21. Washington Commanders: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
The Washington Commanders have themselves a quarterback with the likely NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels. Whatever the pick here is, it’s got to be in support of Daniels.
Why not give him another weapon?
The Commanders have one of the best in the league in Terry McLaurin, but he leads the team among receivers in targets by a million miles and Noah Brown is the guy behind him. The Commanders have gotten some decent contributions out of veterans like Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler, but having another playmaker at receiver would be awesome for their young quarterback. And Egbuka might not be as dynamic as you like from a 1st-round pick but he gets open rather easily and can be a tremendous weapon from the slot.
22. Denver Broncos: Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss
Denver Broncos fans might be underwhelmed by this selection, but this is a very realistic direction the team could go in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Everyone wants to see the Broncos just take the best available playmaker here, and I think Sean Payton would if he believed someone like Michigan TE Colston Loveland or Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson could become a true “joker” for his offense.
And a “joker” in the Sean Payton offense is a running back or tight end who can be a consistent mismatch and threat in the passing game. Are Johnson or Loveland going to be that? Maybe. And if Payton is convicted, he might take one here.
But what has really raised the floor of this Denver team this season is the play of their defensive front. Additions like Malcolm Roach and John Franklin-Myers have been outstanding, and Zach Allen is having the best year of his career. DJ Jones is a free agent after this season and all of the three aforementioned players are UFAs in 2025. Getting a disruptive player on the interior like Walter Nolen to continue to add to the foundation of this defense would be huge.