We are so close to having real football again with the season being less than three weeks away, which means every team still has at least some optimism that they could be better than last year. As we’ve seen countless times, though, a season can be ruined after the first week of the season. Aaron Rodgers could get hurt four plays into the season, Daniel Jones can be hit every time he drops back, or a rookie quarterback can be overwhelmed by the speed of the NFL. With every CJ Stroud success story, there comes a Bryce Young or Zach Wilson disaster. While it’s easy for every team to still have hope at this point of the season, there’s a great chance that things go sideways quickly, and fans start to check tankathon to dream about the prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. With that in mind, I thought I’d do a quick top ten mock draft (using my record predictions) so that teams that lose hope early can see potential targets at the top of the 2025 draft class.
1. Carolina Panthers: Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams
The Panthers spent this offseason trying to get the offense right, even trading away Brian Burns for some draft picks to try and improve the offense around Bryce Young. We’ll see if Bryce can be the answer at QB or not this season, but assuming he is the focus would then need to be fixing the defense. Mykel Williams can be the main building block, and fit in nicely with star DT Derrick Brown. Williams has the mix of size, strength, speed, and arm length that scouts desire from their edge rushers, and if no quarterbacks step up this season, Mykel is my favorite to be the first overall pick. He needs to add more to his bag of pass rush moves, but his athleticism jumps off the screen enough to warrant a top five pick.
2. Washington Commanders: LSU OT Will Campbell
The main reason I believe the Commanders will finish with a top five pick is because of their shaky offensive line. They will likely be starting Brandon Coleman at Left Tackle, and in my opinion that’s just not good enough, especially with rookie QB Jayden Daniels’ tendency to take big hits. Daniels is frail, but that didn’t seem to be much of a problem at LSU, mainly because he had one of the best lines in the country. If the Commanders can draft his collegiate left tackle, Will Campbell, then I would feel much better about Daniels’ chances of staying healthy throughout a 17 game season. Campbell is an incredible athlete at 6’ 6” and 320 pounds, with very long arms. He could be one of the best tackle prospects in recent memory.
3. New York Giants: Georgia QB Carson Beck
After a disastrous week 2 preseason performance from Daniel Jones, it looks as likely as ever that the Giants will be drafting a new quarterback in April. I think Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has a chance to become the top QB in this class, and Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman, and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe could all propel themselves into the conversation with great seasons, but heading into the season Carson Beck has solidified himself as the favorite to be the top quarterback. He has the size at 6’ 4” and 220 pounds, enough athleticism to scramble, and enough arm strength to threaten defenses with the deep ball. He just checks enough boxes to be at least servicable, and with another good year in Georgia he could easily be a top five pick.
4. Denver Broncos: Tennessee EDGE James Pearce Jr.
The Broncos’ pass rush needs a ton of help. Honestly, their whole defense needs help outside of CB Patrick Surtain II. Pearce would be a dream for the Broncos as a bendy pass rusher who has the size at 6’ 5” and 242 pounds, and the quickness to be a dominant pass rusher. If the Broncos got the QB position right with Bo Nix the next step will be fixing the defense and the pass rush. Pearce would start to fix both.
5. New England Patriots: Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter
What better way to embrace the non-Belichick era than to draft the most exciting prospect in the class and one that plays two positions. Travis Hunter is a special player, and while there are legitimate questions as to what position he is best at, I think his ball skills and talent are great enough to allow him to thrive at either. The Patriots need a number one receiver more than anything, so he’d likely play WR here and bring some much-needed juice for Drake Maye and their passing game. If he plays corner opposite of Christian Gonzales, they could end up as the best duo in the league once they both hit their primes. At either position he’d be a great fit and immediately be the best playmaker in New England. If Hunter can stay healthy, he would be a top ten lock.
6. New Orleans Saints: Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
I am low on the Saints because of their massive hole at left tackle. Trevor Penning has been unreliable since being a first-round pick and they need to find another tackle in next year’s draft. There are a few tackles that could be in play after Will Campbell including Banks, and also Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery. Banks has more experience and is more of a mauler in the run game, so I went with him, but they just need a tackle.
7. Arizona Cardinals: Michigan CB Will Johnson
The Cardinals are starting to accumulate some real talent on their roster after last year’s Marvin Harrison Jr. draft class, but their defense still needs a lot of work. I loved their second-round pick in Rutgers CB Max Melton, but I believe they need another starting corner. Luckily Will Johnson is still on the board in this hypothetical scenario, a player that might be the best corner in the draft. Johnson could end up as a top three pick, and he has the size, speed, and playmaking to be a lockdown corner.
8. Las Vegas Raiders: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
As it currently stands the Raiders are the perfect place to drop a quarterback in. They have a good offensive line and an incredible skill position group with Davante Adams, Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, and Jakobi Meyers. If none of them ask for a trade during this season with Gardner Minshew at QB, then they will be the perfect landing spot for either a rookie or a free agent (Dak Prescott?). I have them picking Shedeur Sanders here because I really like what I’ve seen from him. He efficiently gets through his reads quickly, makes good decisions, and has enough arm talent to throw the ball deep and over the middle of the field. He’s not as electric of an athlete as I had originally hoped, but he should be a very good quarterback in the league if he finds the right home. That could be Las Vegas.
9. Los Angeles Chargers: Michigan DL Mason Graham
Insert the best remaining Michigan player for the Chargers here. Jokes aside, Mason Graham would be a fantastic fit for the Chargers, and should be able to shore up a shaky interior defensive line. Graham has enough size at 6’ 3” and 318 pounds to be a great run stopper, but also has the tools to be a good interior pass rusher. With quick hands and a sturdy base, he could demand a double team and allow Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Tuli Tuipulotu to wreak havoc in the backfield.
10. Cleveland Browns: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
As much as I’d like to give the Browns a QB here, it seems they will be stuck with Deshaun Watson for the next two or three years, so let’s again try to set him up in as perfect a situation as possible. After trying to trade for Brandon Aiyuk, and Amari Cooper’s looming free agency, WR is a huge need. There are a few WRs that could be the pick here including Missouri’s Luther Burden III, but I am a little higher on McMillan right now. McMillan is 6’ 5” and an outstanding playmaker. His ball skills at that size would be a dream for any QB. He also moves much better than one would expect from someone of his height, and although he is somewhat skinny, I think he could be a legit X receiver and a great WR1 in the league.
Photos by Jason Getz (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Christopher Creveling (USA Today Sports), Christopher Breiler, Mark J. Rebilas (USA Today Sports), and Junfu Han (USA Today Sports)
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