This weekend NFL descends on the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin for the travelling roadshow that is the NFL Draft.
256 players will be selected by NFL teams over a three day, incredibly excessive extravaganza with plenty of pomp and ceremony… for the first few rounds at least.
Two and a half months after we saw the Philadelphia Eagles destroy the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl title, the teams at the other end of the NFL ladder will dominate the headlines this weekend.
Every team will be hoping to land a franchise changing player in this class, with the likes of the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and New England Patriots all in dire need of a talent injection.
We’ve analysed the college tape, broken down the combine and pro day numbers, worked out scheme fits and laughed at the mock drafts to come up with our best bets for the 2025 NFL Draft below.
First Overall Pick
There is no point pretending this selection is going to be anyone other than Cam Ward.
You almost have to feel sorry for the guy because he is going into a really bad situation and is nowhere close to the best player in this draft class.
And at $1.01 there isn’t any value either, as funny as it would be to see the Titans go for Travis Hunter ($51) instead.
NO BET
Second Overall Pick
Currently held by the Cleveland Browns, the front office here has two choices.
It just depends which of two top players in the class they love more, the aforementioned Hunter or pass rusher Abdul Carter, and if they don’t love either of those guys they can trade down.
It’s a 50-50 shot who is getting picked here and both have strong cases to be the choice.
Hunter provides an instant upgrade at two positions and can contribute on offence and defence, which is something the Browns desperately need.
Meanwhile, Carter would add to an already strong defence and would make the offence’s job a whole lot easier.
This is a much closer choice than the market would suggest and at this point, why not throw something small on Carter at odds that seem to keep ballooning.
Abdul Carter 2nd Overall Pick @ $6.50
Third Overall Pick
Here is where the draft could get REALLY interesting, the consensus is that Carter will fall to the Giants who will most likely take him even though he would add to one of their few positions of strength with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux already on the roster.
What they really need is to improve their offence, and despite signing Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, they cannot escape the rumours that they are targeting Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
Perhaps the biggest mark against Sanders is that he won’t help the embattled coaching staff in 2025 when they are fighting for their jobs, whereas a guy like Hunter would at least help from the get-go.
Not to mention the concerns that Sanders is not actually that good of a prospect and he might not help if he does play.
Best case scenario for them is the Browns go defence and let Hunter slide to three, which is a far more plausible scenario and also the best case scenario for New York.
At their current prices, you can back both Colorado players and double dip in this specific market.
Shedeur Sanders 3rd Overall Pick @ $6.00
Travis Hunter 3rd Overall Pick @ $7.50
Fourth Overall Pick
Throughout the New England region, there has been a begrudging acceptance that they are going to select Will Campbell in this slot and the market has reacted accordingly.
Campbell is a boring pick, but he also addresses a major area of need for New England.
However there is still this lingering suspicion that the coaching staff of the Patriots do not love Campbell and are worried he might have to shift to guard, or just drop out entirely.
So where else could they go if not the LSU tackle?
If Carter or Hunter make it this far then New England should hire Noah Lyles to run the card up and take one of those guys, but this is the spot where the draft should really take off.
Pass rusher Jalon Walker ($29) out of Georgia screams “Mike Vrabel’s ideal player” while Armand Membou ($19) could be an alternative at tackle and tight end Tyler Warren ($101) is worth a look as well.
Perhaps the best player on the board is running back Asthon Jeanty ($16) but that position has been so heavily devalued, it would be a massive risk to add him to the team given how badly they need to improve spots.
There is every chance that New England tries to find a trade partner but the only player at that point who would be worth moving up for is Jeanty.
Have a play on the running back as part of a trade and Walker as a long shot for the Patriots if they stick and pick (and don’t love Campbell).
Ashton Jeanty 4th Overall Pick @ $16
Jalon Walker 4th Overall Pick @ $29
Fifth Overall Pick
Wouldn’t it just be fitting for the Jaguars to follow the chalk and take Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, who is the $1.77 favourite in this market.
He fills a need and would add to a defence that ranked second last in yards allowed last season.
However this is another spot where Walker would be a fascinating fit, teaming up with 2022 top pick Travon Walker.
But Graham fills a far more pressing need and just seems like a choice that is far too obvious.
Mason Graham 5th Overall Pick @ $1.77
Top 5 Pick
If the prices on players going in an exact spot are a little too rich for your liking, you can find some value here as well.
If you’ve read the coverage surrounding the draft, you can absolutely talk yourself into a number of players sneaking into the top five because once Carter and Hunter are gone, there’s not much difference between the next 10-15 guys.
So here is where you take a couple of flyers on the long shots at over even money.
Jeanty might be the best player in the draft class, but plays the “wrong” position to be truly valuable, while Shedeur Sanders plays the right position but might not actually be that good.
However you can easily make a case for both being strong candidates for a team to go all in on either one and make a massive play for them.
Ashton Jeanty Top 5 Pick @ $3.50
Shedeur Sanders Top 5 Pick @ $4.80
Jalon Walker Top 5 Pick @ $6.00
Top 10 Pick
Two more names leap out as decent plays in the top ten pick market.
Firstly, it’s Tyler Warren who might be my favourite player in the draft class.
A phenomenally talented and versatile tight end out of Penn State, whoever drafts him is going to be in for a steal.
His ceiling is as high as New England at four, and it would be a huge surprise if someone let him get past the Bears at pick ten.
The other play here is to back the third quarterback in the class, Jaxson Dart who many believe is a better prospect than Shedeur Sanders.
His high end is likely the New Orleans Saints at nine, but they are so desperate for a quarterback and Dart might be a better long term projection.
If the Saints are sold on him, he is going at nine.
Tyler Warren Top 10 Pick @ $1.67
Jaxson Dart Top 10 Pick @ $4.50
First Round Pick
NFL teams love a quarterback and you can almost bank on someone getting desperate towards the end of Round 1.
In what is a pretty mediocre quality position group, seeing four go in the first round would be a massive surprise but you also cannot underestimate the desperation of NFL teams to find the right guy at the most important position.
Let’s just pretend for the sake of hypotheticals that Ward goes first, Sanders slips to the Saints at nine and Dart goes to Pittsburgh at 21.
Enter Jalen Milroe as the next guy on the list and you have 11 spots for a team to decide they had better play it safe and go get their guy.
Not to mention the chance that someone like the LA Rams could opt for a developmental prospect to sit behind Matthew Stafford for a year or two and learn from a Super Bowl champion.
Jalen Milroe First Round Pick @ $2.25
First Receiver Drafted (Excluding Hunter)
This is very much a two horse race and by the time the draft kicks off, this market could be flipped around.
Once considered a surefire top-five pick, Tet McMillan’s stock has plummeted since the college season concluded.
While he looks the part, there are some big concerns over his ability to get open against NFL defenders which could open the door for another receiver to come in ahead of him.
Matthew Golden out of Texas is “the other guy” who teams love and his profile could appeal to teams who might want someone a bit quicker.
His combine 40-yard dash time of 4.29 seconds would have no doubt caught some eyes in Indy and he could be in play as early as Chicago at pick ten.
Matthew Golden @ $2.55