Here at NFL Spin Zone, it's always mock draft season, so here is our latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft that includes some interesting trades.
2025 NFL mock draft: Full first-round mock with league-altering trades
1. Carolina Panthers - Carson Beck - QB - Georgia
The Carolina Panthers picking first overall yet again means something went terribly wrong in the 2024 NFL Season, and this time, it may fall mostly on Bryce Young, the team’s QB who is entering year two. There is just no chance that Young is able to survive this, so if Carolina is at No. 1, they will surely take the best QB in the 2025 NFL Draft class. Carson Beck is projected to hear his name called quite early when next April rolls around, and this would allow new head coach Dave Canales to get a player that he hand-picked.
2. Tennessee Titans - Shedeur Sanders - QB - Colorado
The Tennessee Titans could find themselves in a similar situation to what the Panthers were in the pick before. Will Levis is getting the 2024 NFL Season to prove that he can be a franchise quarterback, but with the new coaching staff in Tennessee, they don’t have many connections to Levis, and GM Ran Carthon might not have patience beyond this year. If the Titans were to pick second overall, Shedeur Sanders would seem to be the choice here. For all of the unwanted and unnecessary attention that Colorado gets, Sanders is a legitimate NFL prospect.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (via New England Patriots) - Luther Burden - WR - Missouri
The Pittsburgh Steelers make a huge move up the 2025 NFL Draft board and land on Luther Burden from Missouri, which would be a fabulous selection. No matter how you slice it, the Steelers do need another wide receiver, and this remains true even if Russell Wilson is not brought back in the 2025 NFL Season. The Steelers have had their name come up in a bunch of wide receiver rumors this offseason, so you figure that they are trying to upgrade.
However, the best way they can do that for the long-term is to take a top WR in the coming NFL Draft, and Luther Burden is exactly that.
4. Denver Broncos - Mason Graham - DT - Michigan
The Denver Broncos have done a ton of work this offseason to try and fix their defensive line, which was porous in the 2023 NFL Season. They fielded one of the worst overall defensive fronts in the NFL, and their bottom-ranked rushing defense and inconsistent pass rush was a huge nail in their coffin late in the season. Well, Denver has added some notable pieces to this unit, so it should be better for 2024.
However, the Broncos need an alpha up front or even off the edge, but at pick four, they’ll take Mason Graham from Michigan, who played for Jim Harbaugh, who now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers, so Denver would also be keeping a player that Harbaugh might have his eye on away from their team.
The Broncos took Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick in this year's draft, so they are trying to build something for the long-term, but many have criticized the Nix pick, so only time will tell if it was the right move for Denver.
5. Las Vegas Raiders - Jalen Milroe - QB - Alabama
Oh boy, the first major, major move of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders end up getting a bit desperate with their first-round pick, as they did miss out on all six first-round quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft. They take Jalen Milroe, who threw for 23 touchdowns against six interceptions in 2023 for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Milroe will need to make another jump in 2024 if he wants to be considered a first-round pick for the 2025 NFL Draft, but the Raiders do their homework and come away with Milroe, who may end up competing with all of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell for the Raiders starting job in 2025. This could quickly turn into a messy situation in Vegas.
6. New York Giants - Cameron Ward - QB - Miami (FL)
Cam Ward has two very productive seasons under his belt, and will now play for Miami (FL) for the 2024 college football season. During the first two years of his collegiate career at Washington State, he threw for nearly 7,000 yards, 48 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He’s 3:1 TD:INT ratio is right where it needs to be, so perhaps he can continue that in 2024.
The New York Giants were another team that botched the QB position this offseason. In the 2024 NFL Draft, they somehow did not come away with a quarterback, and instead took WR Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick, all while Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr, and JJ McCarthy were still on the board.
They’ll now head into the 2024 NFL Season with either Daniel Jones or Drew Lock at quarterback, which is just pathetic. The Giants make up for that mistake and are able to snag their franchise QB in Cam Ward.
7. Seattle Seahawks (via ARI) - Will Johnson - CB - Michigan
The Seattle Seahawks want to establish a defensive identity under new head coach Mike Macdonald, and with all of the first-round quarterbacks gone at this point, they do decide to trade up, but it’s for the best CB in the nation in Will Johnson from Michigan. The Seahawks have fielded some incredibly talented defenses over the last few years, but they’ve simply underperformed.
Macdonald can probably get the defense back on track, and they’ll have to figure something out with the quarterback position, but this is not a bad pick, especially with the NFL firmly a pass-first league. Teams can never have too many capable cornerbacks, and Johnson comes from a great program at Michigan, so this is also a safe pick.
