2025 NFL Draft Recap: Favorite Picks, Draft Steals and the Sanders Saga.

The 2025 NFL Draft is complete. It was an absolute rollercoaster to say the least. There were trades right off the bat, chaotic trade-ups throughout opening night, and of course, the oddity that was the Shedeur Sanders saga. I did a lot more than usual this draft cycle, and a lot of new things. From watching film on prospects, to hopping on Sam Basel’s podcast to talk about the draft, this has been the most memorable time for me on the blog since I started back in late 2020. To cap off an excellent early spring, here is my 2025 NFL Draft recap.

For each round, I will give my favorite pick, as well as my least favorite. If the pick I cover is a quarterback or a wide receiver, I will give my extended thoughts and grades on them as prospects, since those were the two positions that I watched tape on. At the very end, I will give my honest thoughts and opinion on the Sanders situation.

Enjoy!

Round 1:

Favorite: Carolina Panthers - WR Tetairoa McMillian, Arizona, 8th Overall

I have talked constantly this offseason on how the Panthers need to support Bryce Young. In my mock draft I had this pick, and on Sam’s podcast, Jordan Laube had this selection as well, which I loved. McMillian is a big 6’5” target who thrives all over the field, and is a beast on catch-and-run plays. His frame and ability to go up and haul in tough grabs, as well as his overall athleticism, made him my top WR in the class. I’m very happy that Carolina is investing in Young’s future.

Rank (for position): 1/20

Grade: Top-15

Least Favorite: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State, 19th Overall

I don’t hate the player, but I hate this pick. The Bucs have no glaring need at receiver, and could have taken Alabama LB Jihad Campbell to be the eventual Lavonte David successor. Egbuka is a crafty route-runner who gets open very well and plays smart. However, he will struggle to get playing time behind Mike Evans, the newly re-signed Chris Godwin, and sophomore Jalen McMillan, who had an excellent rookie campaign. It just doesn't make sense taking a premium position when there were other needs.

Rank (for position): 5/20

Grade: Early 2nd

Round 2:

Favorite: Cardinals, CB Will Johnson, Michigan, 47th Overall

In both my mock draft and on the podcast, I had Johnson going 9th to the Saints. He was a lockdown corner for Michigan and won defensive MVP in the 2024 National Championship Game. Despite his high achievements in college, a knee injury scared teams off from taking him in the first round. Arizona got a top-10 talent with the 47th pick. That is amazing value, especially for a team in need of defensive help.

Least Favorite: Broncos, RB RJ Harvey, UCF, 60th Overall

Denver had a dire need in the backfield and they addressed it, but with their holes at receiver and tight end, I thought this was a reach. Also, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson was on the board; the consensus 5th best running back in the draft, and the best one available at this pick. They would have been better off with Johnson in my opinion.

Round 3:

Favorite: Falcons, S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame, 96th Overall

The Dirty Birds wanted to shore up their pass defense, and they did this by taking Watts. I was high on the Notre Dame product, and had him taken by the Bills in my mock draft in the first round. Great value for a high upside player is a really good combination, especially at a position that the Falcons need.

Least Favorite: Broncos, WR Pat Bryant, Illinois, 74th Overall

Another Broncos pick that is peculiar to me. Yes, they filled a need, but this was a massive reach. To his credit, Bryant is a great route-runner who provides intrigue as a prospect due to his athletic skillset. However, in a deep wideout class, and Bryant's struggles to be a vertical threat bumped him down my board. Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor or Utah State’s Jalen Royals would have been much better picks, especially with the Broncos in need of a reliable option ASAP.

Rank (for position): 18/20

Grade: Early 6th

Round 4:

Favorite: Titans, WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford, 136th Overall

Even when setting my bias aside, I love this pick. Ayomanor has great explosiveness, making him a threat at all three levels, as well as solid route running. Tennessee needs a dynamic young target to emerge, and Ayomanor fits the bill. His ability to dominate a game gives him a very high ceiling, and with the good value on this pick, I give it an A+ for the Titans.

Rank (for position): 9/20

Grade: Early 3rd

Least Favorite: Jets, WR Arian Smith, Georgia, 110th Overall

To be honest, Smith wasn’t one of the 20 receivers that I studied tape on. His burst and speed make him an intriguing prospect, but the rest of his game needs heavy refinement. With both Ayomanor and Jalen Royals on the board at the time, Gang Green would have been better off taking one of the two more polished guys.

Rank (for position): N/A

Grade: N/A

Round 5:

Favorite: Rams, LB Chris Paul Jr. Ole Miss, 172nd Overall

I didn’t do much homework on the defensive side of the ball, but Paul was ESPN’s 4th-ranked linebacker in the class, and ended up as the 17th LB selected. That's really good value for a Day 3 pick.

