Rather than grading draft classes, an exercise I enjoy doing and believe has some merit, I like evaluating draft classes based on a “wisdom of crowds” approach.
The methodology I use incorporates consensus mock drafts from Ben Robinson and consensus big boards assembled by Arif Hasan.
I lean more on consensus mock drafts to peg the first round and the big boards thereafter.
Assigning draft capital to each pick using those sources, we can compare the total draft capital used to draft a player at a particular point in the draft relative to what was expected.
The resulting metric is called DCOE, standing for Draft Capital Over Expectation, and measures expected capital used on a prospect vs. the actual capital used.
Based on this methodology, we can determine which teams reached the most to draft a player and which teams were able to get great value on players drafted later than expected.
These aren’t draft grades.
There is no personal bias involved.
But to answer a few questions about the methodology:
- Looking at big boards tends to predict the draft quite well.
- While we don’t know how these prospects ultimately will transition to the NFL, nor how strong their careers will be, that is not the point of this exercise.
- The goal is to examine the teams that overdrafted or underdrafted.
Most Valuable 2025 NFL Draft Classes:
| Rank | Team | DCOE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta Falcons | -1.93 |
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | -1.36 |
| 3 | Arizona Cardinals | -1.32 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | -1.12 |
| 5 | New York Giants | -1.01 |
| 6 | Kansas City Chiefs | -0.85 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -0.74 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | -0.55 |
| 9 | Baltimore Ravens | -0.43 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | -0.23 |
| 11 | Washington Commanders | -0.06 |
| 12 | Seattle Seahawks | 0.05 |
| 13 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0.15 |
| 14 | Carolina Panthers | 0.20 |
| 15 | New England Patriots | 0.22 |
| 16 | Dallas Cowboys | 0.28 |
| 17 | Indianapolis Colts | 0.32 |
| 18 | Las Vegas Raiders | 0.63 |
| 19 | Los Angeles Chargers | 0.68 |
| 20 | Los Angeles Rams | 0.78 |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | 0.86 |
| 22 | New York Jets | 0.99 |
| 23 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1.13 |
| 24 | Chicago Bears | 1.19 |
| 25 | Houston Texans | 1.37 |
| 26 | Green Bay Packers | 1.40 |
| 27 | New Orleans Saints | 1.44 |
| 28 | Minnesota Vikings | 1.48 |
| 29 | Detroit Lions | 1.61 |
| 30 | Denver Broncos | 1.88 |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | 2.21 |
| 32 | Tennessee Titans | 2.26 |
*Note: Lower draft capital over expected is better.
Contents
- 1 Most Valuable 2025 NFL Draft Classes:
- 2 Which NFL Team Had the Most Valuable 2025 NFL Draft?
- 3 Which NFL Team Had the Least Valuable 2025 NFL Draft?
- 4 Atlanta Falcons 2025 Draft Value
- 5 Cleveland Browns 2025 Draft Value
- 6 Arizona Cardinals 2025 Draft Value
- 7 Philadelphia Eagles 2025 Draft Value
- 8 New York Giants 2025 Draft Value
- 9 Kansas City Chiefs 2025 Draft Value
- 10 Tampa Bay Bucs 2025 Draft Value
- 11 Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Draft Value
- 12 Baltimore Ravens 2025 Draft Value
- 13 Tennessee Titans 2025 Draft Value
- 14 San Francisco 49ers 2025 Draft Value
- 15 2025 Most Valuable Draft Classes Infographics:
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Which NFL Team Had the Most Valuable 2025 NFL Draft?
The Atlanta Falcons had the most draft capital over expected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
NFL Teams With the Most Valuable 2025 NFL Drafts:
- Atlanta Falcons
- Cleveland Browns
- Arizona Cardinals
- Philadelphia Eagles
- New York Giants
Which NFL Team Had the Least Valuable 2025 NFL Draft?
