The NFL Draft is a magical night, where dreams come true and memories are made for life as college stars become pros. With the NFL Draft set to start on Thursday, April 24 at 8PM Eastern, the Gridiron Football team brings you their official mock draft only days before the draft starts. There are no trades, as writers Alex Allison (the odd picks) and Willow Lamphier (the even picks) use a combination of who every team should take and who we think every team will take in the first round. We aren’t insiders, but we have opinions.
PICK #1: The Tennessee Titans select QB Cam Ward
While I don’t think that Cam Ward is a great QB prospect, I don’t think it matters much anymore. He very well might not overcome his turnover deficiencies enough to be anything more than an average QB, but in a world where Tua Tagavailoa and Trevor Lawrence are getting over 50 million dollars a year, the surplus value generated from getting average QB play on a rookie contract is well worth the first overall pick. The 2024 Titans are one of the best teams to ever earn the #1 overall pick, and I think with Ward on the roster in 2025, they could be competitive in a weak AFC South pretty quickly.
PICK #2: The Cleveland Browns select WR/CB Travis Hunter
The Cleveland Browns are a mess right now. They have some pieces in place – namely DE Myles Garrett and WR Jerry Jeudy – but the overall roster is not one that looks to be contending. The biggest need for the Browns is undoubtably quarterback, as Deshaun Watson has been a major disappointment since arriving in Cleveland. However, Travis Hunter is too good of a talent to pass up. With a team like Cleveland, Hunter can reliably and efficiently play both sides of the ball.
PICK #3: The New York Giants select EDGE Abdul Carter
Even though I do believe the draft will “start at 4” with chalk in the first 3 spots, the Giants are in a pretty awkward spot here. There is a very large value gap between Carter and everyone else left on the board, but edge is one of the only positions of strength on an otherwise weak Giants roster, with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodaux already being in the room. If I”m Joe Schoen and am GMing for my job as he pretty clearly is, I would take the lesson learned from this past super bowl and try to create positional trump on my roster. The prospect of Brian Burns and Abdul Carter as an edge rushing duo is really difficult to pass up, and it’s the sort of positional strength that can win you football games. As desperate as they are at QB, there isn’t one left on the board worth taking at 3. If I have to stake my job on Russell Wilson winning me enough games, then creating an elite defensive line to take the pressure off of the offense might be the best way to do it.
PICK #4: The New England Patriots select OT Will Campbell
The New England Patriots are in a fun spot. They did very well during free agency, acquiring WR Stefon Diggs, DL Milton Williams, and OLB Harold Landry III. The consensus within Gridiron Football is that this is where the real draft starts, as the first three picks are considered very likely. They are also considered to be a good trade-back option. But without trades in this mock, I have my favorite team selecting my favorite offensive lineman in college: LSU OT Will Campbell. There may be some complaints about arm size, but I say that if you can play offensive tackle in the SEC, you should be able to play offensive tackle in the NFL.
PICK #5: The Jacksonville Jaguars select RB Ashton Jeanty
I believe that this draft class is fairly similar to the 2023 draft class in that, because there are so few “blue chip” guys in the class, positional premiums will be a little less important. GMs will be faced with either taking elite guys in less important positions, or with reaching on prospects with concerns in positions that are more typically taken at the top of the draft. The 2023 class saw two RBs taken in the top 12, and I believe we could see something similar here. At the very least, that philosophy guided my decision to take the blue chip RB in Jeanty instead of a position of “greater value” here for the Jags. Neither Travis Etienne nor Tank Bigsby provided enough of a reason to stop me from wanting Jeanty in Jacksonville, and the addition of multiple starting offensive lineman in free agency makes me believe their line is now good enough to fully utilize him. Jacksonville needs another weapon in this offense, no matter where it comes from.
PICK #6: The Las Vegas Raiders select OT Armand Membou
For the Raiders, I felt this was an easy pick. Ashton Jeanty is already gone, making their tackle position the only real addressable position right at six overall. LT Kolton Miller is on the last year of his deal and entering the wrong side of 30, while RT DJ Glaze is only a rising sophomore and didn’t have a great rookie year as a thrid-round pick. Membou can start immediately at RT, or be the future of LT and sit behind Miller for a year.
