NFL Draft 2025 surprise picks: Browns spend a third-round selection on Dillon Gabriel because reasons
Hunter was considered by most talent evaluators to be the top overall player in this year's draft. The price to land him wasn't cheap for the Jags. They gave up the fifth overall pick, their second-round pick (No. 36 overall), a fourth-round pick (No. 126 overall) and their 2026 first-round pick. In addition to the No. 2 pick, Cleveland sent Jacksonville their fourth-round pick (No. 104 overall) and a sixth-rounder (No. 200).
(Little did we know that Hunter wasn't the only Colorado star to be part of a surprising draft storyline.)
Here's a look at the rest of the surprise picks of the draft:
McMillan was considered by many to be the top wide receiver in the 2025 class — it just isn't considered a strong class for wide receivers at the top. That made the Panthers taking him eighth to be somewhat of a surprise. It was certainly a surprise to Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, who was disappointed McMillan didn't fall to Dallas at No. 12.
#Cowboys Micah Parsons was really upset the Carolina Panthers took WR Tetairoa McMillan.'That was supposed to be our pick. He was supposed to be opposite CeeDee Lamb.'Gut punch for Dallas.(🎥: @BleacherReport on YT) pic.twitter.com/zJqTfYTFWb
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) April 25, 2025
Tampa Bay spending a first-round pick on a receiver when the Bucs already have Chris Godwin and Mike Evans came as a surprise. Texas' Matthew Golden was also still on the board when the Buccaneers picked.
The need is clear. Why the Falcons chose this particular prospect at this particular spot was not, especially when factoring in the draft capital.
Pearce Jr. is ranked No. 37 overall on Yahoo Sports' consensus big board, and the Falcons traded a future first-round pick as part of the deal to move back into Thursday's first round at No. 26 to get him. The move was panned by Yahoo Sports' Draft Live show crew, mainly for the Falcons' process.
Sanders' draft projection — fifth-round range, per the sources that spoke with our own Charles McDonald and Charles Robinson for the 2025 All-Juice Team — was generally much lower than top half of the second round. Sanders wasn't in the top 75 for either McDonald or Nate Tice's big boards.
Maybe the South Carolina defensive tackle will be a hit, especially under Sean McDermott's tutelage, but the Bills traded up for a serious a mismatch between forecast and actual selection. Hmm.
Gilotte is defensible in the context of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo maximizing his talent, but that's about it. He wins with power and lacks top-end speed, and will need plenty of development. Gilotte was nowhere to be found on any of Yahoo Sports' final big boards.
Size is a major question mark for the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Martin, whom league sources told Yahoo Sports would likely go in the seventh-round range when he was selected to the All-Juice Team. The 49ers felt he was worth a much higher pick than that.
This is ... not a QB anyone expected to go before Shedeur Sanders. Gabriel was prolific in college, especially his last season at Oregon, but his lack of size, processing speed, arm strength and accuracy is worrisome. Yet he was still a third-round pick. What?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Guide to building a dominant roster if you have a top-4 pick
Yahoo Sports' Justin Boone goes over the best approaches to take in this year's drafts, depending on which spot you're selecting from in fantasy football. Draft Position Top of the round Middle of the round (Aug. 20) End of the round (Aug. 21) Here's how I'm attacking the draft with one of the first four picks in a 12-team half-PPR scoring league. Average draft position (ADP) can vary from site-to-site, but consider this a guide to help you build a dominant roster in 2025. Round 1 Picks: 1.01-1.04 The first few picks of your draft are fairly straight forward. If you're in the top two, you're going to get either Ja'Marr Chase or Bijan Robinson. And if you're in third or fourth spot, you'll be picking from Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson or Jahmyr Gibbs — depending on your positional preference and concern about Jefferson's hamstring injury. Bottom line, there are no bad options here. Roster Player Round WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st : Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, Jahmyr Gibbs Round 2 Picks: 2.09-2.12 With Drake London's ADP rising to the middle and sometimes early second round, I've found myself going running back more often at the end of this frame. Whether it's Chase Brown, Bucky Irving, or Josh Jacobs — you're going to get a top-10 back with top-five upside at the position. Roster Player Round WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd : Chase Brown, Brock Bowers, Josh Jacobs, Ladd McConkey Round 3 Picks: 3.01-3.04 There's a bit of a dead zone when it comes to running backs and receivers in the third round of this year's drafts. That's pushed me to take an elite quarterback or tight end in this range more than I have in seasons past. The multi-point weekly advantage you get from having elite options at the one-off positions is very enticing. Josh Allen gets the nod over Lamar Jackson here since he has finished as a top-four fantasy QB in each of the last five seasons. