The 2025 NFL draft is still more than nine months away, but I'm already digging into tape on the top prospects in the class, including a handful of potential franchise quarterbacks. And with NFL training camps on the horizon and the start of the 2024 college football season not far behind, I'm doing an early projection of all 32 first-round picks for next year's draft.
Our draft order for this exercise comes from ESPN's Football Power Index, which uses thousands of simulations to predict the 2024 NFL season. In turn, that gives us a 1-32 order, starting with the Patriots at No. 1. But would New England hang onto the top pick or trade it away to a QB-needy team? Spoiler: I projected two trades in this mock draft, including a deal involving the No. 1 selection.
Of course, a lot will change before teams are actually on the clock next April. Prospects will rise and fall on draft boards, and some of these players will ultimately return to school for another year. We have an entire season of game tape ahead of us -- and I admittedly haven't watched a ton on everyone just yet. So what follows is just an early look at what could happen based on what I've seen, what I'm hearing, what each team might need and what could make sense. Let's jump in.
Note: Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.