Happy holidays everyone! The College Football Playoff has kicked off, with a ton of top-end prospects taking part. Here’s our third 2025 NFL mock draft to unwrap as a present, stuff your stocking, or do whatever else you want.
In this edition, Nate Tice makes the selection of the odd-numbered draft picks while Charles McDonald selects the even. Draft order via Tankathon.
Previous mock drafts: 1.0 | 2.0
Ward seeks explosive plays and will bring a calmness to the QB position, both traits that have been desperately missing in recent years in New York. Ward has things to clean up, namely his heat check moments that can get him in trouble, but pairing Ward with the electric Malik Nabers would bring explosive plays in bunches even as Ward continues to refine his game. — Nate Tice
Travis Hunter might be the best overall player in the class, and the Patriots need help at skill positions on offense and defense. Hunter would make a lot of sense as a shutdown cornerback across from Christian Gonzalez and can step in on offense here and there as needed. — Charles McDonald
Campbell plays like a veteran even at just 20 years old. He can consistently bend and move defenders in the run game and has the footwork, awareness and hand technique to consistently win in pass protection, even without ideal arm length. Whether he stays out at OT (I think he can) or has to move inside, I think Campbell is the best overall offensive lineman in this class and a winning player who would boost a Jags line with his maturity no matter where he ends up starting.
The Titans need a quarterback desperately, but they could also use a topflight cornerback to pair with some of the front seven talent that they already have accumulated. Will Johnson, step on down.
Here’s the pass rusher with the most upside in this draft. Carter is twitchy and can bend around the corner. He still has to work on his overall consistency, especially against the run, where he can take himself out of too many plays. The Browns have gigantic questions looming at QB and even the future of their OL beyond 2025, but the thought of pairing Carter with Myles Garrett is exciting. And terrifying for offenses.
Another team with a dire quarterback situation, the Raiders opt to take Sanders to shore up that position for them. They can’t walk into another season with Aidan O’Connell as their best option, even though he’s a good backup option to have moving forward.
After battling an ankle injury at the beginning of the year, Williams has started to ramp up his play — and the production has followed. Williams has an excellent combination of length, strength and explosiveness. With the added bonus of being able to affect the game from multiple spots along the line. His best ball is ahead of him and would be a fun fit next to Derrick Brown for a Panthers defense needing needle-movers.
Gang Green’s defense still has some of the top players in the NFL, but their depth was lacking this season as their defensive performance took a nosedive following the firing of Robert Saleh. Graham is a solid reinforcement for Quinnen Williams on interior defensive line.
Banks is explosive, plays balanced and can have impact snaps in the run and pass games. He’d be best at guard as a pro, which would be a great fit for the Bears who desperately need a boost on the inside and at right guard. The Bears targeting positional versatility doesn’t hurt at all, though.
The Saints can’t be picky at this point in their roster building journey. They’ll need help just about everywhere as they try to rebuild while staying cap compliant. Starks is a strong player to add on the backend of their defense who can play any safety position.
Conerly has light feet and can get to the second level in a hurry. His strength was a big question mark heading into this season and even over the first month. But he has really put it together over the second half of the season, showing off the ability to anchor and sustain blocks with much more consistency and playing with much better awareness for post-snap movement. Conerly is athletic enough to stay on the outside, but I could see his skill set translating across the offensive line. Perfect for a 49ers offense that needs to inject talent up front, and possibly start thinking about a Trent Williams succession plan.
Miami found a hit last year when they picked Chop Robinson out of Penn State to bolster their pass rush, and they dip in the well again here. Walker can be an all-around weapon for the Dolphins’ front seven, but he’s at his best when he’s moving forward and wreaking havoc against opposing offensive lines.
The Colts’ defense has actually stepped up in recent weeks. They could still use a player at outside cornerback to pair with JuJu Brents when he returns from injury. Enter Revel, a cornerback with a prototypical build and the easy movement ability to develop into a true outside one-on-one defender. Revel suffered a season-ending ACL injury in September, but his aggressive play when he was on the field should keep him high on boards. Plus he has the length and other traits that make sense for what general manager Chris Ballard and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley prefer at the position.
Cincinnati needs to get more stout and physical up front to get back to being a real contender in the AFC — there might not be a better player to do that than the 330-pound Grant. He might not be a stat-stuffer in the NFL, but he can plug holes and has some real upside.
This would be a huge get for the Cowboys. McMillan is my easy WR1 in this class and offers true X-receiver upside at the next level. His size (6-foot-5, 212 pounds), catching range, and surprisingly easy bend for such a big receiver gives him matchup-wrecking potential. Pairing McMillan’s ability to win outside with CeeDee Lamb operating from the slot and Dallas would have ideal synergy between two pass-catchers. Ashton Jeanty is exciting, but McMillan would supercharge this offense and passing attack and has the added boost of fitting their personnel, even down to what Dak Prescott likes.
Arizona needs to shore up its defensive line if it wants to get serious about winning the NFC West. Harmon from Oregon is a talented player who can help the Cardinals get better up front immediately.
