The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and we didn’t quite get the fireworks expected. After the stunning trade that took the Jaguars up to No. 2 we had a meandering, often-confusing first round that truly didn’t align with a lot of the pre-draft process.
Now we’re left with Shedeur Sanders on the board, only two quarterbacks taken — and one of the most stunningly non-sensical trade ups in recent memory.
Winner: The Jaguars and Browns
This was a case where two teams found common ground and delivered on a mutually beneficial trade that should propel both teams towards their goal. The trade was rumored for much of the afternoon, but felt unlikely to happen — until Jacksonville gave Cleveland a massive haul so they could move up to take Travis Hunter.
It’s a calculated risk by the Jags. Giving up the No. 5, a second, and their 2026 1st is a lot of draft capital in order to get Hunter, but none of that matters if they win. If Liam Coen can come in and fix the offensive issues this team had under Doug Pederson then they could easily win the AFC South — and then they’re laughing.
Crucially: The Jaguars have a vision. Something that was sorely lacking during the bumbling Trent Baalke/Pederson era, and [shudder] Urban Meyer before that. They chose an offensive coach for a reason, and with Brian Thomas Jr. in the fold as the No. 1 receiver it makes perfect sense to get a Swiss Army Knife of a weapon who can make an impact in whatever phase of the game he touches.
Meanwhile, it’s acknowledgment by the Browns that there’s work to be done — and this wasn’t the draft to do it. Cleveland’s focus needs to be on getting out from under their Deshaun Watson debacle, and finding the right QB at the right time. That could happen tonight in the 2nd round with more talent on the board, but at the very least the Browns got much better with the addition of Mason Graham, and has tools in this draft and beyond to rebuild competitively.
This was a fantastic deal for both sides.
Loser: Shedeur Sanders
It’s mind-numbing that we’re in this position. I totally understand the concerns about his arm talent to throw off-platform, and the mechanical issues in the pocket — but nitpicking has gotten stupid with Sanders.
The NFL is littered extremely good quarterbacks who don’t have elite-level arm talent, ranging from Jared Goff to Baker Mayfield to Tua Tagovailoa. So to see the likes of Cameron Ward and Jaxson Dart not just go above Sanders, but to the magnitude of pushing him out of the first round is ridiculous.
If you’re Shedeur things might feel pretty good right now. There is a very real chance he will land on a much better team like the Los Angeles Rams, who can sit Sanders and develop him behind Matthew Stafford, in a much better offense than he’d be subjected to on a struggling team.
Winner: The Ravens and Eagles … again
Water is wet, and these teams did it again. Two of the NFL’s best front offices proved once more why they’re the class of the league, by taking advantage of teams making nonsensical picks ahead of them and working the board.
Baltimore landing S Malaki Starks is a ridiculous win. It gives the Ravens one of the best safety tandems the league has seen in some time with Kyle Hamilton — another recent pick they landed the same way. Starks was a player I thought could go as high as No. 13 to the Dolphins, and felt that was a good spot for him. Instead teams just let Starks fall into an incredible spot.
Similarly the Eagles managed a draft steal of their own, taking LB Jihaad Campbell with the 31st pick. Campbell is going to land in Philly, learn the defense, and become a standout player in quick order. This is a well-worn path the Eagles just keep taking, and it pays off every time.
Loser: Atlanta Falcons
This has nothing to do with the Jalon Walker pick at No. 15 — that was fantastic. Walker was a steal at that spot and fills the biggest need on the defense.
However, the draft was tainted with the absolutely inane move to move up 20 spaces in the back-end of the 1st round to double-dip pass rushers with James Pearce. It’s the kind of move a team makes to add the final piece to a deep playoff team, not a desperate hope from an organization who could be picking in the Top 10 next year if Michael Penix Jr. doesn’t pan out.
What we know about Pearce is that he’s talented, but MANY teams removed him from their draft boards after interviewing with him in Indianapolis. We’ve heard concerns about his work ethic, his demeanor, pretty much everything up and down the range of concerns when it comes to mental makeup — which is why he was projected to go in the 28-32 range, not in the Top 20.
Are the Falcons the geniuses the rest of the NFL aren’t? Recent draft history makes that a tough argument to lobby for. This would have been a home run draft for the Falcons if they just took Walker and were sensible the rest of the way. Now they threw away their 2026 1st round pick for a player with a lot of question marks.
Winner: Cameron Ward
Situations like this only happen once in the blue moon, so congrats to the Miami QB for getting his bag and becoming a No. 1 overall pick. It was absolutely the wrong move long-term for the Titans, who sacrificed landing the two sure-things in this draft (Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter) to take a quarterback who would probably be the 5th or 6th passer off the board if we combined the 2023 and 2024 draft classes.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys found themselves in a rough spot. Tetairoa McMillan seemed to be their chosen pick, only to see the Panthers nab him four spots earlier. Stuck in a bit of a no-man’s land, Dallas took a guy who is going to be an average NFL starter — and little more.
Tyler Booker is an old school NFL guard. He’s big, and strong — but also plodding, and lacks athleticism. Booker can win at the point of attack if he gets his hands on you, but his footwork is so slow that quick defensive tackles can first step past him before he makes a difference.
Jerry and Stephen Jones are basically praying that Booker is the second iteration of Zack Martin, who was a home run pick for the franchise. If he’s not then they didn’t land a playmaker, didn’t get better, and essentially spent a 12th overall pick on a middling talent.
I would have much preferred them to take a player who can be impactful — even if the need wasn’t there. Just get better. Do something. Instead it’s as if the Cowboys locked themselves into taking an offensive lineman, and didn’t move off that position even when three guys went before their pick.
