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.

3. New England Patriots: Will Campbell, OT, LSU

The New England Patriots are going to be a really interesting team to kind of monitor as the rest of the 2024 season progresses. It seems like this team really already has defined needs all over its roster and we’re just waiting to get to the offseason to see how they will address them.

And because of the selection of Drake Maye at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft for the Patriots, it’s hard to see exactly how the top strengths of this upcoming draft class really line up with what the Pats need, which starts on the offensive line. This Patriots offensive line has been abhorrent all season long and they have been giving up pressure like it’s their job to do so.

The Patriots need to invest in protecting Drake Maye, and they may have to do so at the expense of really getting the “best” player on the board here. Will Campbell’s stock has been up and down this season in terms of his overall NFL projection but he fills the Patriots’ top need.

4. Tennessee Titans: Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama

As fun as it has been to watch Will Levis each week from an outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to see how the Titans would really move forward after this season with Levis as their quarterback going forward.

Levis has plenty of physical talent but the Titans might not have the patience to continue working with him and dealing with his lack of ball security overall. We’re already seeing the Titans do a little bit of trade deadline selling which is telling of where general manager Ran Carthon views his roster currently.

It’s looking like a longer-term rebuilding project for the Titans and someone like Jalen Milroe could help expedite things. He still has plenty of work to do in terms of rounding out his overall game at the next level, but Milroe’s ability to help immediately as a runner will set this offense up for early success.

5. New York Jets: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado

After the trade to acquire wide receiver Davante Adams, you would think the New York Jets would be going just about any other direction here but everything is going to depend on what the team’s plan is with Aaron Rodgers going forward.

Or maybe better said – what is Aaron Rodgers’ plan going forward?

Nobody really knows what the future holds for Rodgers, evne though he hasn’t exactly made it seem like he’s going to be done playing after this season. I think the Jets could get one more year out of him because Rodgers, at the very least, is going to want to prove that he did the right thing by coming to the Jets, which has been an abject disaster to this point.

Getting Travis Hunter would give the Jets an intriguing option both offensively and defensively. Hunter is such a rare athlete and someone who could legitimately excel at either position at the next level. He’s the best player on the board here.

6. New Orleans Saints: Mason Graham, DL, Michigan

The New Orleans Saints are a tough team to get a grasp on so far this season. When they were healthy back in the first couple of weeks of the season, we saw an absolute explosion from them offensively with 91 points in the first two games. Since that 2-0 start, it’s been all downhill for the Saints and they have been one of the league’s worst teams in October.

The Saints played two games in a matter of five days against both the Broncos and Buccaneers, and they gave up 84 points and allowed over 500 rushing yards in total.

This is a team that is trending toward gutting the roster and coaching staff a little bit this offseason, and someone like Michigan’s Mason Graham could really help. He’s one of the most disruptive interior defensive linemen in college football.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

The regression of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been a severe disappointment for so many football fans. Almost everyone was loving the resurgence of the Jaguars in the second half of that 2022 season when they caught a little bit of fire and had the Chiefs on the ropes in the playoffs.

The Jaguars have had a rather disastrous couple of years between 2023 and 2024, and they need to figure out a way to get things clicking ASAP, especially defensively.

The Jaguars are dead last in the NFL so far this season with 16 passing touchdowns allowed. They are 30th in the league in scoring defense. They have forced just three turnovers (also third-worst in the NFL). They need playmakers defensively, and Michigan’s Will Johnson is exactly that. Maybe the best in the country.

He would not only be an instant starter for the Jacksonville defense but likely an immediate impact player, too.

8. Las Vegas Raiders: Carson Beck, QB, Georgia

The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be slowly crumbling to pieces. It’s still shocking to me that this team went into Baltimore and got a win. I think that will go down as one of the biggest upset wins of the entire season when all is said and done.

With that being said, when we got into the start of this season, it was clear that the best quarterback in Las Vegas was part-owner Tom Brady. And he can’t play. So the Raiders have had to make due with Aidan O’Connell and veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew.

