Just in: 2025 NFL mock draft: Cam Ward to Titans, Travis Hunter falls out of top four

National Football League

2025 NFL mock draft: Cam Ward to Titans, Travis Hunter falls out of top four

The NFL season is in the books, with the Philadelphia Eagles dominating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. And while we have to wait several months for meaningful football, we still have the 2025 NFL Draft approaching.

While this year’s class doesn’t have big playmakers at the receiver spot like last year’s did, it’s full of lineman on both sides of the ball who can be franchise game-changers — just like Jordan Mailata and Jalen Carter have proven to be for the Eagles. While free agency will surely shake things up, along with trades that will almost surely change the draft order — this is FOX Sports Research’s current projection of how things will unfold April 24-26 in the NFL Draft.

Let’s take a look:

1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
There wasn’t a school passing record that Ward didn’t break in his lone season at Miami, leading all of FBS with 39 pass touchdowns and finishing second in pass yards with 4,134 yards. Will Levis has not looked like a suitable long-term plan at the position and Ward provides deep-play ability that Tennessee lacked all season. His 74 completions of 20-pus yards were tied for the most in FBS, and it’s also worth nothing that he has a plethora of experience — having played five seasons in college before finishing his career as a Heisman finalist. And don’t forget, he doesn’t turn 23 until May.

2. Cleveland Browns: Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State

Even with a restructured deal, Cleveland will pay Deshaun Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons — making it hard to justify drafting a quarterback despite his subpar play over the last three seasons. With that in mind, they’ll have to draft the best player available, which is clearly Carter — a prospect that several pundits think is worthy of the first overall pick. He’s a freaky athlete and was one of four Power Conference players to have 12 or more sacks this season. It’s also worth noting Myles Garrett has requested a trade, making this a no-brainer decision.

3. New York Giants: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

Shedeur in New York? It sounds like a match made in heaven, despite his public affinity towards Las Vegas. He could easily go first overall with how his Colorado film looks. No quarterback in FBS was sacked more than him over the last two seasons, having been taken down 94 times in that span — 15 more than the next-worst mark. And still, Sanders led the country in pass touchdowns with 64 to his name since 2023 — also being one of four quarterbacks in the country to throw for over 7,000 yards in that span.

4. New England Patriots: Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas

While New England has several needs to address, the offensive line has to be the most crucial. They were one of six teams this past season to have given up 52 sacks, and had the second-lowest pass block efficiency grade in the NFL in 2024 at 80.1, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). This season’s Outland Trophy Award winner (given to the nation’s best lineman) is a smart choice here. When including the regular and bowl season, Banks allowed one sack this season and had the fifth best PFF pass block grade of any offensive tackle at 89.8.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado

While fifth overall seems low for the Heisman Trophy winner, we expect Hunter to be here at this point in the draft purely due to quarterback need at the top and the Patriots’ dire need for a long-term blind-side protector. Hunter might arguably be the best player in the draft and Jacksonville is a perfect fit, as they had the worst pass defense in the league this year — giving up a whopping 257.4 pass yards per game. He’d also be a great supplement to Brian Thomas Jr., who emerged as a star at the receiver spot in his rookie season.

6. Las Vegas Raiders: Will Campbell, OT, LSU

Unless the Raiders trade up, it’s highly unlikely a quarterback will be available here. The offense rushed for a league-low 79.8 yards per game and also gave up 50 sacks on the year. This pick should be either Banks or Campbell, depending on who is available. The former LSU star is one of the most decorated offensive lineman in school history, finishing as a consensus All-American in 2024 and going 15 straight games without giving up a sack in his 2023 campaign.
7. New York Jets: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State

Despite getting hurt in 2024, Simmons flashed in his six games for the Buckeyes — playing 306 blocking snaps and not allowing a single sack or quarterback hit in that span. He’s also demonstrated a versatile skill-set, having started 13 games at right tackle for San Diego State in 2022 before moving over to the left for the Buckeyes in 2023-24. Simmons might be more of a project, but both of the Jets starting tackles will become free agents this March (Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses) — and he would be a good complement to Olu Fashanu, New York’s first-round pick in last year’s draft.