Windy City Gridiron
In his one and only first round mock draft of the season, Aaron Leming will take a swing at projecting how the first round will go on opening night of the 2025 NFL Draft.
It’s finally here. The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Green Bay, Wisconsin. For the first time in recent memory, all 32 teams will go into the draft with the assigned pick for the first round. There’s no guarantee that it will stay that way, but for now, we’ll head into tonight with a sense of normalcy yet plenty of intrigue.
Many analysts have labeled this a shallow class, and for good reason. The blue-chip talent is limited, which leads to a lot of unpredictability outside of the top six to eight picks. With only two quarterbacks labeled “locks” for the opening round, it’ll be interesting to see how the night unfolds. Without further ado, let’s jump into my one and only full first-round mock draft just ahead of tonight’s festivities.
1. Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward (Miami)
Early in the process, it felt like the Titans would punt on a down year at the quarterback position and trade out. As the offseason progressed, it became apparent that they are locked into Ward. This pick has a lot of boom or bust, but the arm talent and overall athleticism are apparent. Ward is stepping into a situation in Tennessee where heads could once again roll if they don’t show serious improvement.
2. Cleveland Browns WR/CB Travis Hunter (Colorado)
I’ve gone back and forth on this pick a few times. On one hand, I have Carter as the top prospect in this year’s class. On the other hand, Cleveland desperately needs more options at quarterback. In a better class, the Browns don’t hesitate to pull the trigger on QB2. Instead, they’ll surprise me and go with Hunter, who should immediately be a plus player on both sides of the ball. Who knows, maybe they’ll jump back into the first round for someone like Sanders later.
3. New York Giants DE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
While I totally understand why the Titans and Browns would make the moves they did, Carter is the best prospect in this draft, in my opinion. The Giants don’t have a huge need at edge rusher, but like the old adage goes, “you can never have enough good pass rushers.” New York takes advantage and stacks the defense. This feels like a prime trade-down spot, but I’m having trouble finding a team that would be willing to come up without giving up valuable Day 2 draft capital.
4. New England Patriots OT Will Campbell (LSU)
Assuming the board falls this way (without a second quarterback being drafted), the Patriots will face the choice of either trading down or staying put and selecting the best available offensive lineman. There’s been plenty of chatter that the cost of trades this year will be less, but it’s hard to imagine many teams looking to jump...
