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I hate this NFL mock draft.
I was changing and tweaking, and messing around with it until midnight (thanks to my editors, John Pluym and Mitch Goldich, for sticking with me). And I still don’t feel good about it.
That’s normal for me, but it’s worse this year. The reason? Three or four picks in, this year’s NFL draft becomes a jumbled mess. Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan could go fifth or fall into the 20s. Marshall’s Mike Green could go in the mid-teens, and I have him out of the first round altogether. North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton is missing from this list, too. So is a certain Colorado quarterback … and every other quarterback not named Cam Ward.
Is it likely that there’ll be only one quarterback going in the first round? Probably not. There could be three.
But that’s the beauty of this draft. What it lacks in star power, it has in wild uncertainty.
Let the games begin …
1. Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward, QB, Miami
Not worth wasting much time on this one—I’ve heard Ward compared to Steve McNair, Ben Roethlisberger and, stylistically at least, Patrick Mahomes. And even if he’s not the level of prospect that the top three guys were last year, the Titans can see a ceiling with Ward that’ll give them a shot to scale the AFC’s Mount Olympus of playoff quarterbacks.
2. Cleveland Browns
Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
Hunter and Abdul Carter are hands down the consensus two best players in the draft, and both could help Cleveland. So to me the tiebreaker comes down to Hunter being clean both medically and character-wise. GM Andrew Berry has already said the plan is to give Hunter his start on offense and build out from there. And with the number of things Hunter is capable of (I’ve heard him comped to DeVonta Smith, Garrett Wilson and Stefon Diggs on offense, and Darius Slay on defense), Cleveland will get a lot of cracks at getting this right.
3. New York Giants
Abdul Carter, LB/DE, Penn State
The amount of work the Giants did to the end illustrates how hard it’s going to be for the brass to pass on taking a quarterback here after repeated attempts to trade up to the top pick. To me, the gap between Carter and the rest of the nonquarterbacks, and the quality of Carter as a prospect vs. the quarterbacks, makes this one academic. So the franchise that won Super Bowls by pouring into pass rushers over and over does it again.
4. New England Patriots
Will Campbell, OT, LSU
If Carter and Hunter are both off the board, all the winds are blowing toward Campbell. He’s a big-time program fit for Mike Vrabel, who’s spent a bunch of one-on-one time with him, and this is an investment into second-year quarterback Drake Maye. And even if they have to move him to right tackle or guard in a year, he’s capable of stopping the bleeding at left tackle at the very least, and figures to be a stud at whatever position he settles into.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
One of the reasons Liam Coen reversed course and took the Jaguars job is because of the opportunity he’d have to pick his own GM and help shape the football operation—and I think, as such, his fingerprints will be all over this pick. The one thing that gives me pause with Jeanty this high is the presence of analytics in the organization, which could nudge Coen and GM James Gladstone toward Tetairoa McMillan, a bigger receiver with parallels to what Coen won with in Tampa and Trevor Lawrence won with at Clemson.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
While Jeanty might be a consideration here if he falls, a foundation needs to be laid. Part of the decision here, too, I believe, will be finding a player with the right football character, and that’s where Banks gets the nod over Armand Membou here. He gives the team some short-term insurance with Kolton Miller in the final year of his contract, and looking for a new deal, and a potential long-term answer at a premium position.
7. New York Jets
Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
For Tyler Warren to be a top-10 pick here as a tight end, the Jets will have to be convinced he’s a future All-Pro. And I think he may fall just shy of that. Meanwhile, taking Membou to bookend Olu Fashanu at tackle mirrors how things started in Detroit under Dan Campbell, with new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn riding shotgun there.
8. Carolina Panthers
Jalon Walker, LB/DE, Georgia
The Panthers are doing everything they can to move down. If they get stuck, Walker matches up with Carolina’s need to keep improving its defensive personnel after spending to shore up that side of the ball with DTs Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III, and S Tre’von Moehrig, among others. The Georgia star is dripping with versatility, playmaking ability and football character. Now, DC Ejero Evero will just have to figure out how best to use him.
