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2025 NFL Draft: NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah includes 12 SEC stars in 1st round of 2.0 mock draft
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2025 NFL Draft season is here with the NFL Combine coming up next week in Indianapolis as the unofficial kick-start to the leadup to the draft.
What does that mean? Well, it means that mock drafts are everywhere, whether it be from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. or in this latest case from NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who echoed Kiper’s recent mock draft by predicting that the SEC will have its usual fingerprints all over the first round of the draft. While Kiper’s recent mock draft had a whopping 15 SEC standouts going in the first round, Jeremiah didn’t go quite as far, predicting that “only” 12 SEC players would be taken in the first round on April 24 at historic Lambeau Field.
This year, it is unlikely that the SEC will produce the No. 1 overall pick with Jeremiah projecting Penn State defender Abdul Carter as the likely No. 1 overall pick. Be sure to track the odds for the No. 1 overall pick throughout the pre-draft process with your favorite betting app.
Jeremiah’s SEC roll call for his first round begins at No. 4, with the New England Patriots taking LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell. It continues at No. 8 with the Carolina Panthers going with Georgia edge Jalon Walker and 2 picks later the Chicago Bears taking Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. So, that’s 3 SEC players in the first 10 picks, but that’s only the beginning of Jeremiah’s big-time compliment to the SEC’s talent depth even after a season when the conference didn’t have a team in the national title game.
Here is every SEC player projected as a first-round pick in Jeremiah’s 2.0 2025 NFL Mock Draft:
No. 4 New England Patriots — Will Campbell, OT, LSU
No. 8 Carolina Panthers — Jalon Walker, Edge, Georgia
No. 10 Chicago Bears — Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
No. 12 Dallas Cowboys — Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
No. 13 Miami Dolphins — Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
No. 14 Indianapolis Colts — Armand Membou, OT, Mizzou
No. 15 Atlanta Falcons — Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia
No. 17 Cincinnati Bengals — Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
No. 27 Baltimore Ravens — Shemar Stewart, Edge, Texas A&M
No. 29 Washington Commanders — Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
No. 30 Buffalo Bills — Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
No. 32 Philadelphia Eagles — Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
