With Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft in the books, Brendan Donahue, Ryan McCrystal, and Raymond Summerlin give their thoughts on what happened on Thursday night including the best moves, biggest surprise, and what they’re looking forward to on Day 2.
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Best Move of Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft
Brendan Donahue: Perhaps it was the best non-move as it has been reported that Philadelphia initially tried to trade up to 22 with the Los Angeles Chargers to take Jihaad Campbell.
Instead, they held off, and Howie Roseman is patient enough to wait for the pick right in front of them and only had to give up pick 164 to secure Campbell, who would have most likely been a top 15 pick if not for the shoulder injury.
Ryan McCrystal: The Browns trading down.
Travis Hunter was the No. 1 player on my board, but the package Jacksonville offered was one you cannot turn down.
Cleveland is still searching for its franchise quarterback, and the odds of getting one next year just increased dramatically.
Maybe Cleveland earns a top pick on their own, but if not, it has two first-rounders to offer up in a trade in what should be a much stronger quarterback class.
Raymond Summerlin: The Rams trading down.
While the trade value is not as lopsided as it looked initially, since the Falcons did get back a third this year, the Rams getting a first in 2026, viewed as a better draft, to move back 20 picks is great value.
There are still a lot of players available who fit their needs.
Biggest Surprise of Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft
Brendan Donahue: Tyler Booker to Dallas.
Most, myself included, expected Dallas to go with Tetairoa McMillan, and if he wasn’t available, then pivot to Matthew Golden as a wide receiver to pair along with CeeDee Lamb.
Instead, they go with a non-premium position and a prospect that has a Relative Athletic Score of 3.68, which based on the previous history of guards with a RAS under 5.0 does not bode well for future success.
Ryan McCrystal: Tetairoa McMillan to the Panthers.
I love the pick, though.
Carolina couldn’t have expected Bryce Young to continue his development without adding a legitimate outside weapon who can win downfield.
Raymond Summerlin: Perhaps Atlanta’s Michael Penix selection last year has fried my shock receptors, but nothing stood out as really surprising.
Colston Loveland over Tyler Warren best fits the bill, but draft analysts seemed to have those two pretty close, even if Warren was usually ranked ahead.
It is not really that shocking that a team thought Loveland fit them better.
Emeka Egbuka was also a bit of a surprise given where he played in college and the fact that the Bucs just signed Chris Godwin to a big extension.
Unfortunately for Shedeur Sanders, it was not really that surprising that he slipped out of the first round given the noise we heard in the weeks leading into the draft.
Biggest Winners of Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft
Brendan Donahue: Atlanta Falcons.
I am speaking strictly for Round 1 of 2025 because, yes, they gave up a lot to move back into the first round.
But for a team that was second to last in sacks last season and has the fewest in the league over the last five years, they were desperate to upgrade their pass rush.
Not only did Jalon Walker, who was expected to go in the top 10, fall to them, but they also got James Pearce Jr, who on the field was considered maybe the second best pure pass rusher in this class.
Ryan McCrystal: The Colts are probably the only team outside the top 10 that had their dream scenario play out.
Tyler Warren falling into their lap is a win.
The Steelers are also a winner with Derrick Harmon, who is probably the most Cam Heyward-like player to enter the draft since Heyward himself.
The Falcons also won with Jalon Walker falling to them.
And Armand Membou going to the Jets, where he should play right tackle. The biggest concern with him was whether or not he could make a smooth transition to the left side, and now he doesn’t have to worry about it.
Raymond Summerlin: Again, not a ton stood out in this first round, so it is tough to have a strong opinion on the biggest winner.
That said, the Chiefs getting a pick to move down a spot and drafting Josh Simmons, a player who likely would have been a top 10 pick if not for his injury and fills a big need for Kansas City, is a great bit of business.
Biggest Losers of Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft
Brendan Donahue: It’s hard for me, as a fan of this team, not to look at the trade package that Jacksonville gave to Cleveland and the reported trade package that the Giants offered the Titans to move up to the first pick and not consider this a huge missed opportunity for New England.
By winning the final game of the season and losing out on the first overall pick, they lost out on multiple additional picks including a future first, and they still would have landed Will Campbell (or perhaps Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter).
Ryan McCrystal: The Giants.
The Jaxson Dart pill is easier to swallow with Abdul Carter on the roster, but making a quarterback selection out of pure desperation never feels good.
Raymond Summerlin: Losers is strong, but I do not think the Vikings made the most optimal decision in choosing to stick and pick at No. 24 given what the Giants and Falcons gave up to move back into the first round.
Minnesota only has three more picks in this draft, and they passed up an opportunity to get more darts to draft a player who will likely end up at guard in the NFL.
Perhaps they nail this pick – Ryan really likes Donovan Jackson, and he played well at tackle during Ohio State’s championship run – but they have to nail it because of what they could have had in trade compensation.
Also, we have all been avoiding the low hanging fruit of Shedeur Sanders slipping out of the first round entirely, but that is the obvious answer.
Looking Forward to Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft
Brendan Donahue: Obvious answer would be to see where Shadeur Sanders ultimately ends up, but I’ll also add Mike Green, who had a draft position over/under at 15.5, and Will Johnson, who I had mocked as high as fifth to Jacksonville in one of my earlier mocks but fell out of the first round altogether due to medical concerns.
Ryan McCrystal: The run on pass rushers we expected never came, so Donovan Ezeiruaku, Nic Scourton, Landon Jackson, Femi Oladejo, JT Tuimoloau, and a long list of others are still on the board.
A bunch of teams are going to get pass rushers who immediately contribute on Day 2.
Raymond Summerlin: As Brendan said, the answer is Sanders, but we should also have a lot of good running backs come off the board on Friday night.
There was some thought TreVeyon Henderson would sneak into the first round, but he along with a host of other impact runners are still on the board heading into Day 2.
There will be a lot of depth charts shaken up on Friday, changing the fantasy landscape as we head into fantasy draft season.