9. New Orleans Saints
Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia
Yes, quarterback is a question, and I think New Orleans will come out of the top 100 picks with one. But this is a little rich for, say, Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart. So the Saints land the kind of big, rugged edge that new DC Brandon Staley favors, and a guy who can learn from Cam Jordan as the New Orleans legend inches closer to retirement.
10. Chicago Bears
Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
If Jeanty is there, I like the fit. If Banks is there, I think Chicago goes in that direction. But in this scenario, the value with Warren is too great. And Ben Johnson’s experience using guys as gadget weapons should be perfect for the Penn State star, who is less refined than Michigan’s Colston Loveland, but an absolute Swiss Army knife who can cut an opponent a ton of different ways.
11. San Francisco 49ers
Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
In the end, I think GM John Lynch and coach Mike Shanahan get Robert Saleh and Kris Kocurek the disruptive interior rusher they need—with Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins gone—and trust they’ll be able to light a fire under Nolen, who’s ultra-talented and also seen as having a sense of entitlement. But if there’s a curveball coming here, keep an eye on McMillan, whose old coach, Jedd Fisch, is a Mike Shanahan disciple.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
I think this pick will be either Golden, McMillan or North Dakota State OG/C Grey Zabel. The tiebreaker, I think, is that Golden’s speed perfectly complements what Dallas already has in CeeDee Lamb at receiver, and probably can do the most to help Dak Prescott right away.
13. Miami Dolphins
Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
There’s a black hole at defensive tackle in Miami right now, and the Dolphins have done a ton of work on interior defensive linemen in an effort to fill it. So they stop Graham’s short slide—even if he lacks Nolen’s ceiling.
14. Indianapolis Colts
Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
I think Loveland could easily go ahead of Warren. The Michigan tight end is a fit for the Shanahan family of offenses, and is the more polished route runner and better athlete of the two. In Indy, he will easily fit into a balanced skill group that already has Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. Now, if they can just get the quarterback right …
15. Atlanta Falcons
James Pearce Jr., DE, Tennessee
Like Nolen, Pearce would be a high-risk, high-reward pick. Pearce’s reputation in Knoxville was checkered, but he’s considered by many to be the draft’s second-best pass rusher behind Carter, and burned a 4.47 at the combine at 245 pounds. As I see it, the chance to hit on this kind of risk is part of the advantage of having Raheem Morris as your coach. If anyone can get him on the right track, Morris is the guy.
16. Arizona Cardinals
Jihaad Campbell, LB/DE, Alabama
Campbell is an absolutely perfect fit for Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon—tough, smart, versatile and productive. But he had shoulder surgery, which could land him on PUP to start the season, he’ll probably need the other shoulder fixed, too, and he’s had knee issues. Depending on how team doctors across the league see Campbell, he could go in this range … or fall well into Friday night.
17. Cincinnati Bengals
Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
I think Pearce or Campbell would be a consideration for the Bengals. Zabel should be, too. But in the end, corner is a spot that’ll be tougher to address later in the draft—based on the makeup of the class—so Cincinnati pulls the trigger on the versatile Longhorn, who’s a bit of a projection into new DC Al Golden’s man-heavy scheme.
18. Seattle Seahawks
Grey Zabel, OG/C, North Dakota State
Teams love Zabel. He can play four positions. He’s tough and smart, and in a lot of ways mirrors ex-Duke C Graham Barton last year, as a pick a team won’t regret (and the Buccaneers don’t regret taking Barton). If Zabel’s not here, or even if he is, South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori is another name to watch—he could play the Kyle Hamilton role in Mike Macdonald’s Seattle defense.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Donovan Ezeraiku, DE, Boston College
The Bucs tried swinging on traits four years ago with first-round edge Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. This time, they’re banking on a productive, fully evolved pass rusher who’s been referred to by people who’ve spent time around him as a “culture changer.”