PICK #7: The New York Jets select TE Tyler Warren
There are a lot of directions the Jets could go here, but the one that gets the most out of Justin Fields is Tyler Warren – giving Fields a safety valve and another pass catching weapon with an elite ceiling to pair with Garrett Wilson is exactly what this offense needs. While the Jets could absolutely consider a defensive or offensive tackle here, Warren is better than any of the options at either position, and he still fills a big hole for this team.
PICK #8: The Carolina Panthers select WR Tetairoa McMillan
Another easy pick. The best receiver on the Panthers roster is Adam Theilen, who feels like he’s a million years old and due to decline soon. The next best reciever is… [checks the roster] …TE Tommy Tremble or sophomore WR Xavier Legette. You can make a case for defense, as that is a much better talent here, but the positional need is too big.
PICK #9: The New Orleans Saints select IDL Mason Graham
The Saints roster is not good – I think you could make the argument that every single position on the football field is a need for them right now. Therefore, it’s super simple from my perspective: just take the best player available. That’s Mason Graham who, in spite of the concerns about arm length, is still the best defensive tackle in this draft class by a decent margin to me. He broke out in 2023, and still looked good in 2024 despite Michigan’s struggles as a team. Graham is the best player on the board, and a pretty solid value pick for New Orleans here.
PICK #10: The Chicago Bears select S Malakai Starks
I like Jaquan Brisker. I do. But Malakai Starks is just better, and maybe better than Kevin Byard right now. The Bears do something that many other mock drafts don’t and take Starks at a place where he should go.
PICK #11: The San Fransisco 49ers select CB Will Johnson
Will Johnson had a rough 2024, but his 2023 tape was sensational, that of a top 5 pick. With how much season-to-season volatility there is in the CB position already, I don’t mind a profile with a single season high as good as Will Johnson’s, and I feel perfectly comfortable taking him in this range. The 49ers need more talent on a defense that was injured and lackluster last season, and Will Johnson is the exact kind of talent infusion that they need in their secondary.
PICK #12: The Dallas Cowboys select LB Jihaad Campbell
Jihaad Campbell has appeared almost everywhere on mock drafts. But I have him landing at the Dallas Cowboys, as they have a need for defense. They lost OLB DeMarcus Lawrence and did little to replenish their linebacker core, only trading for former first-round pick LB Kenneth Murray from the Chargers. I considered picking an offensive tackle, but they have put too much capital into their current guys to move away from them. WR makes sense as well, but I don’t see Jerry going in that way.
PICK #13: The Miami Dolphins select OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
The Dolphins desperately need offensive line help because it’s a position they haven’t prioritized in the draft for years now. This year is the chance for the front office in Miami to pivot and realize they need to give it more emphasis. I am a very big Kelvin Banks fan – the arm length isn’t a concern to me, so I think he’ll be able to play tackle at a high level in the NFL. Even if the worst case scenario happens and he needs to kick inside, he will still be a key contributor to an offensive line that could use help at any position.
PICK #14: The Indianapolis Colts select TE Colston Loveland
This year is make or break for Colts QB Anthony Richardson, regardless of who the pick is here. The front office should give him the absolute best chance they can, and adding one of the top tight ends in the draft definitely should help him. Even without Richardson, TE is the most glaring need on offense, maybe even the entire team.
PICK #15: The Atlanta Falcons select EDGE Mike Green
The Falcons had one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL last season, and Mike Green presented enough this season and in the senior bowl to make him well worth a top 15 pick. This is a fairly easy one to me – he’s the 2nd best edge in this class, dominating inferior competition and proving it to not be a fluke when he dominated in the senior bowl too. As concerning as the off-the-field is, I think the talent is good enough to take the risk on at this point in the draft.
PICK #16: The Arizona Cardinals select IDL Walter Nolen
The Cardinals signed DE Calais Campbell, IDL Dalvin Tomlinson, and OLB Josh Sweat in free agency, and drafted DE Darius Robinson in last year’s first round. So why go for another defensive lineman? Because Campbell is old and on a one year deal, Tomlinson is also old and a bridge player at the position, Josh Sweat rushes but can also go into coverage, and Robinson is still someone to work on. Nolen has some work needed on him, but he has some good potential.