8. Washington Commanders - Tetairoa McMillan - WR - Arizona
There seems to be a weird thing going on this offseason between disgruntled WR Brandon Aiyuk and the Washington Commanders, and Jayden Daniels even seems to be in that mix, too. It’s clear that Washington needs another WR, but they should be just fine in 2024 with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
However, if they really want to go all-in for 2025 and beyond with Daniels, getting a lethal trio of wide receivers would be amazing, so they’ll stay with their seventh overall pick and take Tetairoa McMillian from Arizona. The Commanders now all of a sudden have one of the best play-making rooms in the entire NFL.
The Commanders have entered into a new era this offseason, as they now have Adam Peters as the general manager and Dan Quinn as their head coach, who is now in his second stint as a HC in the NFL. He had a successful-ish tenure with the Falcons that resulted in a 2016 Super Bowl appearance.
9. Indianapolis Colts (via New Orleans Saints) - Travis Hunter - CB - Colorado
Trade! Chris Ballard is back at it again. The Indianapolis Colts were surprisingly good in 2023. They somehow managed to win nine games with Gardner Minshew taking most of the snaps. Rookie QB Anthony Richardson missed most of the 2023 NFL Season with injuries, but did show some promise in his limited action in year one.
Well, if Richardson an make the jump, the Colts could even be a dark-horse Super Bowl contender. Indy decides to trade up the NFL Draft board and take do-it-all player Travis Hunter from Colorado. Hunter has played both WR and CB in college, and will surely have to settle on a position for his future NFL career.
Being that his coach is Deion Sanders, Sanders may influence him more to play cornerback, but only time will tell what happens there.
10. Minnesota Vikings - Benjamin Morrison - CB - Notre Dame
It seems as though the Minnesota Vikings will be red-shirting JJ McCarthy during the 2024 NFL Season, and could deploy him full-time in 2025. There are examples of teams red-shirting their QBs in year one, and the most notable is obviously Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Vikings could really go a number of ways, but with their personnel situation on offense now much more clear with Justin Jefferson getting paid, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah focuses on the defense and takes Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame, who some will surely have as their top CB in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Interestingly enough, I do believe the Vikings are also entertaining the idea that Sam Darnold actually plays well enough to warrant being brought back in some capacity. Should we be paying attention to this possibility?
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Abdul Carter - EDGE - Penn State
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers definitely need some help off the EDGE, so it’s no surprise that they’ll take Adbul Carter here with the 11th overall pick. The Bucs cut ties with Shaq Barrett this past offseason and did sign Randy Gregory, but as a whole, the unit is below-average, so I would assume that General Manager Jason Licht has this position on his radar.
And heck, if they can build on their breakout 2023 season, the Bucs might be a more established team than we think. They weren’t great by any means in 2023, but they did manage to win nine games and a postseason game. Could Licht have found a new franchise QB in Baker Mayfield only a couple of years after Tom Brady retired? Maybe.
12. Arizona Cardinals (via SEA) - James Pearce Jr. - EDGE - Tennessee
The Arizona Cardinals just keep stacking top talent, and a ton of credit needs to go to GM Monti Ossenfort for the work he’s done thus far. Somehow, Ossenfort is able to snag James Pearce Jr from Tennessee in the middle of the first round. Pearce may end up being the first EDGE rusher off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft, but not on this one. I look at the 2024 Cardinals as being significantly better than they were last year.
While I think they are a ways away from the postseason yet, 2025 could be a year they flirt with the playoffs if Ossenfort can be another solid offseason together. Getting James Pearce would be a huge addition to the defense.
On the other side of the ball, QB Kyler Murray is going to be another year removed from his 2022 ACL injury, so that should help him get back on track.
13. New Orleans Saints (via IND) - Will Campbell - OT - LSU
The New Orleans Saints tackle a tackle in the first round in back-to-back drafts. This year, they took Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State, and in this 2025 NFL Mock Draft, they’ll land on Will Campbell from LSU, who is one of the best and most polished tackles in this class. Perhaps GM Mickey Loomis has a little bit left in the tank to rebuild this Saints team.
The current duo of Derek Carr and Dennis Allen is not working and will not ever work, so Loomis should look to the future, move on from Carr and Allen, and try a hard reset at QB and head coach. Getting a franchise tackle in the mix is a huge plus, so maybe the Saints can finally right the ship and do it without long-time head coach Sean Payton, who left the team following the 2021 NFL Season.
14. New England Patriots (via PIT) - Emeka Egbuka - WR - Ohio State
In a massive trade down with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots still end up with one of the most talented wide receivers in this year’s class. Emeka Egbuka comes from a recent insane influx of top Ohio State wide receivers making it big-time in the NFL. Marvin Harrison Jr, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson are just a few names of Ohio State being represented at this position in the NFL.