It makes sense that Stewart was a former big-time recruit with how easy of a mover he is. Stewart can line up across the defensive line and his size, athleticism and do-everything style fits with what head coach Todd Bowles likes to do up front that changes based on the situation. It might be a bit of a hat-on-a-hat situation with what the Buccaneers have currently on their roster, but the other position that I looked at, inside linebacker, might be a reach here.
No team has a need for offensive line help more than the Seahawks. Booker is a stout interior player who will be able to get them moving in the right direction again — and could be one of the missing pieces they need to beat some of the tougher teams in the NFL.
Even with the Falcons starting to pick up some sacks in recent weeks, injecting their defensive front with more talent seems like their obvious near-term plan (I feel like I could have written this every year for the past decade). I actually like where the Falcons sit with their offensive personnel, but adding a talented player like Nolen, a more dynamic interior player than what Atlanta currently has, would give head coach Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake a fun player to work with and move around on their front. And his physicality would help the Falcons out on all downs.
The Chargers’ offense clearly has a vision and a plan, but they need more talented (and physical) players to make that happen. Warren might be one of the best players in the class, but falls to this pick due to that pesky positional value argument.
Texans. Offensive line. Texans. Offensive line. We will see this pairing for the next hundred-plus days and thousand-plus mock drafts that happen. Justifiably so! C.J. Stroud is constantly under duress and the Texans’ run game is one of the least efficient in the league, despite Joe Mixon’s best efforts. Mbow is a very good athlete who springs out of his stance. He could look to add some lower body strength, but he plays tough and is able to bend and stay balanced in space, while also already showing off the ability to cut off defenders on the backside. He would boost the Texans’ offensive line no matter what spot he’d end up at.
The quest to continue building around Bo Nix continues for the Broncos. The cupboard might not be as empty as previously thought on offense for the Broncos, but if they’re going to make this Nix thing work, they’ll need a few more wide receivers.
The Rams’ ever-revolving offensive line actually gets a first-round pick to plop in. Alaric Jackson is a free agent after this season and Rob Havenstein is another year older. Ersery would give the Rams a player with dozens of college starts under his belt, with still more to tap into and develop. Ersery has a large frame and plays with some pop on contact, while also being a solid mover in such a big frame and flashing improving hand placement (something that he could still clean up). Ersery would fit the Rams’ preference and give them the best of both worlds of having the experience to potentially play early and a player who could have more to develop for the future.
Campbell is the first true linebacker off the board, and he goes to a team that could stand to get a smidge faster on the second level of the defense. In a world where college football isn’t producing many true first-round talents at the position, the Crimson Tide product could be one of them.
I know the Steelers don’t typically (or mostly ever) draft wide receivers in the first round. But this Steelers offense has been lethargic when George Pickens isn’t on the field. And while players at other positions could be intriguing here for the Steelers — another cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr., swapping out Najee Harris for Ashton Jeanty, possibly even a tight end like Colston Loveland — I went with the dynamic Burden, whose production was up and down in 2024 but his explosiveness was still apparent. Burden lined up mostly in the slot during college as Missouri liked to move him around the formation, but he showed off the ability to win from the outside and has the YAC and big-play potential to add to any offense. He fits perfectly opposite Pickens and in Arthur Smith’s offense.
A big, heavy-handed pass rusher for a team that loves big, heavy-handed pass rushers, Jackson had a solid year for Arkansas off the edge and projects well to the next level for defenses that like their pass rushers to be well-rounded players.
The FBS leader in sacks, Green is a riser among prospects. Green plays hard every snap and will even be disruptive against double teams. He’s only a redshirt sophomore but has already flashed secondary pass rush moves. It’s not all perfect and Green can get washed out when he doesn’t connect. Green’s athleticism, hard playing style, and flashes of advanced play remains an intriguing profile for the Packers to include.
The Eagles always love drafting ahead for future needs on the offensive line, and Simmons could fill that role as an eventual replacement for Lane Johnson. Simmons has the talent to be a starting offensive tackle in the NFL, but needs some refinement.
The Bills look to constantly add to their defensive line and do so again with Pearce. While Pearce can be up and down against the run, he has upside as an impactful pass rusher. Pearce is long and can be a handful for offensive tackles right at the snap of the ball. He can be easily taken out of the play a bit too often, especially against the run. Pearce could continue to develop his consistency for a Bills franchise that prefers to have a deep rotational line under head coach Sean McDermott.
A dynamic interior presence would really take the Vikings’ defense to the next level. Williams could be that guy for the Vikings as he’s shown some real penetrative ability at Ohio State.
A team built through the trenches is exactly where my eyes went to to keep the good times rolling in Detroit. The Lions have remained one of the best offenses in the NFL despite signing new guards this offseason. The Lions keep the assembly line going with Savaiinaea, a guard who has a good thick build and plays consistently balanced. Savaiinaea is smart and knows how to use his hands. He plays right tackle for Arizona, but I like him best on the inside at the next level.
A steal! Ashton Jeanty is one of the two or three best players in the class but winds up in the hands of the Chiefs, who should be thrilled about being able to add him to the offense. Jeanty has a rare combination of strength, balance and speed that will make him a nightmare for NFL defenses.
