Set to kickoff tonight, the 2025 NFL Draft is projected to feature some of the most sought after prospects in NCAA football.
The first overall pick of the draft will belong to the Tennessee Titans, according to the draft order on NFL.com.
One player that I expect to come out of the first round is quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Coached by his dad, Deion Sanders at the University of Colorado, Shedeur Sanders threw 4,134 yards in 2024, the most he had in one season, according to his stats on ESPN.
He also completed a career high 74% of his passes, according to the same source.
Sanders’s completion rate was the highest in the nation, according to a Dec. 10, 2024 article from Bleacher Report.
In the same season, the Buffaloes went 9-4 overall and placed fourth in the Big 12 Conference. That’s not a bad resume for an NFL prospect.
While I do believe that Sanders will be drafted in the first round, I don’t think he will be the first quarterback selected. I think that is going to belong to Cam Ward.
The Heisman contender threw 4,313 yards averaging 9.5 yards per pass last year at the University of Miami, which can be found on his stats page on ESPN.
Ward also had a quarterback rating of 88.7, the second highest in the FBS based on the same source.
Football bowl subdivision (FBS) is the highest level of college football in the U.S., according to an Aug. 28, 2024 Sports Illustrated article.
A Nov. 19, 2024 article from the Spartan Daily references ESPN’s definition of quarterback rating which measures a quarterback’s efficiency on a scale of 0-100.
Stepping outside of the quarterback position, I think it's safe to say that two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter is going to be a high overall pick.
His ability to track the ball offensively and defensively is a skill that not a lot of players have.
Occupying both the wide receiver and cornerback position, Hunter was compared to Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Darius Slay Jr. by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein after watching him perform at the NFL Combine.
Hunter, who played with Sanders at Colorado, had 1,258 receiving yards while averaging 13.1 yards per catch this past season according to his stats on ESPN.
As a cornerback, Hunter had a career high 4 interceptions and 35 tackles in the same season based on the same stats webpage.
Another defensive player that has garnered some attention surrounding the draft is edge rusher Abdul Carter from Penn State.
Carter is considered to be one of the highest prospects in the draft class, according to an April 21 article from ESPN. Last season, he recorded 12 sacks and was ranked third in the FBS for pressure rate with a percentage of 18.5% according to the same source.
This means that Carter was able to generate pressure on 18.5% of pass-rush plays.
In the NFL, the average pass rusher generates pressure on 10.3% of pass-rush plays, according to a webpage from the league.
NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., has Carter projected to be a No. 2 overall pick as seen in the same ESPN article.
Regarding the ground game, Heisman runner up Ashton Jeanty has a very high chance of being the first running back drafted from the 2025 draft class.
In his final season for Boise State, Jeanty ran for 2,601 yards while averaging 7 yards per rush and scored 29 touchdowns according to his statline on ESPN.
This past season, the Broncos had a record of 12-2 and ranked eighth in the nation in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
To bring the NFL Draft closer to home, San José State wide receiver Nick Nash also declared for the draft.
Nash earned the triple crown this past season leading the nation in receptions, yards and touchdowns, according to a Dec. 2, 2024 article from SJSU Athletics.
The Spartan wide receiver’s 104 catches this season set a new school record for most receptions in a season.
Zierlein has Nash as a projected fifth round pick according to an NFL webpage.
The draft, which will take place in Green Bay, Wis. is scheduled to last until Saturday.
