2025 NFL Mock Draft: Five QBs in top 10; Cam Ward to Giants, Shedeur Sanders picked by Rams

Travis Hunter has entered the No. 1 overall pick conversation -- the Colorado do-everything superstar has been a lockdown cornerback and generated splash plays as a receiver at high volume through the first month of the college football season. 

And the quarterback position in the 2025 class looks very deep. A litany of passers have played impressive football, clearing the way for what should be one of the most wide-open races for the distinction of "first quarterback off the board" we've seen in quite some time. 

I haven't been blown away by the productivity or traits of any of the perceived top quarterbacks through the month of September, but that doesn't mean all these quarterbacks will fall late in the first round or even dip all the way to Day 2. Many NFL teams are going to be starved for a young, talented, relatively inexpensive quarterback next April. The financial gulf between a first-round quarterback on a rookie deal and a veteran on a mega, multiyear extension has never been larger, and it's unlikely to shrink in size anytime soon.

Remember, six quarterbacks were picked in the first 12 selections in the 2024 class. 

And that need to acquire quarterbacks via the draft is the theme of this mock. What if the 2024 trend continues next April? Quarterbacks flying off the board early and often.

Now, let's get to the players who heard their names called in the mock. 

The draft order below was determined using the current SportsLine consensus Super Bowl odds but in reverse order.

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on "With the First Pick" -- our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. You can find "With the First Pick" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Listen below!

NFL Mock Draft

Round 1

Round 1 - Pick 1 Travis Hunter CB Colorado • Jr • 6'1" / 185 lbs Projected Team New England PROSPECT RNK 2nd POSITION RNK 2nd PAYDS 680 RUYDS 55 INTS 0 TDS 7 Every week, Hunter is tracking closer to being the No. 1 overall pick. He's been sensational in every regard as a receiver and cornerback and has elite-level traits that can translate at the next level.

Round 1 - Pick 2 Quinn Ewers QB Texas • Jr • 6'2" / 210 lbs Projected Team Carolina PROSPECT RNK 25th POSITION RNK 3rd PAYDS 691 RUYDS 1 INTS 2 TDS 8 Ewers isn't a finished product yet but possesses the natural throwing talent to ultimately go this high. Carolina turns the page from the Bryce Young disaster.

Round 1 - Pick 3 Cam Ward QB Miami (FL) • Sr • 6'2" / 223 lbs Projected Team N.Y. Giants PROSPECT RNK 61st POSITION RNK 9th PAYDS 1439 RUYDS 89 INTS 2 TDS 15 The Giants add the ultra-calm but dynamic passer Ward to the franchise to give the club the jolt it needs at the most valuable position in sports.

Round 1 - Pick 4 Will Campbell OT LSU • Jr • 6'6" / 323 lbs Projected Team Tennessee PROSPECT RNK 10th POSITION RNK 2nd The Titans go with an offensive lineman in Round 1 for the third consecutive year with the super-steady Campbell.

Round 1 - Pick 5 Tetairoa McMillan WR Arizona • Jr • 6'5" / 212 lbs Projected Team Denver PROSPECT RNK 11th POSITION RNK 2nd REC 29 REYDS 503 YDS/REC 17.3 TDS 4 McMillan would be another towering wideout opposite Courtland Sutton who'd catch essentially everything thrown in his direction from Bo Nix.

Round 1 - Pick 6 Emery Jones Jr. OT LSU • Jr • 6'6" / 315 lbs Projected Team Jacksonville PROSPECT RNK 28th POSITION RNK 4th The Jaguars add more offensive tackle talent to protect Trevor Lawrence with the LSU blocker.

Round 1 - Pick 7 Will Johnson CB Michigan • Jr • 6'2" / 202 lbs Projected Team Arizona PROSPECT RNK 1st POSITION RNK 1st The Cardinals defense desperately needs a long, uber-talented boundary cornerback. They get that here with Johnson, who's looked like a top 10 pick since his rookie season at Michigan.

Round 1 - Pick 8 Shedeur Sanders QB Colorado • Sr • 6'2" / 215 lbs Projected Team L.A. Rams PROSPECT RNK 15th POSITION RNK 2nd PAYDS 1630 RUYDS 25 INTS 3 TDS 15 This could be a win-win scenario for both sides, if there's patience. Sanders enters a legitimate redshirt scenario behind Matthew Stafford to learn the ropes of what it takes to be a successful NFL QB, then takes over at the outset of the 2026 season. He has a methodical skill set Sean McVay and Co. could conceivably love.

