2025 NFL mock draft: Entire first-round mock draft predictions
27. Detroit Lions: Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
You want to see what the type of guy the Detroit Lions love says to the media? Check out this quote from Jack Sawyer about why he spurned the 2024 NFL Draft and returned to Ohio State in 2024:
"After the year, I sat there and thought, ‘Hey, I’m from Columbus. I love Columbus. I love the fans. I love Coach (Ryan) Day, Coach (Larry) Johnson, Coach Mick (Marotti) and everybody that’s a part of Ohio State. We fell short of reaching the goals that we promised these guys when we signed our letters of intent to come here. That didn’t sit right with me. I knew I wasn’t gonna walk out of here on those terms — not when we have another shot to beat ‘The Team Up North,’ win a Big Ten title and win a national championship. I know for a fact that we have the team to do it this year."
- Jack Sawyer
Even though he’s not a Michigan guy, Sawyer has the type of competitive spirit the Lions covet in their prospects, and he has the productivity to go along with it. Getting a guy like this to come off the edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson could help take this Lions defense to the next level.
28. Baltimore Ravens: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
The Baltimore Ravens are always a unique team to try and project from far out when it comes to the NFL Draft. They almost always find a way to get one of the best values no matter where they are picking in the draft, and that’s no exception in mock draft scenarios. Here, they come away with one of the best values of this 2025 first-round projection in safety Malaki Starks.
Starks is a ball-hawking safety for the Bulldogs defense and an All-American who has 14 passes defended in his first two seasons in Athens as well as five interceptions. He’s expected to improve even more in 2024 for that Georgia defense and should be a coveted player by any NFL team in need of safety help. The Ravens are replacing a lot of snaps at safety this year with Geno Stone bolting in free agency for the Cincinnati Bengals.