And it’s likely both of those guys are going to end up “journeymen” before too long. Minshew has been a turnover machine. O’Connell is hurt. Davante Adams got a trade he’s been wanting for over a year. The Raiders could continue selling at the NFL trade deadline.

Will this team stick with Antonio Pierce beyond this season? Regardless of who is head coach, a new quarterback is on the way. How about someone who is very familiar with one of the Raiders’ top building blocks in Brock Bowers? Carson Beck would be throwing to his old pal in Las Vegas.

9. New York Giants: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

I realize that it’s not realistic for teams to just move on from quarterbacks every year. There are decisions that get made with financial motivation and that makes plenty of sense. With that being said, it’s hard to believe that the New York Giants, who got fresh eyes on the organization after the debacle that was the first few years of Daniel Jones’s NFL career, have not made any substantial moves at QB.

The Giants could legitimately turn to Drew Lock at some point this season, and we already saw him come out onto the field last week, in fact. Daniel Jones just isn’t the long-term answer for this franchise at quarterback, and they are going to have to do something to appease the ownership after proving they could get to the playoffs in year one of the Brian Daboll/Joe Schoen era.

Would a young quarterback like Quinn Ewers buy those guys some more time with this franchise, or are the higher ups going to be fed up and clean house?

10. Cincinnati Bengals: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

The Cincinnati Bengals likely won’t be in range for this guy much longer, so while we have the chance with the Bengals picking 10th overall in this 2025 NFL mock draft prediction, why not have them taking another big-bodied playmaker at wide receiver?

Things seem to be trending toward former 2nd-round pick Tee Higgins leaving this offseason. Whether the Bengals let him hit free agency outright, tag and trade, or whatever, it seems like they are going to part ways after this season.

With Tyler Boyd leaving in 2024 and Higgins potentially leaving in 2025, the Bengals will have a newfound void at the wide receiver position and this is an opportunity to fill it in an exciting way. Tetairoa McMillan is averaging over 111 yards per game at Arizona this season and has been averaging nearly 17 yards per reception as well.

He’d give the Bengals another big-play threat to pair up with Ja’Marr Chase for the long haul.

11. Miami Dolphins: Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas

I’ve done a handful of 2025 NFL mock draft prediction scenarios where we have the Miami Dolphins actually taking another quarterback to potentially come in and replace Tua Tagovailoa if his health issues persist. But the course of action for the Dolphins in the 2025 offseason is likely going to be adding a guy with some starting experience and/or upside behind Tua (Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson?) while upgrading the protection in front of the QB.

The Dolphins have the weapons to really allow any quarterback to thrive and succeed if given enough time to spend learning the offense, and they just locked Mike McDaniel in as their head coach for the future.

This Dolphins team just needs to make sure that its quarterback is well-protected and that they don’t mess around on the offensive line. We saw the New York Jets go after Tyron Smith and Olu Fashanu this offseason after Aaron Rodgers got hurt, and I think we could see the Dolphins go after a similar “kill that need with fire” type of approach in the 2025 offseason.

12. Los Angeles Rams: Shavon Revel, CB, East Carolina

Here we have one of our more controversial and debatable selections of this 2025 NFL mock draft. The Los Angeles Rams are soon going to play their way out of picking this high in the first place, but they have to be considered a unique potential landing spot for a player like East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel.

There are a number of players in the 1st round of this mock draft who have suffered season-ending injuries at the collegiate level, and Revel was one of the first ones to go down. He’s a top-tier playmaker at the cornerback position and obviously those are at a premium in today’s NFL.

He got hurt early enough that there’s a chance he could still work out for teams before the draft. At the very least, there’s a decent chance we’ll see him play early as a rookie in 2025. The Rams need cornerback help and Revel is a top-10 caliber player who just needs to check teams’ boxes medically.

