2025 NFL mock draft: Ashton Jeanty surges up board, Travis Hunter remains No. 1
As the leaves start to fall in mid-October, so do the hopes of some NFL fan bases. And with college football officially reaching the midway point of its regular season, the time has come to revisit our early 2025 first round mock draft.
As the only teams without a loss this season, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and upstart Minnesota Vikings are two of the biggest stories of the early NFL season. A hot start does not guarantee the Lombardi Trophy, of course, so for the purposes of this mock draft, we simply took the reverse order of the current Super Bowl odds via DraftKings to create the selection order.
[Related: Why Travis Hunter is an unprecedented prospect]
Individual players’ stocks will fluctuate in the months leading up to the draft, but at this point, cornerback, running back and linemen appear to be this year’s strongest positional groups. That could make things interesting for teams like the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders, all of whom might be considering another reboot at quarterback in a draft currently featuring more questions than answers at the position.
1. Carolina Panthers: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
The Panthers are the worst team in the NFL in just about every meaningful statistic, so new GM Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales have lots of work in front of them. Carolina has won a total of three games over the past two seasons and currently ranks dead last in points allowed (33.8 per game) and 28th in points scored (17.2). As such, the Panthers should exhaust all opportunities to trade out for more picks in a massive rebuild — which is precisely what I projected in last month’s mock draft — but if forced to pick here, taking Hunter, the best player in the class, makes the most sense.
2. New England Patriots: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
No one needs to tell Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo about the impact quality defenders can have on a franchise. The 6-foot-3, 318-pound Graham was a rare true freshman starter at Michigan and bulldozed his way into First Team All-Big Ten honors a year ago with 36 tackles, including 7.5 for loss and three sacks. Paired with blossoming star Keion White, the Patriots could have the makings of a dominant defensive line.
3. Cleveland Browns: JT Tuimoloau, Edge, Ohio State
Clearly, the Browns were expecting more with the acquisition of Deshaun Watson, but the club is essentially trapped by his massive contract, making a switch at the position unlikely. A boost to the offensive line would also be nice, but I don’t see a blocker worthy of this pick. Instead, the Browns may shift their attention to the Buckeyes. With “just” 14 sacks over his first three years at the college level, Tuimoloau has not produced the eye-popping production some expected, but don’t let the stats fool you. The power-packed 6-foot-5, 279-pounder turned down a chance at a first-round selection to return to Ohio State for a possible title run. I anticipate he will play his way into a top-10 selection next spring.
4. Las Vegas Raiders: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Sanders boasts many of the traits to project as a franchise NFL quarterback, but some will be turned off by his flashy personality. The Raiders have never shied from charisma and might see Sanders as the perfect jolt to the roster. His anticipation and accuracy — especially in the intermediate zones — would complement the investments Vegas has already made in early round tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer.
5. Tennessee Titans: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
While the Titans have other, bigger concerns on the roster, Johnson is arguably the top overall player in this class and is not likely to fall out of the top five. He offers a future Pro Bowl combination of size, speed, physicality and ball skills. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder projects as an immediate difference-maker, similar to the Broncos’ Patrick Surtain Jr.
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