One week ago, we were gearing up for the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Today, we're projecting the first round of the 2025 draft. I'm finding landing spots for top prospects in the opening 32 picks in our way-too-early mock draft.
Couple of disclaimers before we get rolling:
No, I did not make the draft order. The order of these teams doesn't reflect who I think will make the playoffs or who is going to the Super Bowl. We simply took the inverse of Super Bowl odds from ESPN BET, breaking some ties based on the 2023 standings and tweaking the back end to ensure the appropriate number of teams from each conference are in the playoff slots (Nos. 19-32). The Panthers -- who have the longest Super Bowl odds right now -- claim the No. 1 pick.
This is super early. I haven't spent a ton of time watching tape on these 2025 prospects yet, and I expect plenty to change between now and next April (or really, even this fall). This is based solely on where things stand right now, what I've seen from the class so far and what I'm hearing around the league.
We saw a record-tying six quarterbacks get drafted on Day 1 last week, and while I don't expect us to be in that ballpark in 2025, I did predict three signal-callers (and two via projected trades) in this early mock. Whereas this year's first round leaned historically on offense, next year's group is loaded with defense. I have 19 players on that side of the ball here. But that isn't where we begin things ...
Note: Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.