2025 NFL mock draft: Full first-round mock draft with surprises at the top
We’re now officially approaching the middle of the 2024 NFL season with the trade deadline just over a week away and teams figuring out whether they are going to be buyers or sellers. We’ve seen a bit of a seller’s market so far with the trades involving players like wide receivers Davante Adams and Amari Cooper, but how will things heat up with the 2025 NFL Draft coming ever-so-slightly into focus?
Our latest 2025 NFL mock draft projections are going to take a look at not only some of the latest potential player-team fits around the league, but also discussing some of the fallout of what we’ve seen through nearly half of a season’s worth of sample size.
It’s shaping up to be another exciting draft class at the quarterback position, potentially, with a lot of big names at that position group coming off the board early in our latest first-round predictions.
2025 NFL mock draft: Shedeur Sanders goes 1st, Cam Ward follows close behind
1. Carolina Panthers: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
If the Carolina Panthers finish with the 1st overall pick yet again in the 2025 NFL Draft after trading up to get it in 2023 and then earning it in 2024, it’s likely we’re going to see this team make another massive move at the quarterback position.
The unfortunate reality for 2023 1st overall pick Bryce Young is that new head coaches often come with new quarterbacks for NFL franchises. It wasn’t Dave Canales who hand-picked Bryce Young coming out of Alabama. The former Heisman winner has really struggled to keep his head above water in the NFL and obviously even with him getting another chance this weekend, it’s going to take a miraculous turnaround to prevent the Panthers from making a change.
Shedeur Sanders has drawn some comparisons to Geno Smith (the good stuff, obviously) for his pocket presence and ability to distribute the football with accuracy and timing.
2. Cleveland Browns: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
Even before the season-ending Achilles injury to starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, it wasn’t difficult to see a path for the Cleveland Browns ultimately taking a quarterback somewhat high in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Browns obviously have been trying to find a way to make it work with Watson since they basically mortgaged their entire future to get him. They not only gave up a king’s ransom of draft picks, but they ended up paying Watson an unprecedented $230 million contract, fully guaranteed.
Given the fact that Watson had previously been an MVP-caliber player on the field, it wasn’t a completely unreasonable price to pay at the time. But given his off-field issues and on-field struggles lately, it’s impossible to look at that deal as anything but the worst trade in NFL history.
Watson’s time is coming to an end, but the Browns should have an opportunity to reset if they are picking this high. Kevin Stefanski recently turned over play-calling duties to Ken Dorsey, and here they turn over the reins at the position to another Hurricane quarterback, Cam Ward, who is having an outstanding 2024 campaign.