The Tennessee Titans had the least draft capital over expected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
NFL Teams With the Least Valuable 2025 NFL Drafts:
- Tennessee Titans
- San Francisco 49ers
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- Minnesota Vikings
It should be noted that I look at the top 250 draft picks in the draft and the top 300 big-board prospects.
Let’s examine a few teams one by one:
Atlanta Falcons 2025 Draft Value
The Falcons had the best draft based on value.
Atlanta entered this draft without a lot of draft capital.
They made it count, not reaching for ANY of their five picks.
They were able to draft every single pick at or lower than the player was expected to be drafted.
That started with Jalon Walker slipping to them at pick 15 in the first round, and continued through the third, fourth, and seventh round selections.
They drafted two EDGE defenders, two safeties, and one offensive tackle (Jack Nelson out of Wisconsin).
Just one year after ranking dead last in this metric, they rank #1 in the NFL in 2025.
Cleveland Browns 2025 Draft Value
The Browns had one of the best drafts of the year based on value, but much of that hinged on landing QB Shedeur Sanders at pick No. 144 when he was projected late first round by most boards.
Their only other true player of value was RB Dylan Sampson in the fourth round (No. 126) when he was expected to go closer to pick No. 76.
They reached tremendously for QB Dillon Gabriel in the third round (No. 94) when he was projected closer to pick No. 168.
But they also reached to a lesser degree on three others: TE Harrold Fannin Jr. in the third round and both second round selections (Carson Schwesinger and Quinshon Judkins).
A more revealing look shows the Browns ranking #22 in this draft value metric through the third round, but they finished much higher thanks to Sanders and Sampson in the late rounds.
Arizona Cardinals 2025 Draft Value
One year after ranking #30 in this metric, the Cardinals did an outstanding job finding value.
They had the #1 most value in Rounds 1 through 5 of any team.
Landing CB Will Johnson in the second round at pick 47 was tremendous after he was projected middle of the first round.
They paired him with CB Denzel Burke out of Ohio State in the fifth round.
Burke was projected in closer to pick 135, and the Cardinals got him at pick 174.
Their biggest reach was Hayden Conner in the sixth round, but reaching for a player in the sixth round is certainly not a problem, and they finished #3 overall in 2025 draft value.
Philadelphia Eagles 2025 Draft Value
As expected, Howie Roseman cooked.
It doesn't seem fair, but at this point, it's not surprising.
Howie Roseman finished fourth in this metric in 2024 and picks up right where he left off by again finishing fourth in 2025.
The draft started by nabbing Jihaad Campbell at No. 31 when he was projected mid-first round.
But Howie REALLY cleaned up in Round 6, drafting three players way below expectation, highlighted by OT Cameron Williams at No. 207 when he was expected to go No. 92.
Other picks later than expected included QB Kyle McCord, EDGE Antwaun Powell–Ryland, and LB Smael Mondon Jr.
The Eagles did so well in Rounds 1 through 6 that they packed up shop and left before the seventh round began, making ZERO picks in the seventh round.
The defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles just delivered another great NFL draft.
New York Giants 2025 Draft Value
The New York Giants round out the top five, finishing with the #5 most draft value this year.
While the Giants didn’t start the first round earning value, they landed a ton of it late in the draft.
New York took EDGE Abdul Carter at No. 3 as expected and traded up to secure QB Jaxson Dart at No. 25.
But they landed substantial value later:
- RB Cam Skattebo at No. 105, projected No. 86
- DL Darius Alexander at No. 65, projected No. 52
- OG Marcus Mbow at No. 154 after he was projected at No. 63.
GM Joe Schoen finished below average in this metric in 2024, but was top five in 2025.
Kansas City Chiefs 2025 Draft Value
The Kansas City Chiefs rank #6 in 2025 Draft Value.
Like the Eagles, the 2024 Chiefs made the Super Bowl AND had a great 2024 draft, finishing #3 in draft value last year.
Kansas City landed first rounder OT Josh Simmons a little lower than he was projected.