20. Denver Broncos
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Since Sean Payton first mentioned trying to dig out a Joker this year, Henderson’s been front of mind for me for Denver. I think a big trade up for Jeanty or a smaller one for Loveland is possible. But if Denver sticks, or slides back a few spots, this living, breathing stick of dynamite could be the coach’s new version of what he had in New Orleans with Alvin Kamara.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Shedeur Sanders definitely would make sense here. But Pittsburgh has spent a lot of time looking at defensive tackles, and I think the Steelers, based on where they are, need a player who is going to help them right now. So maybe I’m just being contrarian. But I see someone like Grant or Oregon’s Derrick Harmon (who has injury concerns) in play here.
22. Los Angeles Chargers
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Johnson has a knee issue that has teams worried about his longevity. There’s a toe problem, too, and questions about his long speed. But he’s also a really good player, and was very highly thought of in Ann Arbor. So someone who’d know that better than most (Jim Harbaugh) swoops in to stop his slide.
23. Green Bay Packers
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
So McMillen could go fifth to the Jags, 11th to the Niners, or slip a little. In this case, a Packers team that has a lot of complementary pieces at receiver gets a potential WR1. Corner is very much in play here, too—I’d expect Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston to be a consideration.
24. Minnesota Vikings
Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
I wanted to put Georgia S Malaki Starks here. The Vikings have also asked other teams on the availability of veteran corners, so someone such as Hairston could be in play, too. But this is doubling down on the team’s effort to get stronger and tougher down the middle, with Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Jonathan Allen already added this offseason. And they don’t get much stronger or tougher than Booker.
25. Houston Texans
Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
Houston could trade up for a lineman. The Texans could also draft Ohio State G Donovan Jackson, and move Tytus Howard back to tackle. Either way, my sense is they’ll take another step in rebuilding the OL room. And I’d expect whoever comes in to be clean from a character standpoint.
26. Los Angeles Rams
Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
The Rams have some needs on defense, but I see them using this pick on an offensive skill player or another piece for their defensive front. Egbuka would be a really good fit for the offense, as a versatile inside/outside weapon who’s tenacious as a blocker in the run game.
27. Baltimore Ravens
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Starks is another alpha in this year’s class of Georgia Bulldogs, and has the versatility to be moved around the secondary. I do think Ohio State OT Josh Simmons could be a consideration here, too, as a potential heir to 10th-year left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
28. Detroit Lions
Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
Detroit has the flexibility to look a year ahead, so finding a long-term bookend for Aidan Hutchinson or a guard to replace Kevin Zeitler could be in play. But in landing Harmon, who does have medical concerns, Detroit is looking forward, with D.J. Reader and Levi Onwuzurike in contract years, and Alim McNeill coming off ACL surgery.
29. Washington Commanders
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
Dan Quinn gets his Kam Chancellor, with a lot of options off the table for the Commanders. I could see, among others, Henderson, Conerly, Texas A&M edge Nic Scourton or even East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. being considered here.
30. Buffalo Bills
Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
The Bills have looked to get faster on defense, and Hairston would certainly help them accomplish that. I do think if Harmon or Grant were available at No. 30—neither of them are in this particular mock draft—it might be tough for the Bills to pass on a defensive tackle.
31. Kansas City Chiefs
Shemar Stewart, DE, Texas A&M
I’ve been thinking this was a perfect landing spot for Simmons, but was reminded that the Chiefs have taken character risks at tackle (Wayna Morris in 2023, Kingsley Suamataia last year) the past two years and it hasn’t gone great. So here they take a chance on a player in Stewart full of potential, and hope they can get more production than A&M did.
32. Philadelphia Eagles
Mason Taylor, TE, LSU
I was tipped off Wednesday that Dallas Goedert is on the block, so tight end makes sense here. Is Taylor a little bit of a reach? Maybe. But this is a draft where I think a lot of guys will feel like reaches to teams. And Taylor, the son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and nephew of another Dolphins legend, Zach Thomas, is really solid across the board and should play in the league for a long time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 NFL Mock Draft: Albert Breer Predicts the First Round.
