By John Towey, Staff Writer
The only thing that went as expected during round one of the 2025 NFL Draft was the first overall pick. Miami QB Cam Ward was selected by the Tennessee Titans as they look to rebuild under second-year head coach Brian Callahan.
There had been rumblings before the draft about the Cleveland Browns potentially trading the second pick, but I thought it may have just been a smokescreen. As per usual, I was wrong, and the Jacksonville Jaguars gave the Browns an impressive haul to move up from the fifth pick to the second. With the second pick, the Jags selected Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter.
The next series of picks went as expected. The New York Giants selected Abdul Carter (Edge), the New England Patriots selected Will Johnson (OT), the Browns selected Mason Graham (DT), and the Las Vegas Raiders selected Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty (RB).
Other notable picks in the first round were:
- Tyler Booker (G) → Dallas Cowboys
- Tyler Warren (TE) → Indianapolis Colts
- Jalon Walker (LB) → Atlanta Falcons
- Jahdae Baron (CB) → Denver Broncos
- Matthew Golden (WR) → Green Bay Packers
But just when it looked like the draft was getting boring, there was a shock trade! The New York Giants traded their 34th pick, 99th pick, and 2026 3rd Round pick in exchange for the Houston Texans 25th overall pick. With that, the Giants selected Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart to hopefully lead the franchise in the future.
The first round concluded Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs, after a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, selected Ohio state offensive tackle Josh Simmons.
One player was notably not drafted in the first round: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. This was shocking for many reasons. First of all, almost every media outlet had Sanders projected to go in the first round in their mock drafts. Sanders, and his father, acted like he was a top prospect from the get-go.
It gets worse for Sanders, though. Many assumed that he would be drafted in the second or third round but that was not the case. Night two of the draft came and went with no team drafting Sanders. He was finally picked up mid-Saturday afternoon in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns, who had already selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel.
The reasons behind Sander’s fall are still unknown but there are reports of him having poor interviews with several interested teams, including the Giants. It remains to be seen if Sanders can win the starting role there.
With the draft over and done with, teams now move on to organized team activities and rookie minicamps in preparation for the preseason and roster cuts.
