2025 NFL mock draft: Predicting where Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, Ashton Jeanty and others will land

The Titans are indicating they are leaning toward selecting Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. They agreed to cancel a private workout with Shedeur Sanders. They made some notable deals in free agency to bolster their offensive line. There’s no way head coach Brian Callahan wants to ride the Will Levis roller coaster again in his second season in charge.

The Browns need help at wide receiver with their WR room relatively barren outside of Jerry Jeudy with Amari Cooper no longer in town. So they grab Travis Hunter and make him a full-time receiver, a move that could increase his productivity simply by decreasing the workload of being a two-way player.

Yours truly witnessed a lovefest between Shedeur Sanders and the New York Giants at the East-West Shrine Bowl. However, New York opts to not reach for him with the third overall pick and takes the top edge rusher. Some believe Abdul Carter to be the best prospect in the entire class.

The New England Patriots will be saddened by missing out on both Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, but they will mitigate that by drafting the draft’s best left tackle prospect in LSU All-American Will Campbell. New England shored up its right tackle spot for quarterback Drake Maye with the signing of Morgan Moses, and now selects Campbell to do the same at left tackle.

The Jaguars defense was one of the worst in football a season ago, ranking bottom five in the league in numerous metrics. Jacksonville has two solid edge rushers in Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, but it needs a difference-maker in the middle of the defensive line. New general manager James Gladstone knows how crucial that is after coming over from the Los Angeles Rams. That’s why unanimous All-America defensive tackle Mason Graham is the pick here.

New Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is recreating the Seahawks in Las Vegas. Geno Smith is his quarterback once again after the Raiders sent a 2025 third-round pick the Seahawks’ way, and the team’s new extension for him locks him down in Las Vegas through the 2027 season. Now, Carroll gets his new Marshawn Lynch in Ashton Jeanty, a true bell cow fresh off rushing for the second-most yards in Division I history (2,601, just 28 yards behind Barry Sanders’ all-time record).

The Jets have an opening at right tackle with Morgan Moses signing with the Patriots in free agency, and they decide to fill it with perhaps the draft’s most athletic offensive line prospect in Missouri’s Armand Membou. They used their first-round pick last year (11th overall) on Penn State left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, but now New York has two bookend tackles to support new starting quarterback Justin Fields.

The Carolina Panthers were the worst defense in football in 2024. Here, they get the draft’s second-best edge rusher in Jalon Walker, who won the 2024 Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker. Head coach Dave Canales said defense would be a priority at the top of the draft, and this pick hammers home that message.

The New Orleans Saints have plenty of need on the defensive side of the ball, but new head coach Kellen Moore gets a long-term quarterback to develop in Shedeur Sanders. Releasing Derek Carr next offseason would save New Orleans just over $9.5 million in cap space, and perhaps getting a young quarterback like Sanders could help free New Orleans from its hamster wheel of mediocrity.

A key factor of new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s success as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator was having a dominant offensive line. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams needs help after getting sacked 68 times as a rookie, tied for the third-most sacks taken ever in a single season. That’s why the Bears take Kelvin Banks, an All-America offensive tackle who has top-tier technique as a pass protector.

Top cornerback Charvarius Ward signed with the Colts in free agency, so the 49ers need a legit CB1 with all the receiver talent out in the NFC West. Will Johnson, whose 31.0 passer rating when targeted was the second best in college football since 2022 (minimum 100 targets), fills a big need.

The Cowboys finally spring for a real WR2 for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Tetairoa McMillan led the nation in receiving yards (3,423) and catches of 20 or more air yards (35) over the span of his Arizona career. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones gets a legit weapon for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

Tyler Warren could help boost the Dolphins offense in both the run game as a blocker and in the passing game as a target over the middle for Tua Tagovailoa. He’s the 2024 John Mackey Award winner as college football’s top tight end, and he is the only college football player since 2017 with at least 30 snaps at tight end, out wide, in the slot, in the backfield and at quarterback in a season, per CBS Sports Research.

The Colts need a tight end who can make a real difference in the passing game for Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones in 2025. The franchise hasn’t really had a true pass-game weapon at the tight end spot since Jack Doyle retired. Colston Loveland accounted for 34.7% of Michigan’s team receiving yards last season, the highest among Power 4 tight ends. He can be that guy for Indianapolis.

Atlanta racked up the second-fewest sacks (31.0) and generated the third-lowest quarterback pressure rate (28.6%) in the entire NFL last season. The acquisition of Matt Judon (5.5 sacks in 17 games) was a bust. Time for the Falcons to shore up their defensive front with Shemar Stewart.

The Cardinals need a difference-maker on the front line of their defense, and selecting college football’s 2024 sacks leader in Mike Green (17) should help along with the free agency acquisition of Josh Sweat.

The Bengals need to address their defensive line with Trey Hendrickson given permission to seek a trade. That’s why they beef up that unit with Georgia’s two-time second-team All-SEC defensive lineman Mykel Williams.

The Seattle Seahawks continue to surround new starting quarterback Sam Darnold with talent by selecting a speedy wide receiver who can develop long term alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Matthew Golden led a Texas squad that reached the College Football Playoff’s final four in both receiving yards (987) and receiving touchdowns (nine).

Buccaneers defensive pillar Lavonte David is 35 years old. Yes, he did re-sign on a one-year deal, but Tampa Bay drafts his replacement. The 2024 All-SEC linebacker’s 117 tackles last season were the most in a season at Alabama since current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans’ 126 in 2003.

The selection of Kenneth Grant beefs up what’s already a dominant, top-five defense in Denver. He’s disruptive as a pass rusher with 10 passes defended across the last two seasons, tied for the most by a collegiate defensive lineman since 2023. This selection allows for the Broncos to even better emulate the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles’ model of building through the trenches.

North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton crushed the combine and firmly established himself as this draft’s RB2 behind Ashton Jeanty. Pittsburgh let Najee Harris walk in free agency, so it selects Hampton to be the new lead back. That should help out the team’s starting QB nicely in 2025.

With Josh Palmer joining the Bills, the Chargers replace him with their first-round pick to give quarterback Justin Herbert a trio of young receivers to develop alongside. The Buckeyes’ all-time leader in catches (205) has dependable hands and a full route tree, so he should provide another capable pass catcher for a Chargers offense that needs more consistency at the wide receiver position.

The Packers need cornerback help. No. 1 corner Jaire Alexander could easily be on another team by either the end of the month or next offseason (check his 2026 cap hit), and 2021 first-round pick corner Eric Stokes didn’t pan out and departed in free agency. Barron won the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s best defensive back, and he had a 91.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, the second best by a cornerback in the nation. He’ll help patch up Green Bay’s secondary nicely.

The Vikings need more athleticism on the back end of their defense with Cam Bynum’s free agency departure and Harrison Smith being 36 years old, so that’s why they select electric South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori.

The Texans have completely overhauled their offensive line this offseason, but the new additions aren’t incredibly inspiring. That’s why Houston reunites quarterback C.J. Stroud with one of his Buckeyes teammates in Josh Simmons. Simmons allowed just one QB pressure and no sacks on 152 pass-blocking snaps last season, which was good for the lowest pressure rate allowed (0.7%) by any tackle with at least 100 pass block snaps. The Texans get a steal here.

Maxwell Hairston lit up the combine with a 4.28 40-yard dash and a nearly 40-inch vertical (39.5 inches). He would also fit well in defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s scheme. Los Angeles brought back Ahkello Witherspoon on a one-year deal, and the Rams can replace him with more athleticism at the position in 2025 and beyond.

Baltimore upgrades it defensive line to better harass the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. That’s why they select Derrick Harmon, one of the best at pressuring the quarterback from the defensive tackle spot at the FBS level, and he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.95 seconds. That will work alongside Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike.

The Lions were absolutely decimated by injuries along their defensive line in 2024, so they select Donovan Ezeiruaku, the 2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year whose 16.5 sacks were the second most in the nation. He showcased a steady dose of explosion off the ball at the combine. The consensus All-American will fit in nicely with the NFC North champs.

With Dante Fowler Jr., Washington’s 2024 sacks leader with 10.5, returning to the Cowboys, the Commanders need to acquire a young edge rusher. Enter James Pearce. He is a two-time All-SEC player who led the conference in tackles for loss (28) and quarterback pressures (107) across the last two seasons. The reason he falls this low in the draft is because he needs to improve his technique since he plays too stiff and upright at times. Dan Quinn feels he can fix him and selects him here.

The Bills need more juice on the back end of their defense, so that’s why they select Georgia All-America safety Malaki Starks. The Bulldogs lined up Starks in every alignment possible in head coach Kirby Smart’s scheme. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott will appreciate this versatility when moving him around the formation on defense in 2025.

The Eagles exposed the Chiefs’ offensive tackles in Super Bowl LIX. The 2024 All-Big Ten left tackle allowed the lowest quarterback pressure rate (1.6%) in the conference in 2024 (minimum 400 snaps) and surrendered just two sacks on 1,032 career pass-block snaps. Kansas City takes care of Patrick Mahomes here.

The Philadelphia Eagles seemingly always come up with a prospect everyone can’t believe fell to them in the draft, and this year that’s Ole Miss All-America defensive lineman Walter Nolen. No, he’s not a Georgia Bulldog, but a standout SEC defensive lineman will do for Howie Roseman after losing Milton Williams in free agency.