5. New York Jets: LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
You can’t fault the New York Jets for diving head-first into the Aaron Rodgers experiment. Rodgers was coming off of some of the best years of his career, and he could have very easily been the missing piece for a Jets franchise that has the longest playoff drought in the entire NFL right now.
The experiment has ended, and with zero positive results. There is a crater on the offensive side of the ball where Rodgers and all of his cronies used to be, and the Jets are in a transition year where they are putting some pressure on Justin Fields to perform.
Fields was a 1st-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bears and is in a situation now with the Jets where he almost certainly has the best combination of weapons and offensive line that he’s had in his entire NFL career. Can he put it all together under a new staff? If not, the Jets will be looking to move on quickly.
6. Carolina Panthers: Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas
If you’re a Carolina Panthers fan, you are undoubtedly approaching the 2025 season with equal parts excitement and anxiety. The Panthers have every reason to be excited about the offense after the progress we saw last year from Bryce Young, the addition of Tetairoa McMillan in the draft, and just generally a lot of promising talent on that side of the ball.
On the other hand, you have the defense in Carolina. The Panthers had to pivot in NFL free agency after missing out on their top target – Milton Williams – and then they didn’t really get anyone overly thrilling in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Panthers decided to trade Brian Burns last year and that move has left a gaping hole in the defense that no one has been able to fill.
And I’m not sure it’s happening this year, either.
Carolina’s defense is up there with the likes of the Raiders as the least talented in the NFL on paper. They need young guys to step up, and they could really use a jack-of-all-trades like Anthony Hill Jr. right now.