The NFL has made history leading up to the 2025 draft. For the first time since the common draft era began when the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, every NFL team owned their first-round pick at the start of the new league year, which began March 13.
This is the first time in the common Draft era that every team owns their first-round pick to start the new league year. 👀 pic.twitter.com/l3Se9OgvSR
— NFL (@NFL) March 17, 2025
This means that at this point, every team will be picking based on where they finished the 2024 season, and no trades or movement have impacted the draft's order.
For over 50 years, at least one team has traded their first-round pick before the start of the new league year, whether from a trade taking place shortly before the new league year or a previous blockbuster deal. Over the last two drafts, the team picking No. 1 did not even originally own the pick. In 2023, the Carolina Panthers traded up days before the new league year began with the Chicago Bears to select Bryce Young No. 1. The following season, the Bears got to pick Caleb Williams No. 1 from that trade with the Panthers the season prior.
Teams do value their first-round picks and trading first-round picks has backfired in the past, like when the San Francisco 49ers traded up for Trey Lance in 2021, costing them multiple future first-round picks. With few star quarterbacks in this year's class, teams could simply be taking a more cautious approach to the draft.
There has been speculation that the Tennessee Titans could trade out of the No. 1 pick this season, but that would now take place after the start of the new league year, far later than the year's first opening round trade usually takes place. With the Titans in need of a quarterback and Cam Ward widely viewed as the clear best passer in this year's draft, Tennessee could also stay put and select Ward with the top pick.
Though no first-round movement has taken place yet, there will almost certainly be at least one, if not several, draft day trades, even if a team just moves up one or two spots to nab a player before he's off the board.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Teams Make Rare History Ahead of 2025 Draft.
