It’s the 2025 NFL draft. We know who is likely going first overall in quarterback Cam Ward. In fact, we have a good idea of who will go in the top three or four picks. But that’s about the only certainty we’ll see.
The talent level of the draft might not be the deepest but the intrigue could be. Where does Shedeur Sanders go? What will teams like the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers do? And will we even get Aaron Rodgers news during the draft?
See? Lots of intrigue.
USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest news, updates, stories and really dumb draft rumors in one spot just for you. Aren’t we nice? Read on …
USA TODAY Sports’ latest mock draft
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Latest draft rumors
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Draft prospects who could surprise as first-round picks
The draft is always full of surprises and our draft expert Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz looks at some of the top prospects who could shock as first rounders. One of the names Middlehurst-Schwartz looks at is Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough.
He writes of Shough: ‘In a vacuum, Shough might seem like an odd candidate to sneak into the first round. The seventh-year senior, who was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, will turn 26 early in his rookie season. And while he showed plenty of promise in his final season after transferring to Louisville, the 6-5, 219-pound signal-caller also has an extensive injury history, twice breaking his collarbone and suffering a broken fibula in previous stops at Oregon and Texas Tech.’
Teams with the most at stake in the draft
Middlehurst-Schwartz tackles this as well and his top qualifier are the New York Giants. He notes: ‘For all of the hyperbole that surrounds the draft every year, few teams typically enter the event with a true mandate. But in keeping coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen for another year, co-owner John Mara made explicit that he’s ‘just about run out of patience’ and expects the current brain trust to find a quarterback of the future.’
Titans say they will keep the No. 1 overall pick
Titans draft picks
Round 1, pick 1
Round 2, pick 35
Round 4, pick 102
Round 4, pick 119
Round 5, pick 142
Round 5, pick 168
Round 6, pick 180
Round 7, pick 241
Shedeur Sanders critic
One of the best draft stories from 2025 you’ll read comes from USA TODAY Sports’ Josh Peter. He chronicled the story of a former NFL scout who has become a persistent Shedeur Sanders critic. It’s really worth your time.
What will the Patriots do?
The general consensus is that they will take offensive tackle Will Campbell at No. 4 overall. But at least one draft expert has a part two for the Patriots.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid says the team, which has a number of other needs, should draft more than one offensive linemen high up in the draft. The Patriots also have the No. 38 overall pick.
“The Patriots should entertain the idea of doubling up on offensive linemen with their first two picks,” Reid wrote. “Jackson is a scheme-versatile blocker who subbed in for Josh Simmons at left tackle last season after playing only guard before that. He projects as a guard, but Jackson’s versatility combined with Will Campbell would give the Patriots’ O-line a significant makeover.”
Teams picking in the top 10
Tennessee Titans: (3-14)
Cleveland Browns: (3-14)
New York Giants: (3-14)
New England Patriots: (4-13)
Jacksonville Jaguars: (4-13)
Las Vegas Raiders: (4-13)
New York Jets: (5-12)
Carolina Panthers: (5-12)
New Orleans Saints: (5-12)
Chicago Bears: (5-12)
Which prospects are attending the NFL draft?
We have a running list here. The names could change but for now this is who is attending the draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
Will Campbell, OT, LSU
Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Shemar Stewart, Edge, Texas A&M
Cameron Ward, QB, Miami (FL)
Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
Will Aaron Rodgers hijack the draft?
Probably not but the fact we’re asking this question says a lot, right?
It wouldn’t be shocking but it seems like Rodgers is taking his time making a decision. There are likely personal reasons but also professional ones. He’s waiting for something. The speculation is that he wants to see if the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team he’s most linked with, drafts a quarterback in the first round. If the Steelers did, the speculation goes, he might not play for them.
Deion Sanders defends son
Sanders believes some of the criticism of his son is because, well, he’s Deion’s son. This was one of the key quotes from Deion:
“It’s like just because they come from me, people take unsolicited shots at them. That’s not fair,” said Deion, who coached Shedeur and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at Jackson State for two seasons before they bolted to Colorado.
“Just say you don’t like me. Just say you’re tired of me winning, you’re tired of me being the light, tired of me being up, just consistently provoking change wherever I go. Just say that. But don’t attack my kids because of that.”
