NFL Trade Rumors
Now that the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is in the rearview mirror, it’s a good time to take a step back and reassess what we think we know about this upcoming draft. The mock draft industry has been humming for months now and there’s definitely a consensus when it comes to certain prospects and teams.
However, this is not a class that lends itself to consensus, with tons of prospects where beauty is in the eye of the beholder even for players who are at the top of their respective position groups. Our Ethan Woodie has done a tremendous job with draft coverage here at NFL Trade Rumors, with a Top 100 Big Board, positional rankings that go 10-15 deep at every group and takeaways from the Combine. This is a good time for a fresh perspective, though.
Often we already know who the No. 1 pick will be by this point in the calendar, or at least have a pretty good idea. It still feels wide open for the Titans, which is indicative of the dynamics at play in this particular draft class. Tennessee has official visits scheduled with the top two quarterbacks and Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter in the coming week. You can connect the dots and figure the Titans hope to decide whether to keep the pick or trade it before free agency begins next week.
If they trade the pick, it will be a team coming up for Ward, who has started to establish himself as the clear No. 1 quarterback in this flawed class. He has warts but Ward also has the physical upside to justify a selection this high. If the Titans keep the pick, the decision is between Ward and Carter. Top pass rushers are hard to find. Quarterbacks are harder, and after gutting through 17 games of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph, I think the Titans will have a lot of motivation to upgrade.
The overwhelming sense coming out of the Combine is that the Browns will go quarterback at No. 2 overall, with indications that the apple of their eye is Ward. If Ward goes No. 1, that leaves Sanders as the only other first-round caliber prospect on the board, even though a gulf has started to open between Ward and Sanders for most teams. The only evaluation that matters at the No. 2 pick is the Browns’, though.
Last year, the Giants were picking No. 6 overall but were boxed out of the top three prospects because no team wanted to trade down. In this scenario, they’re picking No. 3 but still end up boxed out by other QB-needy teams, which would force them to address the position on Day 2 to add competition for a likely veteran signing. As a fallback, I think they’d...