13. Arizona Cardinals: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn St ate

Abdul Carter is the latest in a long line of Penn State pass rush prospects coming out in recent years. Here's what Pro Football Focus had to say about him earlier this season:

"Penn State’s Abdul Carter is an interesting player who may or may not be available at Atlanta's pick, depending on how high his draft stock goes. He’s an incredible athlete who made the switch from linebacker to edge defender this season. His 20.4% pass-rush win rate is in the same vicinity as former teammate Chop Robinson, who was selected in the first round in 2024."

- Pro Football Focus

Someone who wins off the edge at that high of a rate is exactly what Arizona Cardinals head coach and defensive guru Jonathan Gannon needs to take his defense to the next level. Adding a premium edge rusher with their 1st-round pick should be top priority for the Cardinals alongside the cornerback position.

14. San Francisco 49ers: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee

The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the league’s most interesting teams so far this season. They are obviously incredibly talented and the roster depth is good, but the depth is being severely tested as this team deals with seemingly one devastating injury after another.

The 49ers have drafted well for the most part, and they know how to find free agent fits, but the one area of this team where they have really struggled to find anyone through the draft is on the edge opposite Nick Bosa. Veteran Leonard Floyd has been a fine addition, but the 49ers have struggled to draft and develop (and then keep) anyone else off the edge.

That could all change in the 2025 NFL Draft, especially if they are within range of someone as talented as James Pearce Jr. Pearce had been going routinely in the top 10 picks of our 2025 NFL mock draft projections, but his stock has “fallen” a little bit as of late.

Which is odd because Pearce has turned things up in terms of the heat he’s bringing off the edge in the month of October. He’s been getting after the quarterback and proving to be one of the better non-QB prospects in next year’s class.

15. Los Angeles Chargers: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan

We know that the Los Angeles Chargers are going to continue building the way Jim Harbaugh sees fit going forward. This is a team that is going to want to continue to be physical in the trenches, and they are going to do whatever they can to be elite at running the football and wearing teams down with physicality.

Who better to bring that to the table than someone who has already played under Harbaugh?

We say this just about every time we make a mock draft, but until proven otherwise, the fit of Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and the Los Angeles Chargers makes way too much sense. The Chargers obviously gutted their skill position groups in the 2024 offseason and they are still in process of rebuilding that. The tight end position is one area where they definitely still need some attention.

Loveland is one of the best in college football not only as a receiver but as a dual-threat. He’d be an ideal pickup for this Chargers team.

16. Dallas Cowboys: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

Just like there’s no better fit for the Los Angeles Chargers right now looking ahead to the class of 2025, there’s probably no better fit for the Dallas Cowboys than Boise State superstar running back Ashton Jeanty.

Ashton Jeanty is in the midst of an other-worldly college football campaign with over 1,400 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns (18 rushing) in just seven games. He’s truly a professional playing in the collegiate ranks for the time being.

The Cowboys have gotten some nice contributions from Rico Dowdle this season, but he’s not a featured runner for them and the return of Ezekiel Elliott has been as antclimactic as you could have possibly imagined. The Cowboys’ running game – or lack thereof – has made this offense rather one-dimensional.

Even though it’s really not en vogue to go after running backs in the 1st round of the NFL Draft these days, Jeanty would be such a huge boost to the Dallas offense and a much-needed every-down playmaker in the running game.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

Well…Monday night was rather disastrous for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now wasn’t it? The Bucs lost star receiver Mike Evans early in the game with a hamstring injury, and even with Evans expected to return later this season, his streak of 1,000-yard seasons is in jeopardy and the future of the wide receiver position is at least a slight question mark.

It was given a violent shove into the definite question mark category later in that game when Chris Godwin – a pending 2025 free agent – suffered a season-ending injury.

The loss of Godwin for the Buccaneers looms incredibly large over this team not only just at the present moment but beyond this year as well. Godwin was having a great year for the Bucs but given all they’ve invested elsewhere, it might be time for a fresh start. 

The Bucs getting Luther Burden III after potentially losing someone like Chris Godwin would be a gift from the football gods. Burden is not exactly the same, but very reminiscent of Godwin in a lot of ways when he was coming out of Penn State with his body type and after-the-catch abilities.

