The first round is in the book and if the 2025 NFL Draft teaches us anything, the team won’t agree with this class. If you ask someone who has been covering the draft for a while, they will tell you the same thing. This year was the strangest and most challenging in recent memory, where this pool is a product of boom or bust player depth and a product of a terrible lack of talent for elite skill positions.
The only consensus opinion from the second that the Combine ended in Indianapolis was that Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter were the only elite talent available in 2025, and from there they had wild shaking in every position. Some scouts thought Shedale Sanders was the best quarterback in the draft class, while others had him as the pick on the second day. Some were convinced that Jaxson Dart could be molded into a franchise QB, but some felt that he was at best UDFA.
This was a story of the up and down of the draft board. Not only did few people agree with how these prospects slot, but even the internal location groups gave their opinion that which of these people was booming, who arrested, and who was slightly better. For this reason, the 2025 NFL Draft is the ultimate litmus test of who is struggling with the front office being well oiled.
If your team can distinguish between the bad and the good in this class and make the right choice with the best characteristics of your prospects, it will be the greatest proof that the future is bright. Conversely, if you lose by gambling at the top of this class, you will learn which teams have a broken scouting process.
To typically line up this process, here are some big picks to look at in the future:
The Titans take Cameron Ward with the number one pick
I’m not saying this is the wrong pick, but it was definitely made out of despair. This is a gamble that the strength and physical properties of the arm are more important than wise decisions in the pocket. Ward has big arms, he can throw away from the structure, but he tends to play hero ball and is overly confident in his abilities.
If Ward becomes a decent QB while Shedale Sanders is able to thrive in decision-making, this is a massive charge of Titan’s drafting process.
Saint picking up Kelvin’s bank on No. 9
Unless he believes he is an offensive tackle in the NFL, he won’t pick a bank in the top 10. That’s easy. The problem is that many people see him projected onto aggressive security guards over the long term.
If New Orleans can’t get a solid OT from now on, when there were some good guys on the board, they got to really get the offensive lineman.
Dolphins with Kenneth Grant on Derrick Harmon
This was a battle between two big space-eating men in the middle of the defensive line, with the majority having Harmon being a better pick. He ended up at 21st place. Steelerswhile Dolphins I made a slightly stunning pick with Grant on the 13th.
Both could potentially become good pros, but this is another choice to revive once Harmon has to have a better career.
New York giants roll dice on Jackson Dirt
This was a Brianda ball pick. There is no doubt about the physical tools of Olemis Although QB, there are some surprising concerns about how he will be played on the tape. DART essentially ran a one-lead system in Mississippi. This does not translate into the NFL and requires important coaching to turn DART into an NFL quarterback.
The lack of full field progression was so pronounced that some teams had DART as their third day pick. This gamble is another in the long line of “But he could be Josh Allen!” Please enter your decision. You’ll need to wait and see if Dabour and the Giants were right.
All-in Falcon with James Pierce Jr.
This may more than anything, tilting Atlanta’s hand. The Falcons said they thought they gave up the first round of 2026, went up and took Pierce and went 15th.
It’s big and bold, now we wait to see if it’s stupid. Many teams then unplugged Pierce from the board together after meeting him, so Falcon has to see what others don’t. This all-in gamble will change the Falcons’ pass rush for the next decade or continue to lock them in mediocre.