All of a sudden, the New England Patriots have a nice QB/WR duo with Drake Maye under center. The duo itself is still unproven, but you have to at least acknowledge the ceiling that this offense could have if Maye and Egbuka are legit.
Can Drake Maye and the New England Patriots make a huge jump in the 2025 NFL Season?
15. Jacksonville Jaguars - Kelvin Banks Jr. - OT - Texas
It seems like the Jacksonville Jaguars are always trying to figure out their tackle situation. Will they finally get it right for 2025? They’ll take Kelvin Banks Jr from Texas with their first-round pick, and perhaps Banks can help solidify the bookends of this offensive line. The interior OL seems fine with Ezra Cleveland, Mitch Morse, and Brandon Scherff, but the tackles just need to be stabilized.
Keeping Trevor Lawrence upright is a huge priority, as they did recently make him the highest-paid QB in the NFL, tied with Joe Burrow. Lawrence and Burrow’s deals pay them $55 million per season. In what was a bit of a shock to see T-Law get that kind of paper, he also is going to need protected for the long-term.
16. Cleveland Browns - Denzel Burke - CB - Ohio State
The Cleveland Browns could have another top cornerback named Denzel. The Browns are an interesting team - there might not be five more talented rosters than the Browns in the entire NFL, but they clearly are not an elite team. The QB situation is just incredibly up in the air with Deshaun Watson.
If Watson can figure himself out, the Browns will be cooking with grease for years to come, but Watson has looked quite bad during his first two seasons with the team. For now, though, the Browns will focus in on beefing up the defense more, so they will take Denzen Burke from Ohio State in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Browns enjoyed a late-career surge from Joe Flacco of all people last year. Flacco helped them earn a playoff spot, where they were blown out in the Wild Card round. This team could truly be a problem if Deshaun Watson can play well.
17. Los Angeles Rams - Colston Loveland - TE - Michigan
The Los Angeles Rams definitely need some more juice from their tight end spot, so with the 17th pick, they’ll take Colston Loveland from Michigan. There were rumors that the Rams wanted Brock Bowers, but obviously, the Las Vegas Raiders ended up with him.
The Rams may all of a sudden find themselves right in the contention mix in 2024, as the way they ended the 2023 NFL Season should provide quite a bit of hope for the future.
18. Los Angeles Chargers - Deone Walker - DT - Kentucky
The Los Angeles Chargers still do need quite a bit of roster help, so they’ll continue to reinforce the trenches, and this time, they take Deone Walker from Kentucky. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh surely wanted one of his former players, Mason Graham, but the Denver Broncos stopped that from happening.
The Chargers won’t be a legitimate contender in 2024, but if they can approach next offseason the right way, 2025 could be a different story.
19. Miami Dolphins (via CHI) - Malaki Starks - S - Georgia
The Miami Dolphins trade up a couple of spots and take Malaka Starks from Georgia. The Dolphins and GM Chris Grier continue to load up both sides of the ball here, as Starks enters into a secondary that actually is going to have a ton of change coming.
Can Starks help neutralize some of the Dolphins biggest obstacles in the AFC?
20. Atlanta Falcons - Nic Scourton - EDGE - Texas A&M
The Atlanta Falcons approach the 2025 NFL Draft right and take a huge position of need. GM Terry Fontenot does not get cute and simply takes a player that the team truly needs. The Falcons should be much improved in the 2024 NFL Season, as Kirk Cousins is a consistent quarterback.
21. Chicago Bears (via MIA) - Princely Umanmielen - EDGE - Ole Miss
In a trade down, the Chicago Bears are still able to get a player in Princely Umanmielen, who can help fill their remaining need up front. The Chicago Bears did trade for Montez Sweat during the 2023 NFL Season, and his impact was felt immediately. GM Ryan Poles should keep this up and should get another body up front.
22. Green Bay Packers - Tyleik Williams - DT - Ohio State
The Green Bay Packers might be a great candidate to be a Super Bowl dark-horse during the 2024 NFL Season, and yes, this does hinge on Jordan Love being able to do what he did to end the 2023 NFL Season. Love was simply excellent, and he may already be a top-10 QB in the NFL.
If Love can build in 2023, he may end up winning the MVP award. The Packers should just go all-in and embrace the best player available strategy in the 2025 NFL Draft.
23. New York Jets - Evan Stewart - WR - Oregon
The New York Jets made the right move when they took OT Olu Fashanu in the 2024 NFL Draft. They stick on the offensive side of the ball, but this time nab a wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers in Evan Stewart from Oregon.
The Jets do sport one of the top rosters in the NFL, so GM Joe Douglas does deserve a ton of credit for that, but they did latch onto Rodgers, so they are going to live or die with him.
