We’ve reached NFL draft month, the first pick of the 2025 “player selection meeting” set to be announced by Commissioner Roger Goodell on April 24 in Green Bay, Wis. The league’s teams and scouts have collected nearly all of the pertinent player information with the major schools’ pro days completed, though Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders – both potential top-five selections – are among the Buffaloes scheduled to work out at the “Colorado Showcase” this Friday, a separate event from the Big 12 pro day that occurred in mid-March.
But while much of the hay is in the barn, the less publicly transparent aspects of the pre-draft process will continue to unfold as some prospects conduct individual workouts and provide updated medical information – often during official visits to NFL clubs. Said another way, there’s still enough going on – to include other developments within the league – to make projecting the draft’s first round a highly fluid endeavor.
But this mock draft is USA TODAY Sports’ latest Round 1 outlook … with a few thoughtfully constructed trades baked in to keep things interesting:
1. Tennessee Titans – QB Cam Ward, Miami (Fla.)
ICYMI, their most notable moves in free agency were the signings of OL Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler … a good signal the team is trying to bolster the protection of its quarterback – and right now, the options are Will Levis, Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle. That alone is a pretty strong suggestion that the team intends to draft a passer, barring a sizable enough trade offer to move down the board. But right now, Ward seems like the logical option, a dynamic thrower with five seasons of experience at the college level (including 57 starts and a Division I record 158 TD passes). Interesting to note, too, that Ward’s 2,329 passes attempted are 1,000+ more than highly erratic Levis has thrown since he entered college in 2018 – Wards’ results typically much better, too, if not skewed by Levis’ NFL mishaps (26 turnovers in 21 games).
2. Cleveland Browns – QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
ICYMI, their most notable moves in free agency were extending DE Myles Garrett to an exorbitant deal and trading for Kenny Pickett – the only quarterback currently on the roster aside from injured Deshaun Watson, who’s recovering from multiple surgeries to his Achilles. Cleveland has been floated as a potential destination for Falcons QB Kirk Cousins, who spent two years with HC Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota. But given how the Watson experience went, does it really make sense for this team to give up anything for Cousins, particularly at his salary? Or bet an entire season on Pickett? With Russell Wilson now a member of the Giants, not to mention the similarities between Cousins’ game and Sanders’, the Big 12’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year seems like the most logical choice at the ...