Round 1 - Pick 9 Jalen Milroe QB Alabama • Jr • 6'2" / 225 lbs Projected Team Cleveland PROSPECT RNK POSITION RNK PAYDS 964 RUYDS 273 INTS 1 TDS 18 Quarterbacks flying off the board quickly in this mock, just like they did in April. Milroe has noticeably improved as a passer at Alabama and plays with the utmost confidence and hustle. The eventual heir to Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.

Round 1 - Pick 10 Garrett Nussmeier QB LSU • Jr • 6'2" / 200 lbs Projected Team Las Vegas PROSPECT RNK 54th POSITION RNK 8th PAYDS 1652 RUYDS -6 INTS 4 TDS 17 Nussmeier was a recruiting target for Arizona State when Antonio Pierce was with the Sun Devils, and is an ascending passer with plus arm talent and could have loads of production entering the NFL.

Round 1 - Pick 11 Mason Graham DL Michigan • Jr • 6'3" / 320 lbs Projected Team Miami PROSPECT RNK 4th POSITION RNK 1st The Dolphins need more beef on the interior of their defensive line, especially because that position is being held together by the ageless wonder Calais Campbell right now.

Round 1 - Pick 12 Princely Umanmielen EDGE Ole Miss • Sr • 6'4" / 255 lbs Projected Team Chicago PROSPECT RNK 31st POSITION RNK 8th This is an established SEC rusher with high-caliber traits who has a ceiling this high in the first round in April. The Bears get a serious bookend to Montez Sweat who can challenge Austin Booker for the full-time role opposite Sweat.

Round 1 - Pick 13 Luther Burden III WR Missouri • Jr • 5'11" / 205 lbs Projected Team Indianapolis PROSPECT RNK 8th POSITION RNK 1st REC 19 REYDS 257 YDS/REC 13.5 TDS 5 Burden's been great. For years now. He's smaller and sleeker than a few of the other top receivers in this class, but he might be the most polished with the most complete skill set.

Round 1 - Pick 14 Nic Scourton EDGE Texas A&M • Jr • 6'4" / 285 lbs Projected Team L.A. Chargers PROSPECT RNK 13th POSITION RNK 3rd Given the ages of their starting EDGEs -- Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack -- the Chargers get Scourton to signal the future at the position. He's a sizable specimen who can win on the inside too.

Round 1 - Pick 15 Jack Sawyer EDGE Ohio State • Sr • 6'5" / 260 lbs Projected Team Washington PROSPECT RNK 21st POSITION RNK 5th The Washington defense has shown improvement, but it still needs a true No. 1 outside rusher. Sawyer has slowly but surely built his pass-rushing repertoire and strength at Ohio State.

Round 1 - Pick 16 Colston Loveland TE Michigan • Jr • 6'5" / 245 lbs Projected Team Tampa Bay PROSPECT RNK 19th POSITION RNK 1st REC 23 REYDS 228 YDS/REC 9.9 TDS 1 Another sizable target for Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, with the consensus No. 1 tight end in the class.

Round 1 - Pick 17 Malaki Starks S Georgia • Jr • 6'1" / 205 lbs Projected Team Pittsburgh PROSPECT RNK 16th POSITION RNK 1st Starks and Minkah Fitzpatrick could be the league's best safety tandem in a hurry behind the Steelers pass rush.

Round 1 - Pick 18 Mykel Williams EDGE Georgia • Jr • 6'5" / 265 lbs Projected Team New Orleans PROSPECT RNK 6th POSITION RNK 2nd Williams is too freakish for the Saints to pass on in this middle portion of Round 1. He can be the eventual replacement for Saints legend Cam Jordan on the edge.

Round 1 - Pick 19 Harold Perkins Jr. LB LSU • Jr • 6'1" / 225 lbs Projected Team Seattle PROSPECT RNK 18th POSITION RNK 1st Perkins will be coming off a torn ACL, but it happened early enough this season at LSU that he should be ready for the start of the 2025 season in a hybrid role in Seattle.