18. Philadelphia Eagles: Mykel Williams, DL/EDGE, Georgia

The Philadelphia Eagles took on a lot more change than anyone really noticed over the course of the 2024 offseason, especially on the defensive front. They not only replaced Sean Desai with Vic Fangio as the team’s defensive coordinator, but they lost a number of key players on that defensive front who helped the team put together an absolutely dominant pass rush back in the 2022 season.

Fletcher Cox’s retirement was huge for this team. The loss of Haason Reddick was a bigger deal than many expected. The decision to go after free agent Bryce Huff has not paid off as expected. Former 1st-round pick Nolan Smith has been a little bit slower to develop than expected.

The Eagles love their Georgia Bulldogs under general manager Howie Roseman, and here they would have a shot at another one with Mykel Williams dropping to the middle portion of the first round. Williams could give a boost to the defensive front both against the run and in the pass rush department. And he’s capable of lining up at multiple positions.

19. Indianapolis Colts: Malakai Starks, S, Georgia

Looking at this Indianapolis Colts roster, where does this team really need to look in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft? They have a franchise quarterback they are building around. They have plenty of playmakers around him. They have been adding in the trenches on both sides.

I think this team just needs to add more playmakers defensively, especially in the secondary. Malaki Starks can give them exactly that.

Starks is an All-American at Georgia who has been beloved for years by the NFL Draft community, and he’s now finally NFL Draft eligible in 2025. Starks has picked off six passes in 36 collegiate games, averaging one interception every six games played. Not bad. 

The Colts have forced 11 turnovers so far this season under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, but if they replace him this offseason, getting another player to roam around the back end and work for any scheme will be essential. Starks is a great fit.

20. Seattle Seahawks: Emery Jones Jr., OT, LSU

The LSU Tigers have had an absolutely dominant season when it comes to their offensive line play, and they should have at least two first-round picks as a result of that dominance when it comes time for the 2025 NFL Draft.

We saw LSU left tackle Will Campbell fly off the board early in this 2025 NFL mock draft to the Patriots, and here his bookend teammate Emery Jones Jr. comes off to round out the top 20 overall picks.

Both Campbell and Jones have been stonewalling folks in pass protection this season, and the Seahawks could use someone to step in and start right away for them at right tackle. Abraham Lucas has looked like he would be a fixture at times, but he only played six games in 2023 and we haven’t even seen him in 2024.

The Seahawks have had to resort to continually asking Jason Peters to come out of retirement and give them a boost in the depth department. It might be time to find someone who can step in and take over that spot permanently.

21. Denver Broncos: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

The Denver Broncos have been a pretty fun team to watch in the 2024 season. Preseason prognosticators said that this team was going to be easily the worst in the NFL, and that they would be lucky to win five games total.

Through seven weeks, the Broncos have already won four games, they are in the thick of the AFC playoff race, and they actually have one of the best defenses in the entire NFL in just about every possible metric.

The Broncos are still a work in progress offensively under head coach Sean Payton. Not only in terms of his system taking root, but the development of Bo Nix and the young roster of skill players the Broncos have assembled. And the playmaker department is where this team could really use a player or two two step up and develop quickly.

Someone like Emeka Egbuka who has size and positional versatility will appeal to Sean Payton, and the Broncos will love his competitiveness as a blocker as well.

22. Atlanta Falcons: Nic Scourton, EDGE, Texas A&M

The Atlanta Falcons went absolutely bonkers upgrading the offensive side of the ball the last handful of years. They loaded up on playmakers for a number of consecutive years with the selections of guys like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson. Then they doubled-up on the quarterback position in the 2024 offseason with the signing of veteran Kirk Cousins before using the 8th overall pick on Michael Penix Jr.

The upgrades on offense came at the expense of the defense, obviously, and the Falcons are suffering for it. Through seven games, the Falcons have six sacks as a team this season. There are a number of teams that have had six or more sacks in individual games this year.

