Everyone thought they had the mock 2025 NFL draft figured out a year ago. We all sat there in the spring of 2024, looking at the way college football was shifting, and made some pretty bold guesses. Some of those guesses? Total disasters. Others? They actually aged like a fine wine. If you look back at the actual results from the draft that went down in Green Bay, the distance between "expert projection" and "NFL reality" was massive.
Let’s be honest: trying to predict what 32 GMs are going to do with hundreds of 21-year-olds is basically a fool’s errand. But we do it anyway. Because it's fun. And because the 2025 class was particularly weird. We had a "unicorn" in Travis Hunter, a running back resurgence that nobody saw coming, and a quarterback class that felt thin until it suddenly didn't.
The Travis Hunter Dilemma: Corner or Receiver?
The biggest story of the mock 2025 NFL draft cycle was undoubtedly Travis Hunter. For months, the internet argued about where he would play. The scouts were torn. Some teams saw a shutdown corner who could erase a WR1 from the map. Others saw a dynamic, game-changing receiver who could score every time he touched the ball.
When the Jacksonville Jaguars moved up to the No. 2 spot (via a trade with Cleveland), they didn't just pick a player; they picked a philosophy. Hunter had already told everyone he was going to play both ways in the NFL. People laughed. They said his body wouldn't hold up. But after seeing him haul in 15 touchdowns and grab 4 interceptions in his final year at Colorado, the Jaguars decided to let him try.
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Watching him go second overall was a "told you so" moment for the believers. It also messed up every single mock draft that had him sliding due to "positional uncertainty." He didn't slide. He ascended.
Why We All Underestimated the Running Backs
If you look at any mock 2025 NFL draft from early 2024, you won't see many running backs in the first round. The league had spent years devaluing the position. "Don't pay them, don't draft them high," was the mantra.
Then Ashton Jeanty happened.
The Boise State star put up numbers that looked like something out of a video game. 2,601 rushing yards. 29 touchdowns. He wasn't just good; he was undeniable. When the Las Vegas Raiders took him at No. 6, it signaled a massive shift in how the NFL views elite backfield talent. It wasn't just Jeanty, either. The Chargers grabbed Omarion Hampton at No. 22. Suddenly, the "running backs don't matter" crowd had to rethink everything.
The Big Guys Who Actually Went Top 10
While the skill players got the headlines, the trenches are where the real draft capital was spent.
- Will Campbell (LSU): The Patriots took him at No. 4 to save whoever they decide to put under center. He’s a brick wall.
- Mason Graham (Michigan): The Browns took him at No. 5. He’s a "leverage monster." If you’ve ever seen him wrestle an interior lineman, you know why he went that high.
- Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas): Went to the Saints at No. 9. He allowed only four sacks in his entire college career. That's insane.
The Quarterback Question
Cam Ward ending up as the No. 1 overall pick to the Tennessee Titans was the "chalk" move by the end of the process, but it wasn't always that clear. Early mocks had Shedeur Sanders at the top. But as the season progressed, Sanders' tendency to hold the ball (averaging over 3 seconds to throw) started to worry people.
Sanders actually slid a bit, eventually seeing his name linked more to the Giants before they ultimately went in a different direction in the top 5, taking Abdul Carter instead. The Giants eventually snagged Jaxson Dart later in the first round (No. 25). It shows that NFL teams are becoming more risk-averse with quarterbacks who have high sack rates, regardless of their "ice in the veins" reputation.
What Most People Get Wrong About Draft Grades
We love to grade these drafts the day after they happen. It’s a tradition. But honestly, those grades are mostly garbage. You can’t judge a draft until these guys have played at least two seasons.
Take the New York Jets at No. 7, for example. They took Armand Membou, an offensive tackle from Missouri. It wasn't a "sexy" pick. It didn't trend on Twitter. But if Membou starts 17 games and keeps their QB clean, that’s a better pick than a flashy receiver who catches 40 passes and disappears in December.
The real value in a mock 2025 NFL draft isn't about getting the picks right. It's about understanding the needs and the value of the players. The 2025 class proved that if you are a "unicorn" like Hunter or a "statistical anomaly" like Jeanty, the old rules of positional value don't apply to you.
Actionable Insights for Future Draft Cycles
- Ignore the "Positional Value" Myths: If a player is elite (top 1% of their position), a GM will take them in the top 10 regardless of whether they are a RB, TE, or Safety.
- Watch the Trenches: While everyone talks about WRs, the first round is almost always dominated by O-Line and D-Line. In 2025, over a third of the first round was spent on these "unsexy" positions.
- Sack Rate Matters: If you're scouting QBs, look at how long they hold the ball. The NFL is faster than college; if they can't get it out in 2.5 seconds, they will struggle.
- The "Medical" is King: Guys like Jermod McCoy (who tore his ACL) provide huge value in the second round if their medicals clear, but they almost always drop out of the first.
The 2025 draft is in the books, and it was a wild ride. From Travis Hunter's two-way dreams to the return of the powerhouse running back, it reminded us why we watch this sport in the first place. You can plan all you want, but once that clock starts ticking, anything can happen.
To stay ahead of the curve for the 2026 cycle, start tracking the "pressure-to-sack" ratios of current college starters and keep an eye on the rising sophomore class of offensive tackles.