PICK #17: The Cincinnati Bengals select IDL Kenneth Grant
The Bengals need a lot of help on the defense, so any direction on that side of the ball here would make sense. I decided on the behemoth nose guard in Kenneth Grant, who is an archetype of player that I believe is becoming more important in a league that is becoming more run heavy as of late. Even after signing TJ Slatyon, they still need run defense help after being one of the worst defenses against the run last season, and Grant should provide that from the jump. The hope is that he provides some pass rush juice as well from the interior, which would make him a transformative piece on the defensive front, and that potential is what makes him worth a first round pick.
PICK #18: The Seattle Seahawks select LB Jalon Walker
I like Jalon Walker. He has steadily improved in every year of college and could be a sneaky pick, especially for a team known to have a good defense like Seattle. He can run all over the field as the coaching staff brings his play up even more.
PICK #19: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers select EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku
Tampa Bay is yet another team in desperate need of pass rush juice, and Ezeiruaku has been a commonly mocked player to them for good reason. He’s not a perfect player and lacks size at the position, but the pass rush technique and production he has shown is impressive. There are players in this tier of edge rusher with more upside, but I think a more solid roster in Tampa Bay wants a higher floor player in Ezeiruaku, who you know will bring you some amount of production getting after the passer.
PICK #20: The Denver Broncos select WR Matthew Golden
The Broncos signed TE Evan Engram, adding a pass catcher outside of WR Courtland Sutton. But even now, that receiver room is lacking in the ability to catch a football. Bring in a guy like the speedy Matthew Golden, and the room will be better. Dare I say… “Golden”?
PICK #21: The Pittsburgh Steelers select CB Jahdae Barron
While I wouldn’t do it myself, I do want to bring forth an argument for Jaxson Dart being selected here for the Steelers at 21. Of course, conspicuous in their absence in this mock has been either of the other two QBs that people have seen as potential first round picks in Dart and Shedeur Sanders. Sanders gets picked later in the draft (spoilers), but Dart doesn’t, so I wanted to take some time here to talk about him, where he was the closest to coming off the board. While I think Sanders is the better prospect (and don’t see either of them as 1st round QBs), Dart is the better fit for the Steelers roster. With Pickens and Metcalf, Dart has the better capacity to throw an accurate deep ball. I would be happy taking Jaxson Dart in the 2nd, but if the smoke around his draft rise has some fire to it, I think specifically PIttsburgh could genuinely consider taking him here.
Regardless, that’s not the direction I went in this draft, partially because the value fell really well for the Steelers here. Omarion Hampton is still on the board and should be in high consideration here, but I went with another player that I think is great value here in Jahdae Barron. He’s shown the ability to play all over the secondary, and the Steelers are still searching for answers there outside of Joey Porter Jr. Whether Barron settles in as their nickel or on the opposite side of Porter, it’s a needed boost for a pretty thin CB room in PIttsburgh.
PICK #22: The Los Angeles Chargers select EDGE James Pearce Jr
I am very high on Pearce. Entering the college season, many argued Pierce was a top-5 draft talent. And obviously this season didn’t go well for him, but I still think he has high potential. As for his landing spot, the need is there after cutting DE Joey Bosa. There are concerns he doesn’t fit within the scheme of the Chargers, but Harbaugh can at least help with that.
PICK #23: The Green Bay Packers select WR Luther Burden III
The Packers have 3 main needs they should address in the first two days of the draft: WR, EDGE, and CB. However, those weaknesses aren’t created equally. The Packers don’t just need any random starting caliber WR, they need a WR1. I would spend the first round pick on the WR who has the highest upside, the only one left on the board that I could see as a WR1 at the NFL level. Burden carries heavy character concerns and risks due to a down year in 2024, and the floor is genuinely concerning because of it. But ultimately, Burden has shown special flashes, and if he hits, the Packers have their #1 weapon for Jordan Love for years to come.