The Falcons need a player off the edge who will just live behind the opposing team’s line of scrimmage, and that guy is Nic Scourton. Scourton has 11 TFLs and 4.5 sacks already this season for Texas A&M, picking up right where he left off at Purdue.

23. Chicago Bears: Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota

The rebuilding/reloading job being done by Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles over the last handful of years hasn’t exactly been a master class, but it’s been exciting if you’re a Chicago Bears fan.

Poles inherited Justin Fields, got offered a king’s ransom for the #1 overall pick in 2023, got a mulligan for passing on a franchise QB (CJ Stroud), and somehow managed to land two top-10 picks in 2024 including the 1st overall pick, where he got Caleb Williams.

Poles has lucked into some great situations as Bears GM and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. But he’s also made some very good decisions for this team. The Bears have a fun core of players on both sides of the ball, but the emphasis has to turn to the offensive and defensive lines going forward.

The Bears get Aireontae Ersery here to come in and play either tackle or guard. The big man out of Minnesota has tremendous size and athleticism.

24. Baltimore Ravens: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia

It might not be long before we’re having a good laugh about Georgia’s Jalon Walker being picked this low in 2025 NFL mock draft scenarios. Walker has been outstanding this season and extremely disruptive for that Georgia Bulldogs defense.

Walker has been applying the pressure all season. The Baltimore Ravens do so well when it comes to finding value in the NFL draft and getting guys who can contribute right away without always having to come in and be starters. With that said, veteran Kyle Van Noy has come in and played an extensive amount of snaps for this Ravens team and they probably need to find someone who can be a longer-term option off the edge.

There seems to be a number of candidates in this upcoming class and Walker is one of the hottest names out there right now.

25. Buffalo Bills: Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan

The Buffalo Bills have been so strong on both sides of the ball this season that you’d really have to nit-pick to find a glaring area of weakness on the roster.

With that said, every team has future needs and every team has pending free agents. The Buffalo Bills just so happen to be allowing over five yards per carry defensively this season, 29th in the NFL. They could obviously afford to get a little tougher on the defensive front and that’s exactly what we’re trying to accomplish with this mock draft pick here.

There are some out there who believe Kenneth Grant is worthy of a top-10 overall pick and there are others who don’t consider him a 1st-round player. If he’s so raw that he’s considered a fringe first-rounder, the Bills are exactly the type of team that could get the best out of him. He’s a tremendous athlete for his size and could end up being a steal if he goes this late.

26. Pittsburgh Steelers: Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas

The Pittsburgh Steelers sort of set themselves up for this wide receiver need in the 2024 offseason when they sent wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in a trade.

The Steelers have always been so good about finding talented offensive skill players within the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, and I have no doubt that Isaiah Bond would be the latest in a long line of successful picks for them.

The former Alabama player has transferred to Texas this season and we’ve seen his skill set on full display as an offensive weapon. Bond has big-time speed and playmaking ability and he’s utilized those skills to rack up 431 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns (over 17 yards per touch) so far this season.

Paired up with the size of George Pickens, a player like Bond would give the Steelers another unique weapon to feature all over their offense and force defenses to keep eyes on him wherever he lines up or motions before the snap.

27. Minnesota Vikings: Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

This would be a really tough scenario for a team like the Minnesota Vikings. On the one hand, you’d be a little bit leery of taking someone like Benjamin Morrison here in the later portion of the first round because he recently suffered a major injury.

Will that injury keep him out of the start of next season? Are the Vikings that enamored by his skill set to bring him in with a 1st-round price tag coming off of injury?

There are split opinions about Morrison to begin with, but his recent season-ending injury has further complicated his overall value. He has the traits and ball skills for the next level, but with JJ McCarthy coming off of a season-ending knee injury, do the Vikings want to take someone with a cleaner medical history here?

The value of Morrison is ultimately too good to pass on at this point. Until we start hearing that teams are flagging him for long-term issues, he’s simply got too much talent at a premium position to slide any further down the board.

