2025 NFL Draft: First Round Results, How to Watch

The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft has come and gone: the NFL’s 32 teams rolled the dice on the next additions to their rosters for the coming 2025-26 NFL football season at the annual NFL Draft, and it was one fun, chaotic night. Two of the top available QBs, Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart, went in the first round, while Jacksonville pulled off a shocking trade with Cleveland to take top prospect and Heisman winner Travis Hunter second overall. 

Whether you’ve watching the prospects like a hawk or you’re just now curious who could end up on your favorite team’s lineup, we put together this guide to who’s who in this year’s draft, where some of the top prospects could land, and the results of the crucial first 32 picks.

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When is the 2025 NFL Draft?

The 2025 NFL Draft will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, until Saturday, April 26, 2025.

How Can I Watch the 2025 NFL Draft?

The 2025 NFL Draft will be broadcast on:

• ESPN (DIRECTV Channel 206)
• ESPN Deportes (DIRECTV Channel 466)
• ABC (Check local listings)
• NFL Network (DIRECTV Channel 212)
• NFL+ (Streaming)

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How Does the NFL Draft Work?

The NFL draft is one of the biggest non-game events of the year in professional football. But how does it work? How does the order get determined, and why does it shift around so much? Let’s break it down:

Eligibility

To be draft-eligible, players must have been out of high school for at least three years.

Draft Order

The draft is set up in a way that gives the worst-performing teams from the prior season a chance at drafting the best players to balance out team strength across the league. Teams are allowed to trade their draft picks to each other in exchange for players or other draft picks. Teams can also call each other up and trade picks during the draft.

After the teams that did not make the playoffs are assigned their spots, the teams that did make the post-season are placed in the order of the round they were eliminated in during the prior season’s playoffs, then ordered by win-loss record.

Teams are also given compensatory picks based on how many players they gained or lost during free agency, when players whose contracts expire or otherwise become available to other teams are allowed to explore opportunities.

Teams that engage in illegal behavior or otherwise violate the league’s rules will occasionally be required to forfeit their draft picks as a penalty.

This year, the Tennessee Titans (3-14) have the first draft pick.

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2025 NFL Draft Order & Round 1 Results

Now, let’s take a look at the official draft order from the NFL:

1. Tennessee Titans (3-14) – Cam Ward
2. Cleveland Browns (3-14)– Traded to 5th, took Mason Graham
3. New York Giants (3-14) – Abdul Carter
4. New England Patriots (4-13) – Will Campbell
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13) – Traded up to 2nd, took Travis Hunter
6. Las Vegas Raiders (4-13) – Ashton Jeanty
7. New York Jets (5-12) – Armand Membou
8. Carolina Panthers (5-12) – Tetairoa McMillan
9. New Orleans Saints (5-12) – Kelvin Banks Jr. 
10. Chicago Bears (5-12) – Colston Loveland
11. San Francisco 49ers (6-11) – Mykel Williams
12. Dallas Cowboys (7-10) – Tyler Booker
13. Miami Dolphins (8-9) – Kenneth Grant
14. Indianapolis Colts (8-9) – Tyler Warren
15. Atlanta Falcons (8-9) – Jalon Walker
16. Arizona Cardinals (8-9) – Walter Nolen
17. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)– Shemar Stewart
18. Seattle Seahawks (10-7) – Grey Zabel
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) – Emeka Egbuka
20. Denver Broncos (10-7) – Jahdae Barron
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) – Derrick Harmon
22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) – Omarion Hampton
23. Green Bay Packers (11-6) – Matthew Golden
24. Minnesota Vikings (14-3) – Donovan Jackson
25. Houston Texans (10-7) – Traded with NYG, Giants took Jaxson Dart
26. Los Angeles Rams (10-7) – Traded with Atlanta, Atlanta took James Pearce Jr.
27. Baltimore Ravens (12-5) – Malaki Starks
28. Detroit Lions (15-2) – Tyleik Williams
29. Washington Commanders (12-5) – Josh Conerly Jr.
30. Buffalo Bills (13-4) – Maxwell Hairston
31. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) – Traded with Eagles, Eagles took Jihaad Campbell
32. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) – Traded with KC, Chiefs took Josh Simmons

Top 2025 NFL Draft Prospects on Draft Day

Every year, there are a few players who really stand out from the pack in their college careers and end up ranked towards the top of the draft boards. Who’s leading the pack this year?

Let’s take a look at the top 40 available prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, as of draft day, April 24, 2025.

