Tag: 2025 NFL Draft

The Athletic’s early 2025 mock sends CB to Jaguars in first round

The Athletic’s early 2025 mock sends a cornerback to the Jaguars in the first round

While the Jaguars selected two cornerbacks throughout the 2024 NFL draft, addressing one of their biggest positional needs by bringing in a duo of defensive backs with varying skill sets in Jarrian Jones and Deantre Prince, the question of whether Jacksonville invested enough into the spot this offseason persists.

In addition to spending third and fifth-round picks on cornerbacks, Jacksonville signed veteran Ronald Darby to a two-year contract in free agency.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler believes the Jaguars need more long-term help on the boundary. In his first “early” 2025 NFL mock draft, Brugler slotted Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke to Jacksonville with the No. 15 overall selection.

The draft order was generated based on current Super Bowl LIX odds from an undisclosed oddsmaker.

“Burke turned down a likely spot in the top 50 of the 2024 class for one more year in Columbus. He can read and drive in the quick game or turn and stay attached to receivers vertically.” — Dane Brugler, The Athletic

The 6-foot-1, 193-pound Burke has recorded 95 tackles with six for loss, two interceptions, 27 passes defended and one forced fumble over 35 appearances with Ohio State, all of which he’s started, dating back to Week 1 of his freshman campaign.

According to Pro Football Focus, Burke has allowed 78 receptions over 151 career targets in coverage, generating a 51.7% catch rate.

Brugler’s long-term assessment of Jacksonville’s cornerback room is valid as Darby and fellow starting corner, Tyson Campbell, are not currently set to be under contract with the Jaguars beyond the 2024 campaign.

Campbell, Jacksonville’s second-round pick in 2021, became eligible for a contract extension this offseason. He’s produced 203 tackles with six for loss, six interceptions, 30 passes defended and two forced fumbles in 43 games, including 42 starts.

Darby, who signed with Jacksonville in March after nine seasons with five different teams, has tallied 401 tackles with nine for loss, eight interceptions, 97 pass breakups and one forced fumble over 105 career games and 95 starts.

Find the Jaguars’ 2024 draft class in full below.

Editor’s note; This story has been updated as cornerback Ronald Darby signed a two-year contract with Jacksonville in March, not one year as originally written. Jaguars Wire regrets this error. 

Four Bulldogs players selected in USA TODAY 2025 mock draft

Multiple Georgia Bulldogs players are expected to come off the board in 2025 a way-too-early NFL mock draft

As NFL draft season has reached its conclusion, various outlets have begun publishing way to early mock drafts for next year. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY recently published an early model of what next year could look like, including four Georgia players going in round one.

First off the board for the Dawgs was quarterback Carson Beck, projected to go first overall to the New York Giants. Beck had a great season for the Dawgs a year ago and seems poised to take the next step this year en route to possibly placing himself atop a class that should also feature Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Texas‘ Quinn Ewers.

Next off the board are back to back picks from UGA in safety Malaki Starks at No. 14 to the Colts and edge rusher Mykel Williams at No. 15 to the Jaguars. Starks is widely seen as the best safety in the country heading into this season while Williams is seeking to have a breakout season as he transitions fully to the edge rusher role for Georgia.

The final Bulldog off the board is left tackle Earnest Greene, projected to go 25th overall to the Cleveland Browns. Greene is in his second year as a full-time starter and seeking to follow in the footsteps of Andrew Thomas and Amarius Mims in being selected in the opening round.

Bleacher Report thinks this former Duke quarterback could be a top-10 pick in 2025 NFL Draft

Former Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard was mocked to go No. 10 overall in Bleacher Report’s way-too-early 2025 NFL Mock Draft. 

Bleacher Report released a way-too-early 2025 NFL Mock Draft on Monday, and their scouting department thinks former Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard could go early.

Leonard went 10th overall to the New Orleans Saints in the projection.

The quarterback played three seasons at Duke before he transferred to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this offseason.

Leonard only appeared in seven games in 2023 after he suffered an ankle injury against the Fighting Irish during the fifth game of the season. He tried to come back against Florida State three weeks later, but he had to leave the game after aggravating the injury. He threw 39 passes over the final seven regular-season games.

He finished the season with 1,102 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and three interceptions. He also had a 58% completion percentage.

When Leonard was last fully healthy, as a sophomore in 2022, he threw for 2,967 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just six picks across 13 games. He completed 64% of his passes that year and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt.

This past March, he underwent a second surgery on his ankle after his transfer to Notre Dame. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said he would miss the next few weeks but could participate in some spring ball in some capacity.

Way-too-early 2025 NFL draft features one Alabama player

Though we are a full year away, see which Alabama football player is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft!

The 2024 NFL draft just concluded, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look ahead to see what may be in store for the 2025 draft. One way-too-early mock done by USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has a single Alabama Crimson Tide football player in the first round.

