The 2024 NFL Draft is officially complete and you know what that means. That’s right, it’s time to start looking towards the 2025 NFL Draft taking place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI, one year from now. Because mock draft season never ends baby!
The current No. 1 overall pick odds from DraftKings Sportsbook suggest that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders will be the top selection next April. Sanders himself has showcased an NFL-caliber arm throughout his entire college career, but issues of him hanging onto the ball for too long and taking sacks are a concern. We’ll see how he performs for the Buffaloes this fall and if he can entice teams with his upside. Certainly, his father Deion will be on the campaign trail for him to be one of the top picks next spring.
The 2025 QB class isn’t as strong as the one we just saw enter the NFL ranks, so it’s not even a guarantee that Sanders or anyone else will be taken at No. 1. However, a QB-needy franchise will have some familiar options to choose from like Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Georgia’s Carson Beck. And like we saw with Jayden Daniels this year, there’s bound to be at least one under-the-radar QB who skyrockets up the board off the strength of a strong season.
Beyond the QB ranks, Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is in the early running for being the top defensive player taken off the board and he could very well be the No. 1 pick. He had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2023, producing 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception for the Vols. Meanwhile, Missouri’s Luther Burden III could be the first receiver selected into the draft while two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter should also go in the first round. There’s bound to be plenty of discussion over whether or not he can actually pull it off in the NFL.
Below, I’ve compiled my first 2025 NFL Mock Draft based on the reverse order of the current DraftKings Sportsbooks’ Super Bowl odds. I made my picks by cross-referencing other mocks and big boards that are out there at the moment, as well as looking at free agency lists to see what each team may need next April.
Carolina would have the No. 1 pick once again in this scenario and the good news for Panthers fans is that the team would actually own it this time around! This would also mean another abysmal season for the franchise and the temptation to bail on the Bryce Young experiment would loom large. They gave up so much to acquire him in 2023 and there isn’t a Caleb Williams-caliber QB prospect in this class to justify pulling the plug on their investment this early. It’s a situation where subscribing to the sunk-cost fallacy may actually be beneficial.
So James Pearce Jr., come on down to Bank of America Stadium! The team would strengthen its pass rush with the selection of Pearce at No. 1 and if you have a struggling young QB, then the least you could do is buy him some more time by bolstering other areas of the field. Plus, the UT pass rusher is a Charlotte native and the franchise already has an affinity for drafting/signing dudes from the Carolinas.
As mentioned before, this QB class won’t be as strong as 2024, but it won’t stop teams from taking a swing at finding their franchise guy. In this scenario, Tennessee decides to ditch Will Levis for Shedeur Sanders at No. 3 to usher in a new era in Nashville. Shortly afterward, Las Vegas nabs Quinn Ewers at No. 5 before New York officially ends the Daniel Jones era by selecting Carson Beck at No. 6. Cam Ward and Jalen Milroe also find their way into the first round in this mock, while the likes of Penn State’s Drew Allar, Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman, and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart are among the QB prospects that could play their way into round-one consideration.
We are a full year out from the 2025 draft and a million things will change between now and then. But hopefully, this mock put provided a brief introduction of some of the top names your favorite teams could be drafting in 12 months.