Have to say: Deion is probably right.
Bears GM predicts ‘wild’ draft
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles said something publicly this week that many across the league are also thinking.
“I think this one’s going to be a little wild, but we’re going to be prepared for all the different scenarios that pop up,” Poles said Tuesday during a pre-draft press conference. “The time working with (coach Ben Johnson) throughout this has been great, some really good communication, some great discussions as we set the board and get prepared for the draft.”
The belief that we’ll see a draft with a number of teams moving up and down the draft board remains a high possibility. In fact, it might be one of the few guarantees of this draft.
Chicago Bears picks in 2025 NFL draft
Round 1: No. 10 overall
Round 2: No. 39 (from Carolina)
Round 2: No. 41
Round 3: No. 72
Round 5: No. 148
Round 7: No. 233 (from Cincinnati)
Round 7: No. 240 (from Minnesota through Cleveland)
When is the 2025 NFL draft?
Thursday, April 24: Round 1, 8 p.m. ET
Friday, April 25: Rounds 2-3, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 26: Rounds 4-7, Noon ET
2025 NFL Draft: Estimated time for each team’s first-round pick
Estimates for when each team will make its first-round pick, based on the draft start time and 10-minute timer in the first round. All times eastern:
Tennessee Titans: 8:18 p.m.
Cleveland Browns: 8:26 p.m.
New York Giants: 8:34 p.m.
New England Patriots: 8:42 p.m.
Jacksonville Jaguars: 8:50 p.m.
Las Vegas Raiders: 8:58 p.m.
New York Jets: 9:06 p.m.
Carolina Panthers: 9:14 p.m.
New Orleans Saints: 9:22 p.m.
Chicago Bears: 9:30 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers: 9:38 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys: 9:46 p.m.
Miami Dolphins: 9:54 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts: 10:03 p.m.
Atlanta Falcons: 10:12 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals: 10:19 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals: 10:26 p.m.
Seattle Seahawks: 10:33 p.m.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 10:40 p.m.
Denver Broncos: 10:47 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10:53 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers: 10:59 p.m.
Green Bay Packers: 11:05 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings: 11:11 p.m.
Houston Texans: 11:17 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams: 11:23 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens: 11:29 p.m.
Detroit Lions: 11:35 p.m.
Washington Commanders: 11:41 p.m.
Buffalo Bills: 11:47 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs: 11:53 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles: Midnight
Texans moving up in 2025 NFL draft?
USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis, who knows the league as well as anyone, writes the following salient point:
One GM not afraid of making a major leap up the draft board is the Houston Texans’ Nick Caserio, who made his bones with the Bill Belichick Patriots. You’ll recall that two years ago, Caserio drafted QB C.J. Stroud second overall, then made a bold move up to get DE Will Anderson with the very next selection. Both wound up as Rookies of the Year on their respective sides of the ball in 2023. However this year, coming off a second straight AFC South crown, Houston is parked in the 25th spot — not ideal for a team with an offensive line in flux and coming off a season when Stroud was sacked 52 times.
That likely explains why Caserio is considering another move up, according to Sports Illustrated, most likely to target a blocker. Unless Caserio is prepared to pay through the nose, it might be hard to get within striking distance of LSU’s Will Campbell, Mizzou’s Armand Membou, and Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr., this year’s cleanest tackle prospects with Banks’ stock seemingly surging. But a modest climb of 10-12 spots would likely net Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr. or versatile OL such as North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel or Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson and maybe even nasty Alabama G Tyler Booker. The home run swing could be for Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, who might have been this year’s top-rated tackle had he not torn a patellar tendon last October.
The Texans have been in the promise of reconfiguring their line in recent weeks, trading LT Laremy Tunsil and G Kenyon Green with Tytus Howard apparently making a permanent switch from right tackle to left guard. Veteran LT Cam Robinson was also signed but only for the upcoming season, suggesting he’s a stopgap.
‘Substantive trades’ coming in Dallas?
Another great item from the great Nate Davis. He writes:
The Cowboys are coming off a 7-10 clunker, one that snapped a streak of three consecutive 12-win seasons and led to the departure of HC Mike McCarthy. Dallas is scheduled to pick 12th Thursday night in the first round of the draft — which may be something of a no man’s land in terms of enlisting one of this year’s few premium players. But owner Jerry Jones, who also serves as his team’s de facto general manager, might have something up his sleeve.