Rank	Name	School	Position
1	Ashton Jeanty	Boise State	RB
2	Abdul Carter	Penn State	EDGE
3	Travis Hunter	Colorado	CB/WR
4	Tyler Warren	Penn State	TE
5	Colston Loveland	Michigan	TE
6	Will Johnson	Michigan	CB
7	Walter Nolen	Mississippi	DT
8	Armand Membou	Missouri	OT
9	Mason Graham	Michigan	DT
10	Mykel Williams	Georgia	EDGE
11	Mike Green	Marshall	EDGE
12	Jalon Walker	Georgia	LB
13	Will Campbell	LSU	OT
14	Kelvin Banks Jr.	Texas	OT
15	Luther Burden III	Missouri	WR
16	Jahdae Barron	Texas	CB
17	Matthew Golden	Texas	WR
18	Nick Emmanwori	South Carolina	SAF
19	Shemar Stewart	Texas A&M	EDGE
20	Donovan Ezeiruaku	Boston College	EDGE
21	Tetairoa McMillan	Arizona	WR
22	James Pearce Jr.	Tennessee	EDGE
23	Nic Scourton	Texas A&M	EDGE
24	Mason Taylor	LSU	TE
25	Donovan Jackson	Ohio State	G
26	Josh Simmons	Ohio State	OT
27	Cam Ward	Miami	QB
28	Tyler Booker	Alabama	G
29	Derrick Harmon	Michigan State	DT
30	TreVeyon Henderson	Ohio State	RB
31	Jihad Campbell	Alabama	LB
32	Emeka Egbuka	Ohio State	WR
33	Maxwell Hairston	Kentucky	CB
34	Josh Conerly Jr.	Oregon	OT
35	Demetrius Knight Jr.	South Carolina	LB
36	Carson Schwesinger	UCLA	LB
37	JT Tuimoloau	Ohio State	EDGE
38	Trey Amos	Mississippi	CB
39	Omarion Hampton	North Carolina	RB
40	Landon Jackson	Arkansas	EDGE

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2025 Quarterbacks and Teams That Need One

Few positions are as important to a football team as quarterback. Quarterbacks are the conductor of their team’s offensive orchestra, and drafting the right person for the job can make or break a team: QBs like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers led their respective organizations to legendary success, while recent picks that are widely considered to be busts like Mitchell Trubisky, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson and Mac Jones can set their teams back years with a wasted first-round pick.

Most of the quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class turned out to be pretty good (Jayden Daniels, New England’s Drake Maye, Denver’s Bo Nix, to name a few). So, which team is going to snag this year’s franchise-saving signal caller? Here are the top available quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft, plus what makes them good and which team is probably going to pick them:

1. Cam Ward – Miami (Tennessee Titans, 1st overall)

Cam Ward was without a doubt the top pick at quarterback this season, and the Tennessee Titans took him with the first overall pick. Ward brings a lot to the table, including a stellar collegiate record, a strong arm and the dual-threat mobility that’s become a near-requirement for top QB prospects in recent years, and he’s a potential fix for the Titans’ woes at QB in recent years.

2. Shedeur Sanders – Colorado (Available)

The son of Hall of Fame cornerback/wide receiver Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders follows close behind Ward as the second-best available quarterback this year. He played for his dad at Colorado, where he displayed top-tier accuracy, football IQ and composure under pressure.

Sanders is still on the board after the first round, which means the Browns could potentially land him with their second pick in addition to DT Mason Graham with their first. Having both would be a significant upgrade to the Brown’s roster.

3. Jaxson Dart – Ole Miss (New York Giants, 25th overall)

Though he didn’t enter the draft carrying the same hype as Ward or Sanders, Jaxson Dart wasn’t too far behind Sanders in the overall rankings. He led Ole Miss to a 10-3 record, touting a nearly 70% completion rate with 29 passing touchdowns and 495 rushing yards with three rushing touchdowns along the way. The New York Giants took him with the 25th overall pick.

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Let’s Talk About Travis Hunter

Quarterbacks, being the most visible member of a football team, tend to dominate the conversation around draft time, but there’s one player on the board this year who is considered a potential once-in-a-generation opportunity: Travis Hunter, Colorado’s sensational two-way star.

Hunter has an uncanny ability for locating the ball, and he’s equally skilled at doing it when catching passes as a wide receiver or intercepting them as a cornerback — and he wants to play both positions at the NFL level. It’s not often you find a player with both the talent and the confidence to take on that sort of role.

That’s why Hunter was the second overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded up to take him.

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How Did Our NFL Draft Top 10 Predictions Hold Up?

And here’s a look at the most likely picks for each of the first 10 selections, based on most analyst projections:

1. Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward, QB – Correct!
2. Cleveland Browns – Travis Hunter, WR/CB – Incorrect: Jacksonville traded up to get him.
3. New York Giants – Abdul Carter, DE/OLB – Correct!
4. New England Patriots – Will Campbell, OT – Correct!
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Ashton Jeanty, RB – Incorrect: Jax traded up with the Browns, who took Mason Graham here.
6. Las Vegas Raiders – Armand Membou, OT – Incorrect: Las Vegas took Ashton Jeanty at the six.
7. New York Jets – Tyler Warren, TE – Incorrect: New York opted for Armand Membou.
8. Carolina Panthers – Jalon Walker, LB – Incorrect: The Panthers took OT Tetairoa McMillan eighth overall.
9. New Orleans Saints – Mykel Williams, DE or Mason Graham, DT – Incorrect: with Mason Graham off the board, the Saints too Kelvin Banks Jr.
10. Chicago Bears – Colston Loveland, TE or Kelvin Banks Jr., OT – Correct! The Bears selected Loveland in 10th place.

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