2025 NFL mock draft: Three players who could go no. 1 overall
As the bulk of Week 3 gets underway, let's dive into three players who could hear their names called first in the 2025 NFL Draft. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Week 3 slate of NFL games, but for you NFL Draft maniacs, I have more content for you.
The 2025 NFL Draft is still a ways away, but we keep whipping up mock drafts to satiate the need for draft content. This could be a draft where a quarterback does not get picked first overall. It may sound insane at this point, but the projected QB class does not feel quite as good, and there are quite a few extremely talented non-quarterback prospects.
Let's look at three, of perhaps way more, players who could go no. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
2025 NFL mock draft: Three players who could go no. 1 overall
Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Carson Beck feels like he'll end up being the first quarterback taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. He does not come with some of the unwanted attention that a guy like Shedeur Sanders gets, and I truly believe that some teams will knock Sanders down a bit on their board because of that.
Beck may also simply be the better QB prospect. He's got great size that you want to see in a franchise QB and does a ton of things well. Honestly, this could be a draft where a QB does not go first overall. If the New England Patriots were to pick first, there is just no way they'd take a QB at pick one.
They'd likely take a wide receiver or an offensive tackle. But Carson Beck might warrant pick no. 1 if the right team is picking.
James Pearce Jr, EDGE
James Pearce Jr could be one of a small handful of non-quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft who could go first overall. Again, it would just depend on who is picking at pick one. James Pearce Jr had 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2023 for the Tennessee Volunteers.
He'll be just 21 years old at the time of the 2025 NFL Draft and has good size, standing at 6'5" and weighing nearly 250 pounds. In the NFL, team's aren't going to go very far without a competent pass rush, and Pearce Jr is someone who can help fill that need for an NFL team.
Travis Hunter, WR/CB
Travis Hunter is probably not going to play both wide receiver and cornerback at the NFL level. My guess is that he probably settles into the WR position, but you just never know I guess. Since his career at Colorado began, Hunter has hauled in 87 receptions for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns, which he's done in just 12 games.
On defense, he's also added four interceptions and seven passes defended. Hunter is a legitimate candidate for the Heisman Trophy in 2024, and if he's able to win that pretigious award, his draft stock may get even higher. I'm sure as the 2024 season goes on and Hunter begins to focus more on training for the NFL Draft, he'll probably settle into a position more.
But honestly, it would not surprise me to see Hunter, at some point, get a shot at playing both CB and WR if the need were to arise for his NFL team.