NFL Draft 2025: 14 fun facts you should know

Whet your draft appetite with these little tidbits

It’s almost here! In case you haven’t heard, the extravaganza known as the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night, in Green Bay. The excitement is building, and yes, it’s excitement for a “sporting event” that doesn’t have any athletic activity. There won’t be a single throw, shot, hit, run, pass, or point or run scored. Don’t question it, it’s just how it is.

If you missed my article on the best draft landing spots for players for fantasy football, here it is. I was going to come back today with some more draft analysis, but I thought better of it. We’ve reached the “paralysis by analysis” stage. Does anyone really need another mock draft? Or another breakdown of this running back class? Or another piece on what Big Blue should do at Pick 3? Nope.

So today all I’ve got for you are 14 fun facts about the NFL Draft, 2025. Enjoy!

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1. The first NFL Draft took place in 1936, with nine teams making selections. 81 players were chosen, and only 24 of them went on to ever play a snap in the NFL. We’ve come a LONG way, folks.

2. University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward is widely expected to be the first pick on Thursday night, to the Tennessee Titans. The last player from the U to be taken first overall was Russell Maryland to Dallas (1991), and the last Miami QB to be taken first overall was Vinny Testaverde to the Bucs (1987).

3. In the 2024 Draft, the Harrisons (Marvin and Marvin) and the Alts (Joe and Joe) became the 10^th and 11^th father-son combinations since 1967 to both get drafted in the first round. If Shedeur Sanders gets taken in the first round as expected, he and his father Deion will become the 12^th tandem on the list.

4. The Panthers, Giants, Titans, Jets, Patriots, and Bears all have a Top-10 draft slot for the second consecutive year (the Panthers’ 2024 first round pick, pick 1 overall, was traded to the Bears in 2023). That’s more than half of this year’s Top-10.

5. The Saints, who pick ninth and have a need at quarterback, have not taken a QB in the first round since 1971 (Archie Manning). Every other NFL team has taken at least one QB in the first round in the 53 drafts since 1971 (and some have taken more than five in that span).

6. The Browns, who could potentially select a quarterback in the first round (either at pick 2, or if they trade up into the round later on), have taken a league-high five quarterbacks in Round 1 since 1999 (the first year of the franchise reboot in Cleveland).

7. Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough has been in college for seven years and was a backup to Justin Herbert at Oregon in both 2018 and 2019. Herbert has already played five NFL seasons.

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8. If Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is selected in Round 1, he will be the fifth Ohio State WR to come off the board in Round 1 since 2022 (five first-round WRs in four drafts). Wide receiver U? L.S.U. would like a word.

9. The 2024 NFL Draft set a record when the first 14 players taken in Round 1 all played offense. Despite that, it was the second time in three years where no running backs went in Round 1. At least two RBs are expected to get drafted in Round 1 on Thursday night.

10. In the 10 drafts during the 1990s, a total of 32 running backs were selected in the first round. Across the first five drafts of the 2020s, just five RBs have been taken in Round 1. The times they are a-changin’.

11. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty could be drafted very early on Thursday night (if you want to bet on his draft slot, the over/under is pick 6.5). No running back has been taken inside the first six picks since Saquon Barkley was taken second overall by the Giants in 2018.

12. This past season, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had 12 rushing TDs of 10 or more yards, and that’s the highest single-season total for any college QB in the last 25 years.

13. Milroe was invited by the league to attend the NFL Draft, but his odds of being selected in the first round currently stand at just +170. Green room drama is something nobody likes to see, so let’s hope he’s not sitting there all night.

14. That said, if Milroe is in fact selected in Round 1, he’ll be the seventh Alabama QB to be taken in the first round (that’s the most of any current SEC school), and the fourth in the 2020s.

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Tennessee is on the clock. I’ll have some post-draft fantasy analysis next week, so please keep it here.