Least Favorite: Dolphins, CB Jason Marshall Jr. Florida, 150th Overall

Like Paul, I relied on ESPN’s analysis for this choice, and to say the least I don’t love it. Marshall was the 29th-best corner in the draft, with an overall grade of 255, which would correlate to being picked in the late 7th. Also considering that UTSA’s Zah Frazier was picked after him (the 13th-ranked CB), this was a massive reach by Miami.

Round 6:

Favorite: Saints, RB Devin Neal, Kansas, 184th Overall

I did not study any film for the exceptionally deep running back class, but Neal was one of my favorite guys in the draft. He was a monster at Kansas, and in most drafts he would likely have been a late Day 2 pick. Considering that ESPN had him as the 8th-best back, and he ended up being the 17th RB picked is exceptional value for New Orleans.

Least Favorite: Steelers, QB Will Howard, Ohio State, 185th Overall

To be frank, I was a lot lower on Howard than most. However, this pick isn’t to bash him. Pittsburgh went into the draft with no clean QB1, and sat in the third round with the opportunity to pick Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who is a freak athlete with a very high ceiling. With the team that they have already a playoff contender, and potentially being a halfway decent QB away from legit AFC title hopes, waiting until the 6th round to take a 24-year-old rookie with limited potential is an odd decision to say the least. 

Rank (for position): 9/11

Grade: Late 6th

Round 7: 

Favorite: Dolphins, QB Quinn Ewers, Texas, 231st Overall

I was very surprised that Ewers fell this far. On film, I saw legitimate first round potential in his game. With the untapped arm talent that he has, I believed that, at the latest, he'd go early on Day 3. However, with injury red flags and a lack of athleticism, the Texas product fell to Miami here. This is a perfect spot for him. Considering Tua Tagovailoa’s health concerns, as well as coach Mike McDaniel’s offensive scheme, the Dolphins landed themselves the steal of the draft. Ewers has the potential to be a high end backup who can run the offense to a T, something that the Fins backups have failed to do when Tua has been sidelined.

Rank (for position): 3/11

Grade: Early 2nd 

Least Favorite: Patriots, LS Julian Ashby from Vanderbilt, 251st Overall

I like the Pats draft overall, but spending a draft pick on a long snapper even when captain Joe Cardona was cut, is an odd choice. However, with it being one of the very last picks of the draft, I don’t hate it.

The Shedeur Sanders Saga:

Prior to watching Shedeur’s film this offseason, I was looking forward to seeing what he could do. Being very new to this aspect of the draft process, combined with seeing his name in Top-5 discussions, I assumed that his tape would be a great watch. However, it was probably some of the worst film I had gone over between both positions that I scouted.

His lack of arm strength was bad, and he constantly forced throws with sloppy mechanics, leading to a hit-or-miss deep ball. While his offensive line was far from elite, he constantly made normal sacks 10x worse by not throwing the ball away. The cherry on top was watching tape from the ugly Alamo Bowl vs. BYU. When facing great defenses, like BYU’s, he shrunk, and his weaknesses were amplified.

To his credit, he did lead the nation with a 74% completion percentage. His touch on short passes was very good, and he played smart most of the time, and knew how to take the checkdowns when he needed to, but I did not see a Top-5 pick. Hell, I didn’t even see a first round pick. I tagged Sanders with a late-2nd round grade just because all the top analysts had him in the first round. 

Even Jordan Laube, who helped me learn the basics of scouting players, had him outside the first round. Before the second round kicked off, he texted in the group chat with myself, Sam Basel, and James Mas, that he wouldn’t be surprised if Sanders fell to Day 3. Jordan was spot on, and it was very impressive to see that scenario pan out. Go look at his work, he is the best football mind that I know, and it was awesome working with him this draft process.

My theory on why Sanders fell in the draft is not like many on the internet. Most people on X let the hype and highlights get to them, and blamed his fall-off as collusion or people trying to tear his father down. What I saw was a player deciding to decline the option to go to the Senior Bowl, opt out of Combine drills, and let his lackluster tape show for itself. On top of that he interviewed horribly with teams. NFL franchises were not trying to sabotage him or his father. Shedeur Sanders simply let the hype get to his head, was arrogant and cocky during the interview process, and didn’t get away with it.

To people telling me to “go watch his highlights,” I’ll say this; Highlights do not equal film. Highlights are simply just really good or even great plays, and should not be used as an indicator of how good/bad someone is. Actual tape/game film is what is used to determine that, and Sanders didn’t have great film.

Here is a full Shedeur breakdown, courtesy of the First Round Mock on X:

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown and recap of the 2025 NFL Draft. With most football news

slowing down now, I likely won’t address the sport until the end of the summer when I preview the upcoming college football season. However, go make sure you see my baseball coverage this season, especially come summertime when America’s Pastime really heats up!