NFL Madness

The 2025 NFL Draft

Photo by All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

Every year, around the last weekend of April, the NFL holds their annual draft. In the draft, the top college prospects get selected to their respective NFL teams. After seven rounds and 257 picks, there are still some players who are left available. Each year, the draft is split into three days, round one on the first day, rounds two and three on the second and rounds four through seven on day three. The draft took place in Green Bay, Wis. for the first time in NFL history.

The Tennessee Titans held the first overall pick for the first time since 1978, when they drafted superstar running back Earl Campbell. With the first overall pick, the Titans selected all-American quarterback Cam Ward from the University of Miami. This is the third time in a row where a quarterback was selected with the first overall pick. Ward was the consensus first pick, with almost every mock draft having Ward selected first.

In the first round of the 2025 NFL draft there were four separate trades. The first trade was between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars traded their fifth pick and other picks, for pick two to select Heisman winner Travis Hunter from Colorado, in return the Browns gave up the second overall pick, at pick five they selected all-American defensive linemen Mason Graham from Michigan. Along with this trade, the New York Giants traded their second and third round picks, along with their 2026 second round pick, for pick 25 from the Texans to select Quarterback Jaxon Dart from Ole Miss. One pick later, the Los Angeles Rams traded pick 26 to the Atlanta Falcons, for their 2026 first round pick, with pick 26 the Falcons drafted defensive end James Pearce Jr. from Tennessee. The last trade was between the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles traded up one pick to select linebacker Jihaad Campbell from Alabama, in return with other picks, the Chiefs selected offensive tackle Josh Simmons from Ohio State at pick 32.

A huge storyline from the NFL draft surrounded quarterback Shedeur Sanders from the University of Colorado. Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was a projected top-10 pick, with an average selection of pick seven combining all ESPN mock drafts. However, Sanders took a drastic fall. After falling out of the first round, he was projected to go on day two of the draft during rounds two and three. Yet, it got worse, after getting prank called by a few Ole Miss students, Sanders still was not drafted on day two. Finally on day three, in round five pick 144, the Cleveland Browns selected Sanders. This is one of the most drastic falls in NFL draft history.

The NFL draft this year was a huge event. Not only were 257 players able to live out their lifelong dreams, but the NFL was able to host over 600,000 fans in Green Bay. The countdown is now on for the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where it will take place on April 23–25.