Though many would expect to see quarterback Jalen Milroe earn a first-round projection, Middlehurst-Schwartz only has offensive lineman Tyler Booker being selected in the first 32 picks.

At No. 30 overall in this mock draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select offensive lineman Tyler Booker.

“It might not be long before the two-time depending champions embrace a shift on the interior as they sort out the financial futures of guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith and center Creed Humphrey, with the latter two set to enter the final year of their contracts. The massively powerful Booker could step in to fill a hole at guard while creating some of his own in the run game.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football players who are prospects for the 2025 NFL draft.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Can former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft?

Former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame this offseason, showed up in the top 10 of The Draft Wire’s early 2025 NFL mock draft.

There’s always a draft riser at the quarterback position every year. 12 months ago, people would have thought you were crazy if you said LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels would be a top-two pick.

Who will it be in 2025? Well, The Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy thinks it might be former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard.

Popejoy released a way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft on Sunday, and he slotted Leonard in as the ninth pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The former Blue Devils passer transferred to Notre Dame this offseason after three seasons in Durham. He threw for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore and led Duke to a 4-0 start as a junior before an ankle injury derailed his season.

Leonard was Popejoy’s second quarterback off the board behind Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman. The old Duke signal-caller went above names like Texas’s Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.

Dolphins projected to have 10 picks in 2025 NFL draft

The Dolphins haven’t had much draft capital in recent offseasons, but that’s set to change in 2025.

The Miami Dolphins haven’t had much draft capital in recent offseasons, but that should change in 2025. Even after trading away a future third-round pick on Saturday, the Dolphins are still projected to have 10 selections in the 2025 NFL draft.

For now, they officially own seven picks:

  • First round
  • Second round
  • Fourth round
  • Fifth round (via Broncos)
  • Fifth round
  • Seventh round (via Bears)
  • Seventh round

The Dolphins are expected to add three more when the NFL announces compensatory selections next year.

Losing Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt to nine-digit contracts in free agency will almost definitely result in a pair of extra third-round picks getting added to the Dolphins’ list of assets. General manager Chris Grier said the team made its trade for Jaylen Wright, in part, because it expects to get those two selections next year.

“You can’t use the compensatory picks until this time next year, so the ones we anticipate were all protected,” Grier said Saturday. “But it gave us some flexibility to move around, as we talked about us being active and trying to move up in the draft previously.”

While many of Miami’s other free agency losses were negated by a few of the team’s additions, Over The Cap projects the Dolphins will also get a seventh-round pick for the departure of safety DeShon Elliott.

The Dolphins haven’t received any compensatory selections since the 2020 NFL draft and haven’t had a third-rounder since 2017.

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2025 NFL draft: What picks do the Lions have in next year’s draft?

Tracking what picks the Detroit Lions currently hold in the 2025 NFL draft after some trades involving a few selections

After making a couple of trades in the 2024 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions accelerated some of their 2025 draft capital by a year. The Lions and GM Brad Holmes dealt away two 2025 picks as part of trades over the draft weekend.

Most notably, the Lions traded away their third-round pick in 2025 to the New York Jets in order to select British Columbia OL Giovanni Manu with the 126th overall pick near the end of the fourth round of the 2024 draft. That was a straight deal that involved no 2024 draft assets.

The Lions later dealt a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Eagles as part of a package of picks to move up and select Utah RB Sione Vaki at No. 132 overall. Detroit had two fourth-round picks in 2025, and this pick was the one acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in the D’Andre Swift trade right after the 2023 draft. Yes, the Lions traded the Eagles pick back to Philadelphia.

Back at the 2023 NFL trade deadline, the Lions acquired WR Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Detroit’s sixth-round pick in 2025.

Detroit originally had an extra seventh-round pick in 2025 from the ill-fated trade with the Jets for WR Denzel Mims. However, when Mims didn’t even last a month with the Lions, the conditional picks in the deal were negated.

The Lions did pick up a 2025 seventh-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys in the trade to move up and select Terrion Arnold in the first round in 2024.

2025 Lions picks

First round (hopefully No. 32 overall!)

Second round

Fourth round

Fifth round

Sixth round – Buccaneers pick

Seventh round – own pick

Seventh round – Cowboys pick

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Broncos select OT Will Campbell in way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft

With Garett Bolles set to become a free agent, this way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft has the Broncos picking OT Will Campbell.

The 2024 NFL draft is now in the rearview mirror, which means it’s time for … more mock drafts!

In his way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft, Curt Popejoy of Draft Wire has the Denver Broncos selecting LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell with the third overall pick. Garett Bolles is scheduled to become a free agent next spring and the Broncos have not drafted an offensive tackle (in any round) in eight-straight years, so landing a top prospect like Campbell is overdue.