But they gave some value back with their three picks in Rounds 2 and 3, taking all 3 defensive players slightly ahead of projection:
- DL Omarr Norman–Lott at No. 63, projected at No. 88
- EDGE Ashton Gillotte at No. 66, projected at No. 95
- CB Nohl Williams at No. 85, projected at No. 102
Through 3 rounds, the Chiefs ranked a below average #18 in draft value.
But they came back on Saturday with a vengeance.
All three picks the Chiefs made in rounds 4-7 were steals:
- WR Jalen Royals at No. 133, projected at No. 74
- LB Jeffrey Bassa at No. 156, projected at No. 125
- RB Brashard Smith at No. 228, projected at No. 142
The value they accrued late was enough to vault the Chiefs to finishing with the #6 best draft value of the 2025 NFL draft.
Tampa Bay Bucs 2025 Draft Value
One of the most underrated GMs in the NFL has to be Tampa Bay's Jason Licht.
He had the #7 best value of any team in the 2025 draft.
While he gained a ton of draft value taking Oregon's Tez Johnson at pick No. 235 after he was forecast to go closer to pick No. 133…
Tampa's draft still ranked #11 in draft value through 5 rounds.
EDGE Elijah Roberts and CB Benjamin Morrison were two solid steals.
Tampa took WR Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 overall, a little earlier than expected, but overall it was a solid use of draft capital this year for the Bucs.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Draft Value
The Steelers had the #8 best draft based on value.
But if you focus on what they did with higher value draft picks, the Steelers ranked #6 in draft value through the first five rounds.
RB Kaleb Johnson at No. 83 when he was projected No. 54 and EDGE Jack Sawyer at No. 123 when he was projected No. 65 were their best values through Round 5.
And they added QB Will Howard in Round 6.
Overall, a top-10 draft by the Steelers after passing on Shedeur Sanders.
Baltimore Ravens 2025 Draft Value
No team had more draft value through the first three rounds than the Baltimore Ravens.
They ranked #1 through Round 3 and #4 through Round 5.
Their early value was anchored by their first two picks: S Malaki Starks at No. 27 and EDGE Mike Green at No. 59.
Naturally, picking a kicker in the sixth round will ding your overall value, and they reached for WR LaJohntay Wester in the sixth
After a top-10 draft value class in 2024, the Ravens followed it up in 2025.
Tennessee Titans 2025 Draft Value
The Titans had the No. 1 overall pick, but also the No. 1 worst draft class based on value.
It was led by several late round reaches.
They drafted WR Chimere Dike in at pick No. 103, the first pick of the third round.
He wasn't projected to be drafted anywhere in the top 200.
They also grabbed CB Marcus Harris out of Cal at No. 183, and he was expected to be borderline undrafted by most talent evaluators.
Even the great value pick of Elic Ayomanor in the fourth round — he was expected to go earlier — wasn't enough to pull the Titans out of ranking #32 in 2025 draft value.
San Francisco 49ers 2025 Draft Value
The 49ers were a sneaky call for a team that NEEDED to hit on the 2025 NFL Draft, even though they have been a solid team for years.
But after ranking #28 in draft value last year, the 49ers did even worse this year.
Ranking #31 in draft value, the 49ers had the sixth most draft capital and wasted a lot of it.
WR Jordan Watkins out of Ole Miss was picked at No. 138 and wasn't ranked in the top 300 by consensus big boards.
LB Nick Martin was drafted No. 75 but projected to go No. 192.
Defensive backs Marques Sigle and Upton Stout also represent multi-round reaches.
Going so far off the board for a second straight year puts the bullseye squarely on GM John Lynch.
He could lose in draft value but be a winner overall if he's smarter than everyone else out there and these picks in 2024 and 2025 pay off.
But if the back of this class falters, he's not going to have any excuses due to reaching on so many players.
2025 Most Valuable Draft Classes Infographics:
