The 2025 NFL Draft is still months away, but let's try to make heads and tails of this draft and predict which teams are picking in the top five selections.
The 2025 NFL Draft could be a huge stepping stone for some teams. There are teams who used the 2024 NFL Draft as a huge year to change the course of their franchise. For other clubs who are a year behind, the 2025 NFL Draft is going to provide that for them.
Let's try to predict which teams end up picking in the top-five of the 2025 NFL Draft.
2025 NFL mock draft: Predicting which teams pick in the top five selections
1st Overall Pick - New England Patriots
It's hard for me to like much of anything going with the New England Patriots at the moment. The Patriots took Drake Maye with the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, but this is a full rebuild for the franchise, who is now moving into a new era without Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
The Patriots are going to take years to get back on track, but them getting the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft may actually help in the long-term. They could secure a franchise left tackle or wide receiver with their top pick.
The Patriots are going to struggle mightily in the 2024 NFL Season, but that could provide some light at the end of this long tunnel.
2nd Overall Pick - Las Vegas Raiders
Man, what are the Las Vegas Raiders doing? They do not have a franchise QB in sight, hired their interim head coach who was only a position coach in 2023, and have a top-heavy roster. This is not a football team set-up for success, and I do not anticipate a lot of it in 2024. The bright side here is that GM Tom Telesco can perhaps land a franchise QB with the second overall pick, and if the Patriots are picking first, they may have the best QB in the class fall into their laps.
The Raiders desperately need some type of long-term stability, so perhaps a brutal 2024 season can pave the way for that in 2025 and beyond.
3rd Overall Pick - New York Giants
New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is clearly in over his head, and I could sincerely see a rare situation where the GM loses his job before the head coach, as it's clear that Brian Daboll is the right man for the job, but I am not sure that Schoen knows what he's doing. The QB room of Daniel Jones and Drew Lock is going to help "lead" this team to a top-three pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This is where the Giants can truly go all-in around a QB prospect and build their football team the right way. In the 2024 NFL Draft, GM Joe Schoen passed up on three QBs in round one with JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr, and Bo Nix.
4th Overall Pick - Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are trying to assemble the NFL's best team from 2017, as they signed all of Austin Ekeler, Bobby Wagner, and Zach Ertz in free agency this offseason. Jayden Daniels was their choice with the second overall pick, but there is still a ton that is wrong with their roster, especially along the offensive line.
A rough year is coming for the Washington Commanders, who swapped Ron Rivera for Dan Quinn and brought in Adam Peters to be their new General Manager.
5th Overall Pick - Carolina Panthers
Rounding out the top five will be the Carolina Panthers, but them potentially picking fifth overall would be quite the accomplishment. They won just two games in the 2024 NFL Season, and if the Chicago Bears did not own their 2024 first-round pick, they'd have been picking first overall, so getting down to five, which is going to be around five wins, would be a solid first year for Dave Canales, the team's new head coach.
Can the Panthers show some signs of progress in 2024? Picking fifth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft could help them land a blue-chip prospect at WR.