The 2025 NFL Draft is not exactly being lauded for its top-end talent, but there are plenty of enticing prospects who can help teams and make an immediate impact. Instead of taking a look at a 2025 NFL Mock Draft scenario just like always, we're going to have a little fun with this one and play a little "What if?"
What if the top 10 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft were all traded to playoff teams? Obviously, that's not going to happen, but you never know when an individual move or a couple of moves might happen as teams get desperate.
And odds are, if you're reading a 2025 NFL Mock Draft, you're not overly worried about "realism" but you love scenarios more than anything else. Let's have a little fun with this. Let's look at just the top 10 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft if they were all traded to teams that made the playoffs this past season.
2025 NFL Mock Draft: Every top 10 pick traded to playoff teams in new scenario
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (from Titans): Cam Ward, QB, Miami
If there's one playoff team that really needs to make a blockbuster move up the board this year, it's the Pittsburgh Steelers. I thought about doing a Titans-Chiefs swap here thanks to new Titans GM Mike Borgonzi having ties to the Chiefs' organization, but desperation outweighs connection in this case.
The Steelers look like the lone playoff team that is truly desperate for a quarterback. You might be able to make an argument for the Rams with the Matthew Stafford situation, but in this case, the Steelers trade the Titans a bounty of picks for the rights to select Cam Ward and make him their new franchise quarterback.
2. Los Angeles Chargers (from Browns): Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
The next most aggressive team entering the top three picks of this 2025 NFL mock draft scenario is the Los Angeles Chargers, a team that could be losing both Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack in the same offseason. The Chargers already began gutting the roster of the former regime's players in 2024 and Jim Harbaugh is going to continue the purge in 2025.
With the EDGE position obviously losing two big-name players, the Chargers look as likely as anyone among last year's playoff squads to move up and make a bold move for the best pass rusher in the entire draft. Abdul Carter should be a well-known player for Harbaugh and his staff since they coached against him in the Big Ten a couple of years ago.
3. Los Angeles Rams (from Giants): Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
There are few things I would love to see more than this. The genius of Rams head coach Sean McVay with the most versatile player most of us have or will ever see when it comes to the college game. Travis Hunter is unique in that he would be a top 10 prospect at either wide receiver or cornerback, and those just happen to be two major needs for the Rams right now.
Cooper Kupp is on the trade block. The Rams have a need at the cornerback position. I do believe we're going to see Hunter come into the NFL and play both positions, even if it's not on a full-time basis.
But with a Kupp trade on deck, the Rams add Hunter to the mix along with Puka Nacua and set themselves up for another deep playoff run in the 2025 season.
4. Detroit Lions (from Patriots): Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
You don't think the Detroit Lions would absolutely love to get their hands on a player like Mason Graham from their own backyard this offseason?
The Lions were one of the most snake-bitten teams in the entire NFL this last year. Defensively, the guys they had on injured reserve would have made a better unit than many teams were trotting out on the field last year. The Lions need to get healthy, first and foremost, but trading an absolute haul of picks to move up for a guy like Mason Graham would set this operation off.
Graham would join his old pal Aidan Hutchinson with the Lions who will hopefully return to full health this year and give this Lions team a deadly duo of former Wolverines stars to terrorize opposing offenses.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (from Jaguars): Will Campbell, OT, LSU
If there's one thing the Kansas City Chiefs don't have in the Patrick Mahomes era, it's stability at the left tackle position. Luckily for them, it hasn't really cost them much as they've still been able to become the NFL's latest, greatest dynasty team.
But now that Patrick Mahomes is entering his age 30 season, and has been hobbling around with ankle issues the past couple of years, it's worth the Chiefs making a substantial investment to try and solidify that left tackle position. Everyone's worried about whether or not LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell is going to have 33-inch arms, which is a big deal, but the Chiefs could slide him next to Joe Thuney and have an elite left side of the offensive line for the foreseeable future.
6. Minnesota VIkings (from Raiders): Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
After getting a heck of a season out of former division rival Aaron Jones, the Minnesota Vikings move up for a running back who could make life a lot easier on young quarterback JJ McCarthy.
Very few running backs with as many collegiate carries get picked as high as Ashton Jeanty is going to in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he's pretty widely and unanimously viewed as a top-10 overall prospect in this class. Does that prove this class is weak or does it say more about Jeanty?
Probably a combination of both, but with the way defenses are playing two-high coverage and daring teams to run and/or throw short, a player like Jeanty can thrive in today's NFL.
7. Denver Broncos (from Jets): Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
For the last couple of years, the Denver Broncos and head coach Sean Payton have been on the hunt for a "joker" for Payton's offense. Broncos GM George Paton recently said the search for this joker position has been like looking for the Loch Ness Monster.
The "joker" is a tight end or running back with elite traits in the passing game. The Broncos' leading receiver at tight end last year was Adam Trautman with 188 yards. Needless to say, if the Broncos can get their hands on a playmaker like Tyler Warren, they would probably be ecstatic. He has the dynamic traits to be featured and thrive in the Sean Payton offense.
8. Green Bay Packers (from Panthers): Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
If there's one thing we know about Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, it's that he loves him a good former Georgia Bulldog. Gutekunst has an affinity for highly athletic SEC prospects in general, as well as versatility in his players.
There is no one who will catch his eye more than Georgia's Jalon Walker.
Walker played the off-ball linebacker position as well as off the edge at the college level but he looks to be transitioning to rushing the passer full-time in the NFL. He could be a huge pickup for Jeff Hafley's defense there in Green Bay and we already know he'll be on the short list of GM Brian Gutekunst's guys.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (from Saints): Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Give Howie Roseman all the former Georgia Bulldogs on his defensive line. Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis...the Eagles have an affinity for Dawgs players on the defensive front and Mykel Williams could be the final stone in the Infinity Gauntlet.
Jalyx Hunt looks like he'll be a player for the Eagles, but this team has always hoarded defensive linemen and Mykel Williams doesn't require just one position to be effective on the field. He can line up at a variety of different spots and provide value.
An injury this past year (which he played through) likely derailed his stock a little bit but if there's anyone the Eagles should trade up for with both Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham slated for free agency, it's Williams.
10. Washington Commanders (from Bears): Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Imagine the Washington Commanders adding a big-play receiver like Tetairoa McMillan to the offense for Jayden Daniels to spread the ball to.
They already have one of the best receivers in the game in Terry McLaurin. Getting a player with the size, speed, and ball skills of a Tetairoa McMillan? That would be borderline unfair. Although he's not exactly on the same level of guys in last year's draft class like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, McMillan is an outstanding prospect who would significantly boost the offense in Washington.
Commanders GM Adam Peters knows how important it is to invest in the receiver position or in offensive weapons in general. Few teams did that as well as the 49ers while he was there working under John Lynch.