With the 2025 NFL Draft set to take place from Thursday, April 24 to April 26, teams and fans alike eagerly await in anticipation for one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent history. The draft will be hosted at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, marking the first time since 1940 that Wisconsin has welcomed the draft. The 2025 draft also makes history as the first in the common era in which all 32 teams possess their own first-round picks entering draft weekend.
Major questions are still circulating around prospects and teams, and it seems that the uncertainty in the air has yet to clear, setting up this draft to be one of the most exciting in years. Leading the way as the top two prospects are quarterback Cam Ward of the University of Miami and the University of Colorado’s Travis Hunter, an unprecedented two-way player who plays both wide receiver and cornerback.
Ward will likely be drafted by the Tennessee Titans, who hold the first overall pick. The Titans are desperate for a franchise quarterback who can lead the team through their rebuilding period, which 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis has failed to accomplish. As reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Hunter hopes to play both of his positions full-time in the NFL and told the media that he would quit football if he were denied the opportunity. Hunter would fit in quite well with the Cleveland Browns, who have “needs across the board” and are in a great position to fulfill Hunter’s wish. In Cleveland, Hunter could play alongside Pro Bowlers Jerry Jeudy and Denzel Ward on both sides of the ball.
Predictions are much more ambiguous in regard to Hunter’s teammate at the University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Sanders has the potential to be drafted within the top three picks, but will most likely fall to a team like the Las Vegas Raiders, or the New Orleans Saints — who are potentially in need of a quarterback with Derek Carr’s availability in doubt for 2025 due to a shoulder injury. The New York Giants’ signing of quarterback Russell Wilson during the offseason makes the latter much more realistic, unless New York takes Sanders with the third overall pick and allows him to develop as Wilson’s backup. However, Sanders has a similar opportunity in Las Vegas, where he could do the same as quarterback Geno Smith’s backup while playing under legendary head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. The Colorado quarterback’s father, Deion Sanders, has only contributed to the uncertainty of where Sanders will be drafted. Deion Sanders was criticized for steering his son away from certain franchises and toward places such as San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington, and Dallas — all cities where the starting quarterback role is already filled. However, the patriarch of the Sanders family has recently claimed that he would be satisfied with whichever team ends up drafting the quarterback.
Uncertainty is also floating around edge rusher Abdul Carter and running back Ashton Jeanty, both of whom are widely considered some of the best in the class at their respective positions. After the Giants signed Wilson during the offseason, it seems that they are more and more likely to take Carter. The Penn State University prospect would join a defense powered by fellow pass rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Carter, has drawn comparisons to Micah Parsons — who also wore No. 11 at Penn State as an edge rusher — would solidify an extremely dangerous defense in New York. Jeanty had an incredible season in 2024 for Boise State University, leading his team to the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff and securing the record for the second-most rushing yards in a single season (only 27 yards behind Barry Sanders’s record). Many different teams could utilize Jeanty’s talent which makes his draft stock so versatile, but the New England Patriots would happily take him at fourth overall. Recently hired head coach Mike Vrabel has significant experience with premier running backs, having watched Derrick Henry carry his Titans squad to the playoffs, so I believe that Jeanty would be a great fit for New England.
There is much more unpredictability surrounding many other players and teams, including where generational talents like Will Johnson and Tyler Warren will land, and who out of the full-time wide receivers will be the first to go off the board. With so many variables still in play — from late-round sleepers to potential blockbuster trades — this year’s draft is shaping up to be one surrounded by anxiety and franchise-changing decisions. It seems as if there is something at stake for every team this year, with every move holding the potential to redefine the league for years to come.
