NFL Draft
3/26/25
8 min read
Buying or Selling Common 2025 NFL Draft Projections
The 2025 NFL Draft is less than one month away, and all of our prior expectations will be blown away within a handful of selections. After months of evaluations, mock drafts, and insider speculation, it's easy to fall into a comfortable sense of security about what will happen. We might get a few picks right, but there's a better chance everyone has no clue as to what's coming.
As big boards settle and coaches submit their input and feedback to front offices, the tea leaves will continue to change until the waning moments before the pick is made. The aftermath of the draft always reveals risers and fallers, steals and reaches, but it's only because of our projections that the results seem this way.
We're getting ahead of the most popular predictions we've seen throughout mock drafts and user mock draft simulators to buy or sell the most likely 2025 NFL Draft outcomes. Which predictions will happen, and which ones are stale?
Buy or Sell: Popular 2025 NFL Draft Predictions
Buy: Shedeur Sanders to Cleveland Browns
While it's fair to say Abdul Carter is the best overall prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, saying the Cleveland Browns, of all the league's cursed franchises, should pass on a quarterback prospect for a pass-rusher is out of touch.
The Browns have seen firsthand what happens when they have a strong roster or a Hall of Famer (Myles Garrett, Joe Thomas) but no quarterback to take advantage of the situation. Regardless of whether Russell Wilson comes to Cleveland or not, the only right choice at No. 2 is to go with Shedeur Sanders.
Beyond his best-in-class accuracy, Sanders profiles to be the exact type of person and player who will thrive in Cleveland. Much like the last good Browns quarterback before injuries disrupted his future in town (Baker Mayfield), Sanders has the energy and leadership needed to take on the challenge of winning in Cleveland. Concerns over his physical upside are fair, but undervaluing the importance of having Sanders's intrinsic gifts is unwise.
Kevin Stefanski has gotten the most out of guys like Case Keenum and Kirk Cousins, and Sanders is at least as good of an athlete as they were in their primes and thrives in similar ways.
This regime can build a lot of goodwill and momentum in 2025 if it pairs Sanders with a veteran and gets some wins before letting Sanders show promise before the end of the season.
Sell: Will Campbell to New England Patriots
There's been more recent acceptance of Travis Hunter as one of New England's preferred choices at No. 4 overall, and that direction feels more in line with what we should expect.
For months, Will Campbell and Tetroia McMillan found their way to this pick, and neither should be considered for this spot. Both are great players, but there's a gap between Hunter and Carter and Campbell and McMillan.
The Patriots aren't in the position to force need picks yet. This is a bad roster with a young quarterback, so the right decision is to simply go with a high-end option and one of the premium-value positions. Hunter and Carter qualify.
The case for Campbell was made more difficult with his measurements at the 2025 Scouting Combine. With his sub-33-inch arms, he's in small company to be a standout left tackle prospect.
Mike Vrabel won't be the coach to make a team filled with exceptions to scouting ideals, and the Patriots will find a starting-caliber tackle in Round 2 to pair with whoever lands to them at No. 4.
Buy: Omarion Hampton to Denver Broncos
Expert mock drafts have shifted sharply after the combine to the point where it's fair to ask whether Omarion Hampton even makes it out of the teens.
The North Carolina star is an excellent prospect, and the need for impact running backs is at a high we haven't seen in at least eight years. Hampton is worth a first-round pick, and teams are shifting their mindset to what's an otherwise down draft class in terms of talent at key positions.
Even if Ashton Jeanty doesn't come off the board as early as he's been projected to be for months, Hampton's range is higher than most think. Chicago, Dallas, and Cincinnati can easily justify taking Hampton as the RB2. If Hampton lasts until the 20th pick, it'd be more of a surprise if they go to any other position besides tight end.
This is partly because Denver likes its receivers more than the public. Young playmakers Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, and A.T. Perry fit Sean Payton's vertical passing attack even if they're not proven college superstars who earned Round 1 capital. He lacks a great back, though, and Payton has long favored a talented backfield.
Sell: Ashton Jeanty to Las Vegas Raiders
The logic in mocking Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders makes sense on multiple levels. We saw how important Marshawn Lynch was to Pete Carroll's Seattle teams, and the Raiders desperately need more offensive playmaking. Giving Geno Smith a dominant run game is ideal, and there's a culture-setting tone that comes with the addition of Jeanty.
However, the Raiders are not only a running back away from being a major AFC West threat. While they'd be a tough matchup for anyone with Jeanty, Carroll could easily fall in love with a few other players who will invoke memories of past Seahawk foundational pieces. That includes cornerback Will Johnson and linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
Johnson's drop in draft stock is more injury-related than anything, but he's the prototypical fit for a Carroll defense, and the Raiders desperately need a star at corner. Taking a linebacker at No. 6 would give some heartburn as a running back would, but Campbell is being underrated as a potential All-Pro-level talent with his ability to create impact plays on all three downs.
Considering the depth in the class at running back, would the Raiders prefer to land a potential All-Pro corner or linebacker and a back like Kaleb Johnson or Quinshon Judkins in Round 2 over Jeanty and a much lower caliber defender in Round 2? The former situation seems more fruitful for this regime to start with.
Buy: Jaxson Dart to Pittsburgh Steelers
There seems to be good momentum for Aaron Rodgers to land in Pittsburgh, but as with Cleveland, I don't think getting an over-the-hill veteran should preclude the Steelers from adding a long-term starter who can learn from the sidelines early on.
Given Pittsburgh's struggles to replace Ben Roethlisberger over the years, throwing multiple assets to the position to help keep their Super Bowl window open is a must. The best-case scenario is for Rodgers to provide a quality one or two years before handing the reigns to Jaxson Dart.
There will be other intriguing mid-round developmental options for the Steelers to consider, but Dart has a better blend of athleticism, arm talent, experience, and accuracy to have faith in than later prospects.
While someone like Jalen Milroe is intriguing, he has to play to get better, and the Steelers won't offer that if Rodgers is in town. Dart doesn't require the same physical reps as Milroe.
There's also the aspect of the worst case where Rodgers doesn't stay healthy or play well, forcing Dart to see the field early. Given Dart's physical advantages over Will Howard and Quinn Ewers, it'd be logical for Pittsburgh to see him as a drastically better pick than those Day 2 options.
Sell: Malaki Starks to Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins have two veteran safeties on their roster right now after churning over the room from 2024, so there's been a natural link between the team and the top two safety prospects in the 2025 class.
However, Miami's more recent draft tendencies don't support taking a safety this high after grabbing Minkah Fitzpatrick 11th overall in 2018, and Malaki Starks isn't Minkah.
The Dolphins have major needs at cornerback, left guard, and defensive tackle, and they could justify taking another pass-rusher or receiver. All of those positions are more valuable to this team than safety. Had Miami viewed safety that important, they could've simply retained Jevon Holland this offseason.
The case for Starks being worth this pick is a little more difficult. Instead of harping on his average 4.5 40-yard dash time, the more concerning part of his resume is that he didn't thrive in 2024 after a role change.
While Starks is an elite deep free safety with his range and instincts, he wasn't a first-round-caliber slot safety, which is primarily what most NFL defenses have their back-end defenders play as Cover 2 and three-safety looks have taken over the league.
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