Before anyone gets too mad about Popejoy projecting Denver as the third-worst team in the league this fall, that’s not his projection; it’s the Las Vegas prediction. The Broncos are tied with the fourth-worst odds to win the Super Bowl this year. The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots, who pick first and second in the mock, have the worst Super Bowl odds to win a title in 2024.

So if you don’t like that draft order projection, take it up with the oddsmakers.

For what it’s worth, Popejoy had the Broncos picking USC quarterback Caleb Williams in his way-too-early 2024 NFL draft mock at this time last year. Denver undoubtedly would have loved to pick Williams in this year’s draft, but they didn’t pick until 12th overall after winning eight games last season. Instead, the Broncos picked Oregon’s Bo Nix in the first round.

To view Popejoy’s complete 2025 NFL mock draft, visit Draft Wire.

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2025 NFL mock draft: Way early look at who experts predict the Ravens will select

Despite the 2024 NFL Draft not having concluded yet, there are already several 2025 NFL mock drafts out there.

The Thursday night (first round) session of the NFL Draft has widespread, mainstream appeal. The Friday night (rounds 2-3) and Saturday (rounds 4-7) portions are for hard core football fans.

But looking a whole full year ahead to the next year’s draft? That’s for the true, bona fide extreme football geeks only. Despite the 2024 NFL Draft not having concluded yet, there are already several 2025 NFL mock drafts out there.

Let’s take a look and see what they have the Ravens doing

CBS Sports: #30. Collin Oliver, LB, Oklahoma State

  “Oliver glides in his movements; he can come downhill with purpose and is a wrap-up tackler in space. He will take on offensive linemen and set edge vs. the run, and he regularly plays stronger than his size. He also flashes some juice as a pass rusher.”

24/7 Sports: #30. Josh Conerly Jr, OT, Oregon

The Ravens are great at not overthinking their draft picks and selecting good players. That’s exactly what Conerly Jr. is. A former 5-star prospect, Conerly was excellent in his first season as a full-time starter, yielding one sack and 17 pressures playing the blindside and protecting Bo Nix. Despite lacking the ideal length for tackle, Conerly will have a shot at getting drafted high after the season and could be a candidate to kick inside to guard in the NFL.

Walter Football: #30. Gentry Williams, CB, Oklahoma

“Unless some of their young players break out, the Ravens could use a young corner to pair with Marlon Humphrey.

Williams notched 30 tackles, one pass batted and three interceptions in 2023. As his experience grows, Williams (6-0, 182) could be a riser.”

AZ Sports: #30. Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas

If you look at Isaiah Bond’s stats from his first two years at Alabama (just 888 yards and five touchdowns) one might think he isn’t very special. But one look at his highlights here below and you’ll likely understand the hype (highly recommend you mute the audio). Bond should immediately slot into the primary vertical threat role for Steve Sarkisian’s Texas offense this fall and find himself drafted early. The Ravens get an explosive deep threat to pair with Zay Flowers.

NBA Draft Room: #23. Jordan Hancock, CB, Ohio State

Bleacher Report: #30. Emery Jones, OL, LSU

These two websites do not do player descriptions.

Giants land a QB in USA TODAY’s way-too-early 2025 mock draft

In USA TODAY’s way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft, the New York Giants finally land their Daniel Jones replacement and select a quarterback.

The 2024 NFL draft came to a close this past Saturday so that naturally means it’s time to look ahead to the 2025 NFL draft, right?

It’s an annual exercise and that’s not going to change this year.

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY has already compiled his way-too-early 2025 mock draft and his projections don’t look good for the New York Giants. He has them picking first overall next year based on ESPN’s pre-draft win projections and ending up with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

Unlike this point last year with Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, there’s no quarterback out there who looks to be a surefire top-five pick. Beck, however, might be the front-runner to be the highest signal-caller taken – and therefore in the mix for No. 1. The 6-4, 220-pound passer stepped into his first year as a starter and took command, throwing for 3,941 yards while completing nearly 73% of his passes.

Beck’s arm strength can help bring back a big-play element that has long been absent for New York with Daniel Jones at the helm. But the Georgia standout is also a precise and on-schedule operator, which should allow him to form a potent connection with 2024 first-round receiver Malik Nabers, an electric threat after the catch.

With an off ramp to Jones’ contract available after this season, Big Blue could end up moving quickly to admit fault on the extension and change course. Beck might make for an attractive option to which the team could pivot, especially after reports that the team made a serious push to try to move up for Drake Maye.

The same trend of the past three years is developing — quarterback, quarterback, quarterback.

Experts and Giants fans are desperate to move on from Daniel Jones and have beaten that dead horse so thoroughly that only dust remains. This time, however, they may finally get their wish as the Giants have an out in Jones’ contract after this season.

Of course, that only happens if the team struggles and Jones plays poorly. If he somehow remains healthy and can play like he did in 2022, the anti-DJ crowd may not get their wish in the end.

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