Round 1 - Pick 20 James Pearce Jr. EDGE Tennessee • Jr • 6'5" / 243 lbs Projected Team Atlanta PROSPECT RNK 5th POSITION RNK 1st Pearce is young with freaky traits and a tremendously productive 2023 on his draft resume. The Falcons desperately need more outside pass-rush help, which is a sentence I've written in these mock drafts for years now.

Round 1 - Pick 21 Carson Beck QB Georgia • Sr • 6'4" / 220 lbs Projected Team N.Y. Jets PROSPECT RNK 9th POSITION RNK 1st PAYDS 1119 RUYDS 64 INTS 3 TDS 10 Beck has waited before in his college career. He does it here, behind Aaron Rodgers for a year before taking over in 2026.

Round 1 - Pick 22 Benjamin Morrison CB Notre Dame • Jr • 6'0" / 190 lbs Projected Team Green Bay PROSPECT RNK 17th POSITION RNK 3rd Packers GM Brian Gutekunst loves to prioritize selecting defensive backs with plus traits early in the draft. That's precisely what would transpire here with this Morrison pick.

Round 1 - Pick 23 Abdul Carter EDGE Penn State • Jr • 6'3" / 252 lbs Projected Team Cincinnati PROSPECT RNK 14th POSITION RNK 4th While not the traditional 4-3 defensive end, Carter has demonstrated serious juice off the edge in 2024 at Penn State, and the Bengals have to round out their defensive front with more talent opposite Trey Hendrickson.

Round 1 - Pick 24 T.J. Sanders DT South Carolina • Jr • 6'4" / 290 lbs Projected Team Dallas PROSPECT RNK 63rd POSITION RNK 1st The Cowboys add more beef next to Mazi Smith to continue to bolster the run defense.

Round 1 - Pick 25 Xavier Watts S Notre Dame • Sr • 6'0" / 203 lbs Projected Team Houston PROSPECT RNK 69th POSITION RNK 4th Given the age of longtime DeMeco Ryans confidant Jimmie Ward, the Texans address safety early with Watts. He had 2024 third-round pick Calen Bullock can become a star tandem on the backend.

Round 1 - Pick 26 Isaiah Bond WR Texas • Jr • 5'11" / 180 lbs Projected Team Philadelphia PROSPECT RNK 58th POSITION RNK 7th REC 20 REYDS 364 YDS/REC 18.2 TDS 4 Bond adds another speed and separation element to the receiver room for Jalen Hurts in Philly.

Round 1 - Pick 27 Derrick Harmon DL Oregon • Jr • 6'5" / 310 lbs Projected Team Buffalo PROSPECT RNK 66th POSITION RNK 7th Harmon has been a one-man wrecking crew along Oregon's defensive front as a pass rusher. His big body would be a welcomed addition to Buffalo's run defense.

Round 1 - Pick 28 Kenneth Grant DL Michigan • Jr • 6'3" / 339 lbs Projected Team Minnesota PROSPECT RNK 35th POSITION RNK 4th Another upfield pass rusher for Brian Flores to utilize in his complex defensive scheme.

Round 1 - Pick 29 Jalon Walker LB Georgia • Jr • 6'2" / 245 lbs Projected Team Detroit PROSPECT RNK 56th POSITION RNK 5th The Lions get a physical front-seven player on defense to help Aidan Hutchinson on the edge who can also range to outside runs as an off-ball linebacker if needed.

Round 1 - Pick 30 Emeka Egbuka WR Ohio State • Sr • 6'1" / 205 lbs Projected Team Baltimore PROSPECT RNK 12th POSITION RNK 3rd REC 21 REYDS 362 YDS/REC 17.2 TDS 2 Another polished wideout -- with Ohio State coaching under his belt -- who can routinely separate for Lamar Jackson.

Round 1 - Pick 31 Ashton Gillotte EDGE Louisville • Sr • 6'3" / 275 lbs Projected Team San Francisco PROSPECT RNK 41st POSITION RNK 9th The 49ers are starting to realize they need another true force opposite Nick Bosa on the other edge of their defensive line. Gillotte is sudden and flexible.

Round 1 - Pick 32 Shemar Stewart DL Texas A&M • Jr • 6'6" / 290 lbs Projected Team Kansas City PROSPECT RNK POSITION RNK Stewart has the super-long and well-filled-out frame to play inside or outside along the Chiefs defensive front.