2025 NFL draft logo on stage at the draft venue in Green Bay Wisconsin. photo by Kirby Lee
A recap of the biggest news from the 2025 NFL draft.
The National Football League (NFL) Draft is a long awaited moment every year for football fans everywhere. The long two month wait from the end of the season to draft day is one filled with speculation, scouting and mock drafts. Beat reporters, social media accounts and sports radio shows start their off season prep after the Super Bowl and continue until the end of April. Spring is full of analysts making their predictions on possible first overall picks and arguing over mock drafted players and where they should go. This year’s draft was truly special. With no consensus over a number one overall pick, many analysts had three or four different options to be picked first. In many drafts a player (usually a quarterback) is deemed so elite that they are almost guaranteed to be picked first overall. This year’s quarterback class was worse than many had originally thought, which made the draft tricky for many teams near the top of the draft order considering their need for a quarterback.
The quarterbacks in this year’s draft were lackluster compared to those of the last couple years. In the 2024 draft, there were six quarterbacks taken in the first twelve picks. The most in NFL history. With a weaker class this year, many had teams like the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants drafting other positions even though they are quarterback hungry. Despite this all of these teams ended up with at least one quarterback, but only two picked one in the first round. The Titans ended up taking the most speculated top pick, Cam Ward at first overall. The quarterback from The University of Miami was considered the best quarterback in the class but not necessarily the best all around player. The Titans took the safe route in their selections and many applaud them for taking what they need and having a possible franchise quarterback for the next couple years. The next quarterback wasn’t taken until the 25th pick when the Giants selected Jaxon Dart out of The University of Mississippi. This was a surprise pick to many, as the team in desperate need of a quarterback took many analysts’ third or fourth best quarterback as the second one off the board. The question loomed about the second best quarterback and one that many analysts projected as a top three pick.
Shedeur Sanders was predicted to be taken in the top three or top five in many mock drafts. Being talked about as the best possible quarterback or even player allowed his draft stock to be incredibly high for a quarterback who went 13-12 in his two seasons at The University of Colorado Boulder. The son of “Prime Time” Deion Sanders followed him to Colorado and the football world was excited about the new posible top quarterback prospect. That is until draft night. Sanders ended up awaiting his draft call in Dallas, Texas with his dad, brother and family members for longer than they expected. Sanders wasn’t drafted in the first round. Many were surprised but were sure he was going to be taken by the Browns at the start of the second round. The second round came and went, then the second night ended and Sanders still awaited his name being called. No one thought it was possible that he didn’t get drafted in the first two nights (three rounds) of the draft. Sanders was eventually drafted in round five by the Browns as the 144th pick. Many NFL scouts said the slide was due to Sanders’ bad interviews and being unprepared for meetings with coaches. Sanders who opted out of the combine decided to not showcase his skills and this was deemed to have an impact as well. An anonymous NFL coach told the media his interview with Sanders was, “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life. He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.” NFL coaches and scouts were not fooled by the created hype around Sanders and saw through the offensive success at Colorado. He was deemed “not good” and “entitled” which ultimately led him to become the sixth quarterback to be picked. The Browns even drafted another quarterback before Sanders just in case.
The draft was full of ups and downs this year, and the quarterback race and Shedeur slide was the top headline. It was a great class full of amazing running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and defensive players. And yet the only thing the NFL media seems to talk about is a fifth round pick who wasn’t even the first quarterback selected by his team.