PICK #24: The Minnesota Vikings select EDGE Shemar Stewart
Shemar Stewart is an interesting prospect. He has never performed on the stat sheet, but he looks to have raw potential. The Vikings need an edge rusher, as their acquisition from last offseason in OLB Jonathan Greenard hasn’t lived up to his contract and the rest of their edge rushers are shaky, giving him the ability to wait, learn, and play in the future.
PICK #25: The Houston Texans select OT Josh Conerly Jr.
After trading away their best offensive lineman on the team after a year where the offensive line was already a big weakness, the Texans walk into the draft with an obvious direction they need to go. There are two tackles worth taking in the late first – Josh Simmons, and Josh Conerly. I’ve found the debate between the two of them fascinating, and both players are completely justifiable picks here for the Texans. Simmons goes later in this mock, so I’ll talk about him there. I decided on the higher floor prospect in Conerly, as the Texans desperately need this pick to hit, so taking the guy not coming off a major injury makes sense.
PICK #26: The Los Angeles Rams select QB Shedeur Sanders
Surprise! The Rams don’t have a need at QB – Matthew Stafford looked like the best QB in the league late in the season, even. But his age is starting to be a concern, as the Rams have clearly showed this current offseason. WR Puca Nacua is already solidifying himself as a fantastic short route runner, so setting up a future with Nacua and Shedeur Sanders sounds like a fantastic succession plan.
PICK #27: The Baltimore Ravens select EDGE JT Tuimoloau
I know he probably won’t go in the first, but JTT is one of “my guys” in this draft class, and this is what we would do, so here he is. The Ravens need an edge rusher, and JTT just “feels” like a Ravens player. He’s a hard-nosed, great run defender who I believe in the pass rush ability of. His pass rush ceiling isn’t super high (which is why he’s likely to fall to the 2nd), but I think he’s already shown enough juice in pass rushing to be an every down player on the defensive line.
PICK #28: The Detroit Lions select OG Tyler Booker
The Lions were hard to pick for. They fell to the Commanders in the NFC Divisional game, but they were hit HARD by the injury bug. On paper, their roster just looks perfect. The biggest real need is a wide receiver three, but that is not something you try to get in the first round. Enter: Tyler Booker. Their current starter at right guard is Christian Mahogany, a sixth round pick last year. Booker is an upgrade, and at the worst will be the replacement for the 33-year-old Graham Glasgow.
PICK #29: The Washington Commanders select RB Omarion Hampton
I’m not wholly confident that the Commanders can afford to take the luxury pick here, but Omarion Hampton is simply too good for him to fall any further in the draft. Despite making the NFC Championship game last year and making big splashes in the offseason to improve the roster, there are still plenty of positions of need for the Commanders. There are many different ways they can go, but the value of Hampton being easily the best player left on the board is just too juicy here. I think Hampton easily could have a Gibbs-like ascent in this draft, even making the top 12 or 15, but in this mock, he happened to slide to the end of the first. Hampton’s a complete package at RB, and will be a force in a backfield alongside Jayden Daniels.
PICK #30: The Buffalo Bills select WR Emeka Egbuka
The Bills selected Keon Coleman in the second last year in the draft and just extended Khalil Shakir. Why take a WR? Because Coleman was a bit inconsistent and I do not think Shakir will live up to his contract. And in the case he doesn’t, the team has an opt-out after year two of his new contract. Egbuka may not have the highest ceiling, but he could be a high end #2 reciever, leaving Allen in a good spot for the future.
PICK #31: The Kansas City Chiefs select OT Josh Simmons
The Chiefs can’t experience last year’s super bowl and come away with any other position as their highest priority. Simmons fell here because of a big injury discount, but the tape he put out this year is the best tape of any tackle in the entire class. If the Chiefs can get that player back, that will mean so much to an offensive line that seems to be the death of them on the biggest stage of them all.
PICK #32: The Philadelphia Eagles select EDGE Nic Scourton
The Eagles would be ecstatic if Nic Scourton fell to them at 32 overall. They lost both DL Milton Williams to the Patriots and OLB Josh Sweat to the Cardinals, leaving their outside defensive line a little weaker than they would like. Bringing in Scourton would immediately fill the void, even if he may be a bit of a project.
The 2025 NFL Draft will air at 8PM Eastern Time on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and NFL Network, or streamed on NFL+ and ESPN+.
