6 bold predictions for the 2025 NFL Draft

Published: Apr 24, 2025 · 9:47 AM EDT

One of the biggest days on the sports calendar is finally here: Round 1 of the NFL Draft.

This year’s draft is loaded with intrigue up and down the board as former college football stars like Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty, Tyler Warren and many others wait to learn their NFL homes.

Now that it’s draft day, let’s go through some predictions for Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

2025 NFL Draft predictions

Here are 6 bold predictions for the 2025 NFL Draft:

It’s a long night for quarterbacks

As of Thursday morning, there’s only 1 quarterback who is an absolute lock to go on Day 1: Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who is currently -20000 to be the No. 1 overall pick. Shedeur Sanders has seen his draft stock slide over the past few days and Jaxson Dart’s range could dip into Round 2. I’m also highly skeptical that Jalen Milroe has a shot at going in the first round, although DraftKings has his Day 1 odds priced at just +220 as of publication.

The folks at bet365 have set the over/under on first-round quarterbacks at 2.5 with action tilted to the over at -140. I love the under at plus money here. I’d even be curious to see what the juice would be if the line was at 1.5. It’s always possible a QB-needy team like Giants decides to trade back into the first round to get their guy (while securing a fifth-year option) but I don’t see a huge number of Day 1 suitors for players like Sanders, Dart and Milroe.

I also find it noteworthy that Dart decided to pull out of attending the draft and Sanders never planned to make the trip to Green Bay. Milroe going in person is still a question mark, but I think the ingredients are here for a light QB draft on Thursday night.

Jahdae Barron will be the first DB taken (excluding Travis Hunter)

This is a very strong cornerback class that’s headlined by Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. In most years, former Texas star Jahdae Barron would be the top corner on the board. Former Michigan CB Will Johnson is also a potential first-rounder, but I like Barron to come off the board first.

Barron is an excellent cover cornerback who was exceptional during his final season with the Longhorns. He’s also experienced in a variety of distinct positions on the field, which should be a big plus for NFL teams who are looking for a difference-maker in the first half of Day 1.

Johnson is currently favored in Vegas to be the first cornerback taken (besides Hunter), but I think Barron’s versatility and production combined with Johnson’s injury concerns will lead to Barron hearing his name called first. Barron was +135 to be the first non-Hunter DB off the board as of a couple days ago, but that number has shifted to to -130 at bet365.

Texas will have as many first-round picks as the entire ACC

As the years go on, the talent gap between the SEC and the ACC seems to grow wider each April at the NFL Draft. This year might be the starkest contrast yet as the ACC only has a small handful of potential first-round picks.

Texas, on the other hand, could have as many as 3 first-round picks in this class. Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and Barron both could go in the top-15. There’s also receiver Matthew Golden, who is expected to be one of the first pass-catchers off the board on Thursday night.

As for the ACC, things get bleak pretty quickly after Cam Ward. North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton and Boston College defensive lineman Donovan Ezeiruaku are the only other likely 1st-round picks out of the ACC.

Someone will take Ashton Jeanty in the top 10 … and later regret it

The buzz around former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is continuing to rise as we get closer to draft day. NFL insider Peter Schrager has reported that teams looking to move into the top-3 of this year’s draft could be targeting Jeanty. In his pre-draft mock for ESPN, Schrager is projecting Jeanty to go No. 5 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jeanty is the latest “can’t miss” running back prospect to enter the NFL. After making a serious run at Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, Jeanty is a virtual lock to be the first running back off the board on Thursday night.

History says, though, that Jeanty’s team won’t get a great return on investment. Since 2010, there have been 8 running backs drafted with a top-10 pick: CJ Spiller, Trent Richardson, Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson.

So far, those 8 players have combined to play 50 total seasons in the NFL. Only 6 of those seasons have produced a campaign that included at least 1,000 rushing yards with at least 5 yards per carry. The best season of the bunch — Barkley in 2024 — came for a division rival of the team who drafted him. The third-best season (McCaffrey in 2023) also came for a 49ers team that didn’t spend a top-10 pick on him.

Furthermore, this is an excellent running back draft. Teams are going to find value later in the draft at running back. Omarion Hampton, Kaleb Johnson, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, Trevor Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten are just a few of the names who could make a real impact as rookie running backs in 2025 without costing a premium pick.

Calling my shot on 2 picks in the 20s

I’m going to throw out a couple of long-shots for late in the draft here. First, I like the Denver Broncos to take running back TreVeyon Henderson at some point in this draft, potentially as early as No. 20 overall. There’s been growing rumblings that Denver is trying to trade up for Jeanty.

That strikes me as unlikely given where Denver is positioned in Round 1 and the sheer number of potential suitors Denver would have to jump in order to get into Jeanty’s range. Omarion Hampton is the consensus No. 2 running back in this class, but I could see Sean Payton liking Henderson more. Henderson is a better receiving prospect than Hampton, which will likely matter a lot to the coach who turned Alvin Kamara into one of the best running backs of this generation. Over at BetMGM, the Broncos to take any running back with their first pick is -165.

Another potential pick in the 20s I love is Georgia safety Malaki Starks to Baltimore. How many times over the last few years has one of the best defenders in the class fallen to the Ravens? It happened a couple years ago with Kyle Hamilton slipping to 14. Then there was former LSU linebacker Patrick Queen falling in 2020. You could even go back to 2017 when Marlon Humphrey slid to No. 16 overall. I think Starks is the guy who fits the bill for the Ravens in this class. He may not be an elite athlete, but Starks is an elite football player. That’s something the Ravens will value. Baltimore is +600 to take a safety with its first pick, per FanDuel.

The SEC (at least) equals its record for 1st-round draft picks

The record for the most 1st-round picks in a single NFL Draft is 15, which was set by the SEC back in 2020. I think the SEC will at least equal — if not surpass — that mark on Thursday night in Green Bay.

This may not quite qualify as a bold prediction per the betting markets. At DraftKings, the SEC’s over/under for 1st-round picks this year is 14.5 with the over priced at -200 as of draft day. Here’s how I would handicap this — I’ve got 11 former SEC players who should be locks to go on Day 1. In no particular order: Will Campbell, Armand Membou, Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams, Walter Nolen, Tyler Booker, Kelvin Banks Jr., Jihaad Campbell, Jahdae Barron, Matthew Golden and Malaki Starks.

That means the SEC just needs 4 more players to hit the over. Here are 6 guys who are also projected as Day 1 picks by some outlets: Jaxson Dart, Shemar Stewart, James Pearce Jr., Maxwell Hairston, Nick Emmanwori, Mason Taylor and Luther Burden. Of that group, Burden has the worst first-round odds at DraftKings and he’s +190. There’s also an outside chance that Milroe or Nic Scourton could get picked on Thursday night, too. I think there’s enough margin-for-error that the SEC will have at least 15 1st-round picks this year, if not even more.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.