2025 NFL Draft: How It Works, Where to Watch & Top Picks

March 5, 2025

The dust has settled on the 2024-2025 NFL season, where the Philadelphia Eagles ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest to become the first-ever NFL team to accomplish three consecutive Super Bowl wins. Now, we’re on to the next big event that will determine what the rosters of the league’s 32 teams will look like come kickoff in September.

It’s the annual NFL Draft, and it’s the source of some of the biggest speculation in sports each offseason. We put together this guide to who’s who in this year’s draft, and which teams they could end up on.

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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)

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.

Top 2025 NFL Draft Prospects

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 some of the top available prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Travis Hunter, Colorado, ATH (WR/CB)
Abdul Carter, Penn State, EDGE
Mason Graham, Michigan, DL
Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas, OT
Will Johnson, Michigan, CB
Will Campbell, LSU, OT
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona, WR
Cam Ward, Miami (Fla.), QB
Jalon Walker, Georgia, EDGE
James Pearce Jr., Tennessee, EDGE
Ashton Jeanty, Boise St., RB
Malaki Starks, Georgia, S
Luther Burden III, Missouri, WR
Armand Membou, Missouri, OT
Colston Loveland, Michigan, TE

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

Cam Ward is without a doubt the top pick at quarterback this season, and he’s likely to end up on the Tennessee Titans, who have the first overall pick, have struggled with QB Will Levis under center last season and have needed a franchise quarterback for years. If the Titans opt to pick a non-QB player like Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter instead of Ward, the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants, both grasping for a solution at QB, will have the chance to snag him instead.

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.

2. Shedeur Sanders – Colorado

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 could get snapped up by one of the top three teams that doesn’t take Ward, but he’s as likely to fall further down the draft board, since there are a number of very strong non-QB prospects near the top of the rankings. That would give other QB-needy teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets or, potentially, the New Orleans Saints a better chance.

3. Jaxson Dart – Ole Miss

Though he doesn’t carry the same hype as Ward or Sanders, Jaxson Dart isn’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.

Any of the teams above could opt to take him to fill their quarterback void, and there’s a chance he could come off the board much earlier than many expect.

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 position 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.

Hunter is almost certainly coming off the board in the first three to five picks, and many would be shocked if he was not taken first overall, despite the glaring needs at quarterback of the first three teams in the draft order. Keep a close on eye him.

2025 NFL Draft Order

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

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Frequently Asked Questions

When is the NFL Draft?

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

Which NFL team has the first draft pick in 2025?

Tennessee Titans (3-14)

How many rounds is the draft?

The 2025 NFL Draft lasts seven rounds.

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