If Aaron Rodgers plays well, the New York Jets could make an extremely deep playoff run. If not, the Jets are going to be among the more dramatic and embarrassing teams in the NFL for the 2024 season.
24. Houston Texans - Barrett Carter - LB - Clemson
The Houston Texans can absolutely win the Super Bowl this year, and the job that General Manager Nick Caserio has done is just flat-out perfection. He found perhaps the next great QB in the NFL with CJ Stroud, and made a home-run hire with DeMeco Ryans and the staff that he’s built.
Caserio also clearly knows how to build a winning roster, as he most definitely prioritized the trenches this offseason and did help his team get better on both sides of the ball. There truly is not a lot to dislike about this team, and the Texans should be able to just take the top player on their board in the 2025 NFL Draft.
25. Dallas Cowboys - Ollie Gordon IV - RB - Oklahoma State
The Dallas Cowboys may never learn. If Dallas is indeed taking a RB in Ollie Gordon IV in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, you have to figure that they re-signed both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb and want to run it back another couple of years. While this may not be the right decision, we can all see Jerry Jones going down this route.
26. Philadelphia Eagles - Kenneth Grant - DT - Michigan
You should want your favorite NFL team to have Howie Roseman as the general manager. Roseman is flat-out marvelous at what he does and clearly knows how to build a top roster. Well, to the surprise of no one, Roseman opts to again bolster the defensive line.
He’ll take Kenneth Grant from Michigan, but beyond Roseman adding talent on defense like he always does, I do believe we may need to have a conversation about Jalen Hurts depending on how the 2024 NFL Season goes. Outside of one season in 2022, Hurts has not been that consistent.
27. Cincinnati Bengals - Nic Anderson - WR - Oklahoma
The Cincinnati Bengals may have some questions to answer about their WR room beyond the 2024 NFL Season. Will they re-sign Tee Higgins to a long-term deal? Heck, are they willing to pay Ja’Marr Chase likely more than $30 million per year? Who is going to emerge outside of those two?
All of a sudden, Cincy may need to prioritize the WR spot in a big way in the 2025 NFL Draft, so at the bottom of the first round, they’ll take Nic Anderson from Oklahoma.
28. Buffalo Bills - Dani Dennis-Sutton - EDGE - Penn State
The Buffalo Bills had to do a bit of spring cleaning this offseason, as they parted with some veterans and got their cap space in a better spot. Buffalo does need some more young and cheap talent on both sides of the ball. With how their WR room looks now, you may think they go WR here, but GM Brandon Beane opts to address the defense with his first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and will take Dani Dennis-Sutton from Penn State.
29. Detroit Lions - Tyler Onyedim - DT - Iowa State
The Detroit Lions are going to be a dangerous team in 2024. They’re excellent on both sides of the ball, but their defense is the more shaky unit, so if GM Brad Holmes again addresses that side of the ball early on in the 2025 NFL Draft, we should not be surprised. Tyler Onyedim had 6.5 tackles for loss in 2023 for Iowa State.
Brad Holmes totally remade the secondary yet again in Detroit, bringing in a on of legitimate talent. Holmes has quickly proven to be able to build a top NFL team, so the Lions faithful should continue to have full trust that Tyler Onyedim would be the right pick.
30. Baltimore Ravens - Tacario Davis - CB - Arizona
You know what; I am not as high on the Baltimore Ravens for 2024 as others are, and the addition of RB Derrick Henry in the NFL free agency period seems to be overblown a bit. Baltimore lost more than they gained, so while they should still be a rock-solid team, I would not put them anywhere near being a Super Bowl contender.
They’re the regular season darlings that crash and burn in the playoffs. In the first round, they’ll take Tacario Davis, a cornerback from Arizona, but the Ravens do need more than just Davis to truly get into Super Bowl contention once again.
31. San Francisco 49ers - Patrick Payton - EDGE - Florida State
The San Francisco 49ers front office continues to be one of the best in the NFL at properly constructing a roster. Prioritizing the trenches yet again is a fabulous idea, as they take Patrick Payton at the bottom of the first round. The 49ers DL did see both Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw leave, but John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan once again restocked the cupboard, and will continue to do that with Payton.
32. Kansas City Chiefs - Mykel Williams - EDGE - Georgia
The Kansas City Chiefs get in on the EDGE rusher fun with Mykel Williams from Georgia. The Chiefs do have a nice defensive line, and did recently re-sign Chris Jones to a long-term deal. Jones is plenty good enough to be in the DPoY chatter all season.
They also have another emerging DL in George Karlaftis, and will add EDGE Mykel Williams from Georgia to the mix. Georgia has churned out first-round defensive players for multiple years now.
There you have it, our latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft. Would you do something differently if you were making the pick for your favorite team?