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd : Trey McBride, Kyren Williams, Omarion Hampton, Lamar Jackson Round 4 Picks: 4.09-4.12 With the balanced approach so far, we could go in a few different directions here. Veteran backs like Alvin Kamara and James Conner have proven themselves year-after-year, but are also on the wrong side of 30 now. Instead, I'll take the rising star in TreVeyon Henderson who has a lot of momentum given his high draft capital, explosive profile, high-end pass-catching ability, quality pass-protection skills and several preseason highlights. Even with Rhamondre Stevenson remaining involved, Henderson can still smash in fantasy the same way Jahmyr Gibbs did as a rookie when he was the RB11 in fantasy points per game despite sharing the backfield with David Montgomery. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th : Tetairoa McMillan, Alvin Kamara, Xavier Worthy, James Conner Round 5 Picks: 5.01-5.04 We've reached the area of drafts (Round 5-7) where you should be capitalizing on the receiver values. Pickens went from being the No. 1 wideout in Pittsburgh to the No. 2 behind CeeDee Lamb in Dallas, but with the projected volume in Brian Schottenheimer's offense, he should actually see an uptick in targets. It also helps that Pickens has been the talk of Cowboys' offseason practices, as he benefits from the defensive attention paid to Lamb. We've seen other overqualified second receivers like Tee Higgins excel in fantasy and Pickens has a similar ceiling if everything goes well. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th : DeVonta Smith, Travis Hunter, RJ Harvey Round 6 Picks: 6.09-6.12 Continuing to attack the receiver position is a priority in this range and also helps us fill out our starting lineup. Ricky Pearsall missed time during his rookie season recovering from a gunshot wound, but flashed his potential when he returned. In the seven contests where he saw at least four targets as a rookie, Pearsall averaged over four catches and 50 yards per contest, which over a full season would have made him the WR23 in fantasy. With Brandon Aiyuk not expected back until midseason and Jauan Jennings dealing with a calf issue, Pearsall has established a strong connection with Brock Purdy and is poised to break out in 2025. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th : Emeka Egbuka, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Sam LaPorta Round 7 Picks: 7.01-7.04 The race to fill my Flex spot ends now with an underrated running back in New York. Beat writers have made it clear that Tracy is the Giants' lead back and should enjoy something close to a 70-30 split this season with Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary battling for snaps behind him. That projection makes sense after Tracy performed well in the starting role last season, averaging RB1 fantasy stats over the final 14 weeks. He's one of the better running back values in drafts at the moment. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th FLEX Tyrone Tracy Jr. 7th : Sam LaPorta, Matthew Golden, Jordan Addison Round 8 Picks: 8.09-8.12 We round out our starting lineup with my favorite tight end to target when I miss out on the elite players at the position. Kraft is coming off a low-end TE1 fantasy result last year, when he led all tight ends in yards after the catch. This offseason, the Packers have repeatedly talked about getting him the ball more. With no clear No. 1 receiver in Green Bay, it's possible Kraft could be a focal point of the passing attack, which would give him an outside shot at a top-five finish. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th TE1 Tucker Kraft 8th FLEX Tyrone Tracy Jr. 7th : Tank Bigsby, Braelon Allen, Josh Downs Round 9 Picks: 9.01-9.04 The Jaguars' backfield is one of the hardest to forecast this season since they have a new coaching staff, three potential lead back candidates (Tank Bigsby, Travis Etienne Jr., Bhayshul Tuten) and unpredictable usage from the preseason and training camp practices. This could go any way, including one of the veterans being traded at some point. But after seeing what Liam Coen did with the Buccaneers' offense last season, this is an uncertain situation I want to take shots on. Bigsby appears to have the inside track at starting in Week 1, so I'll take him as my first bench stash. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th TE1 Tucker Kraft 8th FLEX Tyrone Tracy Jr. 7th Bench Tank Bigsby 9th : Braelon Allen, Josh Downs, Zach Charbonnet Round 10 Picks: 10.09-10.12 Coleman is one of my favorite sleeper receivers this year and allows me to grab someone who could emerge as Josh Allen's top target. With Khalil Shakir recovering from a high-ankle sprain and Coleman earning tons of praise throughout the offseason, it's possible the 22-year-old could step up entering his second season. Ceiling outcomes are my focus the further into the draft we get and Coleman has a chance to be a double-digit touchdown scorer in 2025. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th TE1 Tucker Kraft 8th FLEX Tyrone Tracy Jr. 7th Bench Tank Bigsby 9th Bench Keon Coleman 10th : Bhayshul Tuten, Travis Etienne Jr., Dalton Kincaid, Colston Loveland Late rounds Once you're outside the first 10 rounds, you can stop paying close attention to ADP and simply focus on loading your bench up with as many high-upside stashes as possible — with one-injury-away running backs offering the quickest path to value. You should also consider passing on a defense or kicker and instead using those final two bench spots on more running backs and receivers who could see their value rise before the season. When we get closer to Week 1, you can drop whichever stashes don't increase their stock or make trades to free up a roster spot. Roster Player Round QB1 Josh Allen 3rd WR1 Ja'Marr Chase 1st WR2 George Pickens 5th WR3 Ricky Pearsall 6th RB1 Bucky Irving 2nd RB2 TreVeyon Henderson 4th TE1 Tucker Kraft 8th FLEX Tyrone Tracy Jr. 7th Bench Tank Bigsby 9th Bench Keon Coleman 10th Bench Bhayshul Tuten 11th Bench Jaydon Blue 12th Draft Position Top of the round Middle of the round (Aug. 20) End of the round (Aug. 21)
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
More likely: Bengals make playoffs or Commanders miss out?
Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton react to Monday night's preseason battle between Cincinnati and Washington and whether both teams can find success this season. View more Video Transcript Based on last night's game, what's more likely in your mind? That the Cincinnati Bengals reversed their fortunes and made the playoffs, or that the Washington Commanders reverse their fortunes and miss the playoffs this season? Like, that's a great question, and I have felt this way for a long time. Yeah, kudos to you, Snap, but maybe this isn't as strong of a take today after what we saw the Bengals' defense look like last night. But I think that it is more, more likely that the Bengals make the playoffs because I think it was a statistical anomaly last year that the Bengals missed the playoffs. I mean, I expect Joe Burrow, you know, let's say he doesn't have an MVP caliber season. I still think as long as you have Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase and T. Higgins in that offense and the continuity that they have had from last year to this year, that they will always be good enough to be in the conversation. And I cannot imagine. As long as everybody stays healthy, of course, we couch every single argument with as long as they stay healthy, I cannot imagine a world where the Bengals with this offensive firepower miss the playoffs yet again. Their defense is stinky. It's absolutely stinky, and all of the offseason distraction and conversation will Trey Hendrickson be a Bengal? Will Trey Hendrickson not be a Bengal, of course, that will, you know, hurt morale and be a distraction, and any distractions in August aren't gonna help a team, but I think this Bengals team is just too loaded offensively, at least, to miss the playoffs two years in a row. This is a tough question for me, but I got to go the opposite way. As much as I hear you on the Bengals making the playoffs, if I'm gonna have to pick what's more likely, I keep thinking about the staggering analytics behind the Commanders' success last year. Now, let me be clear, I think Jayden Daniels is the future. I think Jayden Daniels is absolutely spectacular, and I think it's also okay to admit that last year the Commanders played a little ahead of their skis. In fact, if you listen to Inside Coverage last year, Charles Robinson talked a couple of times about how people even within the organization accepted that Jayden had played so well that they were playing past the level of talent that they actually had on the field. They understood that internally. Now, the big offseason tried to upgrade some of that, but go back to Warren Sharpe's analytics. They had a historic fourth down conversion rate. We talk about the Tush push all the time. Hold my beer. Washington was the best team on fourth down last season. So you start talking about a historic fourth down conversion rate. We talk about the little moments, like I don't know, somebody walking off the field during, um Hail Mary, not paying attention. The little things that happened last year that went Washington's way gave them a real leg up at the beginning of this sort of run that I think they're, they're poised for. But if we're playing this, what's the future look like? A year ago, right now, the entire football community was obsessed with the concept that CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans were about to become the same. The same type of competitor in the AFC that the Bills are, that the Ravens are, that the Chiefs are. Did they do that? No. Were they still a playoff team? Yes, but it was a very difficult battle for them to get there. A lot of reasons why. But it's a reminder that we can turn ourselves into a hype machine that just presumes a team is going to pick up where they left off. Frank Schwab again, Inside Coverage has long talked about this for the last couple of months. He was high on Washington last year. This year, he's big on Washington taking a small step back. Now, what does that step back look like? To me, Washington's probably about a 10-win football team. Should that still make the playoffs in the NFC? Yeah, it absolutely should. But when we talk about the risers and the fallers and what it's all gonna look like, I think there's at least a little bit of concern if you're a Washington fan thinking, hey, we just cracked the code and we are about to be this team for the next 15 years because of Jayden Daniels. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that the Cincinnati. Bengals went to a Super Bowl and thought, yeah, we cracked that code. This is who we're going to be every single year. I've seen one great year from Jayden Daniels in a year that the football gods simply kissed the Washington Commanders in ways that we haven't seen in a long time. And it's better to be lucky than good. But if I got a bank on something that's gonna turn itself around. Luck doesn't always favor the same team twice in a row. I think Washington could take a step back because of it. Close
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Justin Jefferson is back at just the right time for Vikings
Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton discuss the Minnesota wide receiver's return to practice and why he is so pivotal to the team's chances of contending this season. View more Video Transcript Justin Jefferson, he is back on the practice field for the Minnesota Vikings. Caroline, Justin Jefferson is obviously such a huge part of this offense. He's such a huge part of what the expectation is. I mean, for him to be back on the field is just a reminder. I don't think the Vikings have any shot at reaching their full potential, obviously, especially with JJ McCarthy at the quarterback position unless they have all of Justin Jefferson from day one. I mean, if you ask me, do the Vikings need Justin Jefferson to be successful this season, and you can define success however you would like, I think it's the easiest question that I would ever answer in the history of my life, and it is yes. It is unequivocally yes. I don't need to stutter, I don't need to think on that. I don't need to marinate. It is yes. Justin Jefferson is unequivocally so important. And pivotal for the success of the Minnesota Vikings. And that is for so many reasons, and I think at the top of that list is JJ McCarthy, and JJ McCarthy, you know, if you ask me who would be kind of a, a spicy pick for fantasy, I chose JJ McCarthy. KOC was a really big reason for that, that I believe in Kevin O'Connell being able to create a healthy ecosystem for a young quarterback to thrive. And because of Justin Jefferson, that a young quarterback's best friends are reliable tight end, a veteran running back, and a wide receiver that you can kind of yellow ball and say, 'F it,' he's down there somewhere. Justin Jefferson is that type of guy. So it's great to see that he's back out on the football field, that football is a more fun sport, and that the NFL is a more fun league when Justin Jefferson is part of it. I just can't believe in this Vikings squad though if Justin Jefferson is not available for the better part of 17 games. I had the chance to talk to Justin a couple of weeks ago, uh, for Yahoo. You can check out the full interview on the Yahoo Sports YouTube page. And one of the things that he said that sticks in my head that actually ended up running all over the country on different articles, we were talking about JJ and I said, I asked for his impressions, and he said, I just need JJ to believe in himself as much as I believe in him. And in that moment, what really hit me was Justin Jefferson is that leader. He is that guy. And there's a confidence that comes when you're a quarterback and you know you've got somebody that can help you. You know, there's a confidence that comes from knowing that every throw doesn't have to be perfect and that all you have to do sometimes is get the ball in the vicinity and the receiver can make that play. There's a confidence that comes in knowing that you're throwing to JJ or throwing to Justin Jefferson, I guess. But there's an element of this that we have to remember, that all of that, all of this is about a young quarterback that hasn't played a snap of meaningful football in a very long time, stepping on the field and getting as comfortable as he can as quickly as possible. And sometimes you need that presence, that confidence, that swagger to come from somebody else to help lift you up. I think that's natural and human in these, in these situations. JJ is. An interesting kid at the quarterback position. I talked to him when he was at Michigan before the national championship game, and he's just a different dude in the way he's wired. He is that, that kid that sits on one sideline and meditates before and, you know, he's very calm and measured and everything he says. I think there's a yin and yang that is really beneficial for the Vikings and having Justin Jefferson and his personality and his swagger and his confidence, all these things on the field. It's not just about what it brings to the play. It's about what it brings to the players around him, and that's part of what Justin Jefferson is priceless for. So to your point, Caroline, no, the Vikings can't reach their full potential, not just because Justin Jefferson is one of, if not the best wide receiver in the NFL, but also because I think just as a personality, they need the human being of Justin Jefferson on the field also. Close
