in college football.
The big Texas blocker projects as one of the best linemen of the draft and gives the Dolphins plenty of flexibility as it looks to protect quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He's also flexible, having played both guard and tackle.
"Miami has already experienced many of the limitations left by its underperforming lines, so allotting early picks up front is imperative for general manager Chris Grier," Middlehurst-Schwartz writes. "A natural scheme fit for the Dolphins, Banks could slot in at guard while still providing flexibility if Patrick Paul has trouble taking over at left tackle."
CB Jahdae Barron, No. 19 overall to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Barron was one of the best defensive backs in college football last season, and he certainly made the right decision to return to school in 2024 after his huge year. The Jim Thorpe Award winner and consensus All-American was the 2025 Peach Bowl MVP.
The fifth-year senior provides relentless effort and has a chance to be among the best cornerbacks to come out of the 2025 draft.
"If there's one coach who would most appreciate the full scope of Barron's ability, it's Todd Bowles," Middlehurst-Schwartz writes. "The Buccaneers coach and former NFL defensive back would surely relish the versatility and savvy of the Thorpe Award winner, and Tampa Bay could deploy him in a wide array of different looks and assignments."
Texas NFL draft picks 2025
Texas has many others that are expected to be selected, but not in the first round. Here's the full roundup, per The Athletic's Dane Brugler:
DT Alfred Collins: Third round, No. 66 overall to Kansas City Chiefs
QB Quinn Ewers: Third round, No. 82 overall to Seattle Seahawks
TE Gunnar Helm, Third round, No. 88 overall to Jacksonville Jaguars
DT Vernon Broughton: Fourth round, No. 116 overall to Miami Dolphins
DE Barryn Sorrell: Fourth round, No. 124 overall to Green Bay Packers
OL Cameron Williams: Fifth round, No. 141 overall to Tennessee Titans
S Andrew Mukuba: Fifth round, No. 145 overall to New York Jets
RB Jaydon Blue: Sixth round, No. 187 overall to Minnesota Vikings
OL Hayden Conner: Seventh round, No. 239 overall to Dallas Cowboys
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
11 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Khalil Mack 'couldn't give up on that dream' of winning with the Chargers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Khalil Mack mulled retirement early in the offseason. It didn't take long for him to decide to return to the Los Angeles Chargers. He agreed on a contract extension in March, never becoming an unrestricted free agent. 'Got tremendous leadership here, very familiar with guys already here,' he said Wednesday at minicamp. 'It was a no-brainer.' Mack, who turned 34 in February, is in his 12th season in the league and fourth with the Chargers. Despite nine Pro Bowl selections and a Defensive Player of the Year honor, he has never won a playoff game in five appearances. 'You're chasing that feeling of wanting to win,' Mack said. 'I couldn't give up on that dream and that goal for myself and the franchise.' Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said having Mack return 'means everything.' 'Khalil is one of the best ever to do it,' he said. Mack was at the Chargers facility to train in February and March, setting a tone for his teammates. 'The impact that he had on other people to train at his level is pretty incredible,' Minter said. 'For young guys to have him around, it just makes everybody better.' Around the same time Mack re-signed, the Chargers released defensive end Joey Bosa. He later signed with the Buffalo Bills. 'I texted him the other day saying it was weird not having him in the room breaking the silence with his little awkward jokes,' Mack said. Second-year cornerback Tarheeb Still influenced Mack's decision to stay. 'Just the mindset he has. His is the same approach and mindset when I train,' Mack said. 'I want to be a machine, move people easy.' Will this be Mack's final season? 'I'm trying not to speak too fast or too far in the future,' he said. 'My wife says, 'You keep saying you're going to retire. Why you keep doing that?'' ___ AP NFL:
San Francisco Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Kicker Daniel Carlson and punter AJ Cole put best feet forward for Raiders
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Neither took the easy path to get here. But because Daniel Carlson and AJ Cole persevered, the Las Vegas Raiders have perhaps the best kicker-punter duo in the NFL. Las Vegas showed its appreciation to Cole by signing him late last month to an extension that briefly made him the league's highest-paid punter. Now the question is whether the Raiders will show the same kind of appreciation toward Carlson, who enters the final season of his four-year, $18.4 million deal. 'Going on year eight as a Raider now, that's essentially been my whole career,' Carlson said. "Just honored to be a part of this historic organization and excited about where we're headed this year and the direction we're going as a program. So if (an extension) happens, I'd love that, but I'm focused on the football side.' For kickers with at least 85 attempts over the past three seasons, Carlson was fifth in conversion rate at 89.3%. His 24 made field goals from 50 yards and beyond ranked fourth. He's also having to adjust to new kickoff rules for the second season in a row. The NFL changed its format last year, placing 10 kick coverage players at the opposing 40-yard line. Touchbacks put the ball at the 30. Now touchbacks will begin possession at the 35 to encourage even more kickoff returns. 'It's going to be hard as coaches to say, 'Hey, let's just give them the ball at the 35,'' Raiders special teams coach Tom McMahon said. "I think that's the biggest thing that's going to change with that new touchback rule.' Carlson was effective in limiting the damage last season when he put the ball in play, which he did often with 68% of kickoffs resulting in touchbacks. For those with at least 30 kickoffs last season, Carlson was second in the league in allowing 23 yards per kickoff return, just behind the 22.2 average of Greg Zuerlein of the New York Jets. 'There's almost like some soccer skills that are popping up again, where it's a little more feel, just because it's a very different kick than a field goal,' Carlson said. 'You don't want to necessarily just kick it straight to the returner or anything like that.' As a rookie in 2018 for Minnesota, he missed three field goals — two in overtime — in a 29-29 tie with NFC North rival Green Bay. The Vikings waived him the following day. Carlson caught on with the then-Oakland Raiders — he's one of four players left who played for the team in the Bay Area — and soon began to establish himself as the one of the league's best kickers. He was a second-team AP All-Pro in 2021 and a first-teamer the next season. Cole's path was different, but like Carlson, became one of the top players at his position when the early odds appeared against him. Cole, who also began his NFL career in Oakland, entered minicamp in 2019 hoping just to remain on the roster after those three days. He wound up beating out Johnny Townsend in training camp. 'I showed up to that minicamp and I really just felt like, 'This could be it, and I'm going to go into every single one of these three days and I'm going to get all the juice I can,'' Cole said. "I've been trying to keep that same mentality, and I'm just on absolute borrowed time. I enjoy every single day. I don't think there's anybody that has more fun at work than I do. It's just such a blessing.' Cole has averaged at least 50 yards three of the past four seasons, a feat that only Ryan Stenhouse has matched in league history. He also is third in gross punting average (48.6 yards) and eighth in net average (42.1 yards) since his first season. Such production earned Cole first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2023. And a contract extension. Cole was rewarded with a four-year, $15.8 million deal on May 26 that included $11 million in guaranteed money. That gave him the distinction of being the NFL's highest-paid punter, but this week was passed by two other players. Not that Cole is complaining. When asked if he planned a major purchase, he said that already had been made before signing the contract. 'All of my plants died, so we just re-landscaped our yard,' Cole said. "So I'm really excited that I get to stay here and watch those plants grow up. I don't know if you guys have bought plants before, but they're really, really expensive. "So that was the big-ticket purchase — a couple of new queen palm trees in the backyard and a couple sweet Bay laurels on the side.' ___
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp enjoying settling in with new team
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — When it comes to food recommendations in the Seattle area, new Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp is open to suggestions. Just not from fellow newcomer and quarterback Sam Darnold. The veteran quarterback invited Kupp to get dinner with him earlier this offseason, and some of the suggestions caught the 31-year-old wide receiver off guard when recalling the night after the first of two minicamp practices at Virginia Mason Athletic Center, which concluded Wednesday. 'The way he came off was he wanted to go get some fries and chicken strips,' Kupp said on Tuesday. 'Look, I have a 6-year-old. I can bring you his food. I can bring that, and I'll go eat something good. It ended up being fine. He ventured out and was, like, OK. He was at least willing to try some stuff. I may have misread him. We'll see. Time will tell.' Time will also tell how well Kupp fits in with a new franchise after spending each of the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and signing a three-year, $45 million contract with the Seahawks in March. In some ways it's a homecoming for Kupp, who grew up watching the Seahawks, is from Yakima, Washington and played at Eastern Washington. He still has plenty to acclimate to, though, after all that time with an NFC West rival. Kupp referred to joining a new team as 'exciting.' 'It's been a long time since I learned a new offense, a long time since I sat in a meeting and had to put a face on the board and what's this guy's name?' Kupp said. 'That's a stressful situation. That's a high-stress situation. It's good, though. I'm excited about what we're doing, and it is fun.' He's eager to work with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whose system has some similarities to what is run by the Rams and their coach, Sean McVay, as well as San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and his scheme. Kubiak was the 49ers passing game coordinator in 2023 when Darnold was also with the team. 'There's going to be the nuances here and there, things like that, but a lot of similar stuff, a lot of similar ideas in how you're attacking a defense,'' Kupp said. 'I believe in this offense and what it takes to make it successful and the detail that's involved with it. … There's definitely some stuff that accentuates the things that I've done in the past.'' All Kupp has done in the past is produce — and more recently, struggle a bit to stay on the field. Each of the past three seasons, Kupp has failed to play in more than 12 games, which in part led the Rams to let the Super Bowl 56 MVP leave in free agency. Kupp said that he felt good physically, and he looked the part each day of minicamp when running routes. He faces quite the task in adding to a receiver room that is paced by third-year wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is fresh off his first 1,000-yard season. Veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is also on the team, and he spent half of last season playing under Kubiak when the latter was the New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has been impressed by both wideouts' approaches to learning Seattle's offense. 'They're attacking every day, man,' Macdonald said. 'Just trying to master the playbook, all the formations, all the route steps, all the timing. If you have that spirit about you every day, I mean, it's contagious, one, with the rest of the room, with the rest of the offense, the whole team. It makes it fun to go to work and enjoy the process. But, of course, that's going to expedite your growth when you have guys like that.' Still, Kupp recognizes he has much learning to do between now and when the Seahawks open their season on Sept. 7 against the 49ers. It's in part why he's already spent a bunch of time in Macdonald's office picking his brain. Kupp has enjoyed settling in with a new team and that the internal belief is what has resonated with him most. 'For any of this stuff to work, for all the goals and all the things we want to set out to achieve, it's the understanding that we're going to ultimately achieve it together,' Kupp said. 'It's going to be playing for each other. … Man, what can I do to be better for the guy next to me? This is a place that guys embody that, and they believe it. I think that makes it a fun place to come into, a fun place to come work.' ___ AP NFL:
