Why the 2025 NFL Draft class feels unique

An out of the ordinary class will make for an exciting first day of the 2025 NFL Draft

The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 24th.

A draft class that is unique in its own ways will make for an exciting first round. It will be a spectacle with eyebrow-raising moves and picks.

These are thoughts I have about this year’s group of prospects at-large and how it affects the Los Angeles Rams along with the rest of the NFL.

The big board is top heavy

There are probably only four players amongst this year’s group that would be in the top-five conversation in most other drafts:

Travis Hunter, CB/WR; Colorado

Abdul Carter, EDGE; Penn State

Ashton Jeanty, RB; Boise State

Mason Graham, DT; Michigan

All signs are pointing towards QB Cam Ward being the first off the board, though he’s shot up mock drafts because of (1) the premium paid to acquire quarterbacks and (2) the lack of top signal callers available in this particular class. Ward—in the most optimistic scenarios—might have been the fourth or fifth quarterback taken in 2024 behind at least Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye. Michael Penix, JJ McCarthy, and Bo Nix also came off the board in the first 12 picks a year ago.

It’s not a good year to pick in the range of 6th-15th

Once Ward, Hunter, Carter, Jeanty, and Graham are off the table, there is a clear drop off in the quality of talent in the remaining pool. Now, this changes if there are surprises within the top five—such as the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants rolling the dice on Shedeur Sanders. However, for these reasons, teams aren’t going to get the value out of these relatively high selections as they would in ordinary years.

These are the prospects that consensus boards show as commonly mocked in this range, and each of them carry significant question marks into the draft:

Will Campbell, OT/OG; LSU

If Campbell projects to the NFL as a guard, an early first round pick is a steep price to pay for a lower value position.

Armand Membou, OT; Mizzou

Membou is someone who is relatively new to the game of football and doesn’t have experience at left tackle or along the interior.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR; Arizona

A big-bodied receiver that can struggle to beat press coverage and has questionable long speed. McMillan probably projects as a good number two receiver instead of a leading man.

Tyler Warren, TE; Penn State

Colston Loveland, TE; Michigan

While Warren and Loveland are great prospects at tight end, it’s still questionable whether it’s worth spending a high pick on the position—especially considering that it usually takes time for TE’s to make an impact.

Jalon Walker, EDGE; Georgia

Mykel Williams, EDGE; Georgia

As we saw a few years ago with Travon Walker, it’s tough to project EDGE rushers from Georgia into the NFL. Neither player has high-level pass rushing productivity numbers that you’d like to see from surefire prospects.

Will Johnson, CB; Michigan

Does Johnson have the speed to keep up with NFL receivers?

Kelvin Banks, OT/OG; Texas

Similar to Campbell, Banks might project more favorably at guard in the NFL.

Jahdae Barron, CB; Texas

Is Barron a slot corner at the NFL level? Is it worth taking a corner early if he doesn’t become a full-time starter on the outside?

Shemar Stewart, EDGE; Texas A&M

Similar to Walker and Williams, Stewart is a bet based on his athletic profile and that requires looking past his lack of production.

Mike Green, EDGE; Marshall

Green has notable off-field concerns and we might not be able to gauge the NFL’s level of comfort until we see how early he is taken on Thursday night.

Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

The best off-ball linebacker in the class that shows promise in coverage. How early can you justify taking a player at a low-value position?

We could see a lot of low-cost trades

Teams will know that the marginal difference to move down five picks won’t make or break them in this class; therefore, the cost to move up and down the may be discounted relative to previous drafts.

We could see runs on specific positions—in particular TE, WR, EDGE, CB, or OL—that motivate teams to move up and get their guy. If Shedeur Sanders begins to fall, teams that passed on him early could attempt to trade up from the early second round.

The back of the first round could be chaotic

This probably isn’t the year to follow consensus boards closely. There is a small marginal difference between the prospects that figure to be available in the late first round and those who are currently tracking more into the second.

Teams keep smaller draft boards than those we see in the general media. They understand which players fit their scheme and which don’t make sense for them, and this gets especially interesting at value-add positions like receiver, running back, and EDGE.

Then there’s the quarterback question. Will Jaxson Dart join Ward and Sanders as the third signal caller taken in the first round? Could we also see someone like Jalen Milroe or Tyler Shough enter the equation?

This is a year with more quarterback-interested teams than players available to fill those holes. Could one of these teams fall in love and pull the trigger and throw a dart? Taking a QB in the first round also gives the benefit of the cost-controlled fifth-year option embedded in rookie contracts.

14 – Indianapolis Colts

18 – Seattle Seahawks

21 – Pittsburgh Steelers

26 – Los Angeles Rams

33 – Cleveland Browns

34 – New York Giants

37 – Las Vegas Raiders

40 – New Orleans Saints

42 – New York Jets

43 – San Francisco 49ers

For teams like the Rams, if they truly aren’t interested in quarterback despite deploying what may be smoke screens of late, they stand to benefit from teams in the early second that could be tempted to move up for a QB. LA doesn’t have a second round pick and wouldn’t make another selection until late into the third round, so moving down the board would be a wise maneuver for them.