Here’s what might go down when the draft kicks off on Thursday night
By Bryan DeArdo
(Source: NFL)
The 2025 NFL Draft is shaping up to be as unpredictable as Rory McIlroy was during the back nine of this year’s Masters tournament. With every shot, viewers had literally no idea if McIlroy would commit a catastrophic error — like his shot in the water that led to his double bogie on 13 — or hit a miraculous shot — like his jaw-dropping approach shot on 15 — as the 35-year-old was desperately trying to win his first major tournament in nearly 11 years.
Fortunately for McIlroy, he made enough of the latter shots to secure victory while becoming the sixth golfer in history to win the grand slam. Like McIlroy, 32 NFL teams are hoping to hit a different type of grand slam during the draft, which will kick off Thursday night from Green Bay.
After reviewing several mock drafts and combing over teams’ top-30 prospect visit lists, I and the rest of the NFL media world have a decent idea as to what will unfold on Thursday night. We know that there’s a good chance that Cam Ward will be taken No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans, Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are locks to be top-five picks, and that Shedeur Sanders will likely be drafted sometime in the first round. It also looks like EDGE rushers will fly off the board like hotcakes during the first round.
That’s what we know, but there’s plenty that we don’t know as well. Will the Bears trade up to draft running back phenom Ashton Jeanty? Will the Giants and/or Browns draft a quarterback in the first round, or will they wait to do that with their second-round picks? Speaking of quarterback, it appears that — with Aaron Rodgers still unsigned — that the odds of the Steelers drafting one with the 21st pick are increasing by the day.
Now that we’ve set the table, I invite you to check out my one and only 2025 NFL Mock Draft.
For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis on “With the First Pick” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Titans general manager Ran Carthon. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc.