28. Green Bay Packers: Wyatt Milum, OT, West Virginia

We’re sticking in the NFC North here at the bottom of the first round, and this time we’re looking at the Green Bay Packers. The Packers took an offensive lineman in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected Arizona’s Jordan Morgan. Morgan transitioned from his college position of left tackle to the right guard position, and he hasn’t yet established himself as a full-time player. 

That could make the Packers a little hesitant to go after another early-round offensive lineman, especially with the other guys they have on the offensive front, but it’ll be interesting to see how they approach this position group once again. Rasheed Walker has started and played every snap at left tackle this season, but what will the Packers’ ideal alignment be after this season?

Could we see Elgton Jenkins kick to center and a new left guard emerge?

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst will be after corners and maybe edge players in this draft class as well, but Wyatt Milum has been so dominant this season that we had to fit him in somewhere.

29. Washington Commanders: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State

The Washington Commanders have done a great job so far this season of outplaying even the highest expectations anyone could have possibly had for them. Even the most optimistic Washington fan probably assumed we’d see more struggling from this team, especially in the first half of the 2024 season, but they have been outstanding.

Dan Quinn is making his case for NFL coach of the year, and Kliff Kingsbury is putting up a great case to be the NFL assistant coach of hte year.

As far as the roster is concerned, I’d say it’s still fair to say that this team has outkicked the coverage. They have played above expectation. They could still use plenty of upgrades and especially on the offensive line.

The Commanders are yet another team taking a player in the 1st round here who has 1st round traits and talent but could fall due to that injury. Maybe even falling out of the 1st round altogether. When healthy, Josh Simmons looks like a player who could really just step in and start for a team like Washington. And they need it.

30. Houston Texans: Deone Walker, DL, Kentucky

You don’t usually find guys who are as big as Deone Walker at 6-foot-6, over 350 pounds, who can move the way he does and line up all over the defensive formation the way he does.

Getting Walker in with a top-tier defensive coordinator like DeMeco Ryans would be outstanding for his pro projection and the Texans getting a guy like this could make life even better for pass rushers like Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, who already don’t need all that much help to begin with.

When you have someone like this on the interior defensive line who can not only occupy a bunch of space but create a push on his own and make plays behind the line of scrimmage? Well, it’s a recipe for something special on that side of the ball. The Texans may have more pressing issues in the secondary, but a value like Walker this late in round one might be too good to pass up on.

31. Detroit Lions: Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State

You can never have too many good pass rushers in today’s NFL, and the Detroit Lions know that as well as anyone. The Lions just lost their best pass rusher – former 2nd overall pick Aidan Hutchinson – to a season-ending and very scary injury.

The loss of Hutchinson looms incredibly large for a team like the Lions, which was otherwise looking like one of the best and most complete teams in the NFL through the first half of the season.

This team needs to continue working to add pass rushers through the NFL Draft, if they keep their picks in the first place. There are rumors the Lions could try and add another rusher at the 2024 NFL trade deadline, but if they end up keeping this pick, we could absolutely see them take advantage of what appears to be a very deep crop of EDGE guys. 

Jack Sawyer might not have the craziest numbers, but he’s the type of pass rusher who is going to test well in the pre-draft process and fit well within a scheme like Detroit’s.

32. Kansas City Chiefs: Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State

The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL’s lone remaining undefeated team through the first seven weeks of the season, and they’ve managed to get that done despite trading away L’Jarius Sneed in the 2024 offseason. Sneed was the Chiefs’ best cornerback, but they have managed to supplement that loss with the inclusion of other young players in the lineup.

Unfortunately, they just lost another one of those players due to injury (Jaylen Watson). 

The Chiefs are going to have to re-evaluate their cornerback situation after this season no matter what. They have so many young guys getting reps out there that they’ll have to assess whether or not those guys can be fixtures going forward.

Denzel Burke is a playmaker for Ohio State with two picks in his first six games and the type of ball skills and aggressiveness the Chiefs love in their defensive backs.