NFL Draft
3/20/25
8 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Top Prospects Teams Should Consider Trading Up For
Every year, players unexpectedly fall down the first round of the NFL Draft, and the 2025 NFL Draft might feature a handful of prospects who will be passed up on, allowing other teams to make a move up and acquire a steal.
Runs at certain positions, most notably quarterback, tend to lead to other players sliding down the board, waiting for their name to be called. Other players slide due to medical red flags, and others go overlooked for any number of reasons not known to the public.
Still, when just looking at the 2025 draft, there are a handful of prospects who could start sliding, especially if teams take swings on QBs like Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe early in the first round. Let's take a look at a few prospects who might be sliding and why teams with positional needs should trade up if that slide goes too far.
Top Prospects Teams Should Consider Trading Up For
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan 
In any other draft, Will Johnson would likely be the consensus CB1. However, the presence of a two-way superstar in Travis Hunter could cause teams to pass on Johnson.
That's not the only reason he might slide in this year's draft. Some draft analysts are starting to drop Johnson down their boards because of injury concerns, most notably turf toe this past season, but also a hamstring injury that will keep him from participating in his pro day.
If that ends up being why Johnson slides, then another team will be getting an absolute steal. Turf toe is not a long-term recurring injury, and the tape from Johnson in 2023 showed an elite lockdown outside corner with good size and the speed and explosiveness to stick with receivers vertically or jump underneath routes to take them to the house.
Will Johnson’s film is teach tape.
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 24, 2025
He has a physical demeanor at 6’2, 202lbs and is excellent in both man and zone. He’s more comfortable facing the QB in zone and coming downhill to make plays, imo.
I compare his game to All-Pro Patrick Surtain II. Top 10 pick at worst. pic.twitter.com/tjfbjmuih4
Johnson feels like a prototypical "don't overthink it" kind of prospect. When the consensus pro comparison for him is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Pat Surtain II, then he should widely be considered one of the five or six best prospects in this year's draft class.
Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
For teams looking for a big-bodied pass rusher with some versatility on the defensive line, then Shemar Stewart is going to be an extremely highly-coveted prospect.
There are multiple draft analysts, including here at The 33rd Team, with a top-10 grade on Stewart. He's a 267-pound EDGE who was playing at 290 for Texas A&M and tested off of the charts at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 40-inch vertical and 10-foot-11 broad jump.
The tape is just as impressive, showing an impressive combination of burst off of the snap, bend around the edge, and legitimate play strength.
Shemar Stewart is not just a guy who is big. This guy has LEGIT explosiveness to his game and is twitchy for having played at 285 pounds. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/X2F2j1Ycaa
— Sanjit T. (@Sanjit__T) February 28, 2025
However, some teams will be worried about Stewart's lack of production at the college level. He had just 4.5 sacks over three seasons, generating 1.5 sacks each season. That, plus a likely run of quarterbacks earlier than fans might be expecting, could force Stewart out of the top 10.
If that ends up happening, a team needing a potential star pass rusher could move up in the draft to get a player who most closely resembles Myles Garrett athletically.
Tetairoa mcmillan, wr, Arizona 
During the film portion of the pre-draft process, before the athletic testing discourse, Tetairoa McMillan was viewed as one of the biggest no-brainer prospects in this draft class.
Then something changed.
McMillan quickly started to fall down draft boards after declining to participate in drills at the combine, raising questions about his 40-yard dash time as a big-bodied wideout. That continued after McMillan ran a reported 4.55 40-yard dash, suggesting that he may not have the play speed to thrive in the NFL.
However, speed was never McMillan's game in college. He's a big-bodied outside threat who can win with elite body control and catch radius but also has enough juice to make plays after the catch.
Tetairoa McMillan vs Colorado
— Theo Ash (@TheoAshNFL) July 11, 2024
6’5, physical, and flexible. He won the day vs Travis Hunter pic.twitter.com/TjD94cfQ1e
This entire discourse likely isn't bubbling up to the NFL level, but if, for some reason, a team was expecting a faster "X" receiver, then another team could be picking up a safety blanket in their passing game with McMillan and his ability to consistently come away with highlight-reel catches in a thin wide receiver class.
Will Campbell, OL, LSU
In a crowded top-of-the-offensive line class, one of the best overall prospects in this class could slide in LSU's Will Campbell.
The ascension of Armand Membou after tearing up the NFL Scouting Combine could have the Missouri right tackle be the first offensive lineman off of the board. Not only did he tear up the athletic testing, but he's also 332 pounds with 33.5-inch arms.
That arm length debate continues to go against Campbell, who posted just 32 5/8-inch arms. That's a real concern for someone trying to play tackle at the NFL level, and at nearly 6-foot-6, it looks like he would struggle to get into a lower stance if kicked inside to guard.
Still, Campbell's tape has been solid for the last three seasons at LSU, never allowing more than two sacks or 18 pressures in a single season.
Move Will Campbell inside or RT and watch him flourish. pic.twitter.com/yUWRjVmZxC
— Colton Edwards (@coltonedwardsFB) February 20, 2025
Still, with Membou's rise and a number of other OL prospects tiered closely to Campbell, the LSU prospect could quickly start plummeting down the first round. That could end up being a blessing for another team desperately looking for help on their offensive line.
Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Tyler Warren is objectively one of the most talented prospects in this draft class. If quarterbacks, offensive linemen, and EDGEs start to go early and teams pass on a tight end, then there's a good chance that a team picking in the middle of the first round will get the best player in the 2025 NFL Draft.
On tape, Warren looks like a man amongst boys, both as a pass catcher and blocker. He can dominate the point of attack and drive defenders to the ground, but he also makes absurd one-handed catches, hurdles defenders, or runs through them as a wildcat quarterback.
Tyler Warren is an elite tight end prospect.
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 17, 2025
He’s cleaned up drops (15% in 2023 to 2.8% drop rate in 2024) and become an elite contested catcher (61.9%).
Warren is also a MONSTER after the catch, forcing 30 missed tackles in 2024.
TE1 for the 2025 Draft. pic.twitter.com/z5xmJ8df1O
That kind of versatility at the TE position is rate, but positional value could cause Warren to fall in this year's draft. Brock Bowers set records as a rookie last season but wasn't taken until the 13th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Warren's slide in this class wouldn't be a shock, but it would allow a team desperate for tight end help, like the Indianapolis Colts, to get an elite playmaker to transform their respective offense.
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