53. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - JT Tuimoloau, EDGE, Ohio State
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take JT Tuimoloau from Ohio State here in the second round. They grabbed CB Shavon Revel in the first round, so it’s easy to see what side of the ball this team is focusing on. The Bucs went 10-7 in 2024 and won the NFC South. The huge story here with this team is losing Liam Coen to the Jaguars’ head coaching job. Chris Godwin is also a free agent and will be coming off of a dislocated ankle. There is some uncertainty on offense going into 2025.
It would not shock me to see the Bucs actually flip the script in the 2025 NFL Draft and build up the offense. We have gone defense thus far for Tampa.
54. Green Bay Packers - Donovan Jackson, OG, Ohio State
The Green Bay Packers keep up with their trenches-focused 2025 NFL Draft and take Donovan Jackson from Ohio State. He’s a guard and looks to bolster the Packers’ interior offensive line. Green Bay is a good-not-great team and will, as we said, need to find some truly elite talent to really make a jump.
And now with the Chicago Bears hiring Ben Johnson to be their next head coach, the NFC North surely got that much tighter. Green Bay won 11 games in 2024 but lost in the Wild Card Round, so they do have some tough questions to answer.
55. New York Jets (via LAC) - Emery Jones, OT, LSU
The New York Jets have the 55th pick in this 2025 NFL Mock Draft and take OT Emery Jones from LSU. The Jets are clearly focusing on the offense in this mock draft. They grabbed Tyler Warren in the first round, used their first second-round pick on Jahdae Barron, a defensive back, but are doubling-down on offense.
Aaron Glenn is their new head coach and will probably need to focus more on the offensive side of the ball in his first NFL Draft. His defensive expertise is off the charts, and I think we all saw just how broken the Jets’ offense was in 2025.
The Jets grab Emery Jones in a move to boost their offensive line.
56. Buffalo Bills - Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
The Buffalo Bills take CB Maxwell Hairston from Kentucky at pick 56. Many of us were flat-out wrong about the Bills coming into 2025. They are now set to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game with a trip to Super Bowl 59 on the line.
Buffalo is fielding an elite offense and elite defense. This does afford them to go in a number of different directions in the NFL Draft. We’ve opted for a more defensive-focused mock draft here.