Per ESPN’s Todd Archer, who covers America’s Team, ‘Jones said after Tuesday’s predraft news conference that the Cowboys are working on ‘pretty substantive trades’ regarding players’ but didn’t offer any context beyond that.
Jones would love to win his first Super Bowl in 30 years at the end of this season. He also loves to be in the headlines, so it’s generally wise to take what he says with at least a grain of salt. Dallas, after all, tends not to make splashy moves atop the draft, its last trade in the first round coming in 2021, when the Cowboys merely moved back two spots in a deal that wound up netting them DE Micah Parson while the Eagles jumped up for WR DeVonta Smith — a clear win-win for both sides.
Dallas isn’t exactly loaded with draft capital this year. Jones has 10 picks but seven come after the fourth round, where he has no selection. Draft observers have been trying to link the team with Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty for months given the Cowboys’ glaring need at tailback plus the fact Jeanty’s camp, per reports, would like to be in Texas, where he played his high school ball close to Dallas’ training facility, The Star, which is based in Frisco. Yet it appears increasingly likely that Jeanty will be selected in the top five picks, and it’s hard to find any plausible scenario where he drops to No. 12.
If Jones wants to keep up with the NFC East Joneses — meaning the Super Bowl champion Eagles and NFC finalist Commanders — he might have to consider something drastic, whether it’s a steep trade up for Jeanty or maybe a blue-chip O-lineman. Yet then the question(s) becomes, is he willing to part with a substantive chunk of his 2026 draft? Or maybe even Parsons, who’s trying to negotiate a long-awaited extension as he enters the final year of his rookie contract? Stay tuned.
Puka Nacua does something you almost never see
Nacua was on former NFL player Julian Edelman’s podcast when Nacua suddenly started breaking down the contract situation of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Basically, Nacua said if Purdy, who is expected to work out a deal with the team soon, signed for over $50 million a season, that would slam shut the team’s championship window. But if he signed for less than that, say, in the $45 million range, that would allow the team to better manage the salary cap.
People have (understandably) focused almost extensively on what Nacua said and not the fact that he actually said it. In the NFL you almost never, ever, ever, see players publicly comment in such an intricate way about another player’s contract.
NFL Media’s Kyle Brandt tees off on anonymous scout
Just going to leave this quote here and not say much else about it other than good for Brandt. He’s speaking about an anonymous scout who heavily criticized Shedeur Sanders.
One person who is upset about the quote also works for NFL Media. On Wednesday’s Good Morning Football, Kyle Brandt went off on the anonymous bashing of Sanders.
“I’m in my feelings about this right now,” Brandt said. “Maybe it’s because the draft is tomorrow…‘The worst formal interview I’ve ever been in my life. He’s so entitled, horrible body (language), he’s not that’ — shut up, anonymous coach. I am so triggered by this. Shut up. This is not only anonymous, I think it’s tasteless. I think the timing is ridiculous. ‘The worst formal interview I’ve ever…’ Is it really? Is it, or are you just going for a headline? Or maybe have you not been in that many interviews in your career? ‘This is the worst one ever’? Or maybe, maybe the vibe that you set in the room was critical, and Shedeur picked up on that. And maybe he was right, because the first second you could, you betrayed the sanctity of that room and went anonymously and started spouting off about this player. ‘He’s so entitled.’ I see entitlement in a grown professional who is going around anonymously destroying young athletes with very personal quotes anonymously as they’re about to realize their dream and become professionals.
“Do not listen to that quote. That quote is bullcrap. It’s news, it’s worthy. I hate that quote. Listen to Shedeur’s teammates, who kept picking him up over and over as he got the crap kicked out of him last year, who don’t have negative things to say about him, who know him, who have been in rooms with him. Don’t listen to this. He says, ‘He’s not that good.’ Well, maybe neither are you, anonymous coach, and maybe that’s why you’re an assistant coach and not a head coach and you have been for a long time. I am so triggered by this. I think it’s nonsense. I love the piece. It’s getting us talking. It’s part of the Shedeur experience, but that anonymous, that personal, and that critical at this timing is garbage.”