Round one
#1 New England — Mason Graham (DT, Michigan)
The Patriots will probably try and dangle this pick but none of the quarterbacks are worth trading up for. Graham is the best player in the draft for me and in a class lacking true blue-chippers, the most likely player to have an excellent career.
#2 Tennessee — Abdul Carter (LB/EDGE, Penn State)
The Titans are a long way off competing and need to add talent, not chase another young quarterback they can lead to failure.
#3 Cleveland — Travis Hunter (WR/CB, Colorado)
They probably will consider the quarterbacks but the worst thing they can do after the Deshaun Watson debacle is reach for one here and compound the error. Ownership should give Kevin Stefanski time to get this right.
#4 NY Giants — Drew Allar (QB, Penn State)
If he does end up declaring for the draft, in a down year at the position, there’s no reason why the process couldn’t put him in QB1 contention. He has the most translatable skill-set and has shown rapid progress from last season.
#5 Jacksonville — Colston Loveland (TE, Michigan)
People are sleeping on the top two tight ends. They are legit. Don’t be fooled by Loveland’s lost placement within Michigan’s hopeless passing game. He has a chance to be great.
#6 Carolina — Tyler Warren (TE, Penn State)
The Panthers don’t have enough talented players. Warren can come in and basically be Bryce Young’s best friend on the field — offering a dynamic, young target machine they currently lack.
#7 NY Jets — Cam Ward (QB, Miami)
This is too rich for me. Ward played very well this year and boosted his stock. I still don’t think he’s a round one player due to the way he plays. However, a lot of connected people seem to be saying he’ll go early so there’s no point fighting it.
#8 Las Vegas — Shedeur Sanders (QB, Colorado)
Tom Brady and ‘Coach Prime’ could work to make this a reality.
#9 Chicago — Josh Simmons (T, Ohio State)
Without the injury he would’ve been a clear top-15 pick. We’ll see how that impacts his stock but he’s the best left tackle in the draft.
#10 New Orleans — Will Johnson (CB, Michigan)
A tremendous talent who was hampered by injuries in 2024.
#11 San Francisco — Jalon Walker (LB, Georgia)
Dre Greenlaw is a free agent and has had injuries. Walker is extremely talented.
#12 Indianapolis — Luther Burden (WR, Missouri)
The league was reportedly super high on Burden going into the 2024 season but he didn’t shine in Missouri’s offense. He might be too good to pass up here.
#13 Dallas — Ashton Jeanty (RB, Boise State)
As with Burden, if Jeanty falls into this range, even with the positional value lacking, you have to consider him.
#14 Arizona — Malaki Starks (DB, Georgia)
His play tailed off a bit at the end of the season but he’s a chess piece who can pretty much play anywhere in the back-end.
#15 Miami — Kelvin Banks (T/G, Texas)
I think his best position will be guard but teams might try him at tackle first. The Dolphins have to address their O-line.
#16 Cincinnati — James Pearce (EDGE, Tennessee)
They need a spark to get their defense going again.
#17 Atlanta — Tetairoa McMillan (WR, Arizona)
McMillan has a lot of natural talent. If he falls this far, the Falcons — a big BPA-led front office — might decide they have to take him.
#18 Seattle — Tyler Booker (G, Alabama)
The Seahawks reportedly liked JC Latham last year and Booker is another big, athletic blocker who can start immediately at left guard.
#19 Houston — Donovan Jackson (G, Ohio State)
The Texans have no choice but to repair their interior O-line this off-season.
#20 Denver — Harold Fannin Jr (TE, Bowling Green)
He glides into routes which is incredible at his size and has soft hands. I think he’ll go earlier than people think.
#21 Tampa Bay — Jihaad Campbell (LB, Alabama)
He’s built like a tank and moves so well for his size.
#22 LA Chargers — Shemar Stewart (DE, Texas A&M)
He’s extremely raw but Jim Harbaugh took a chance on Aldon Smith and might try and polish this rough diamond too.
#23 LA Rams — Jahdae Barron (DB, Texas)
A very instinctive, physical player who can play in a number of spots.
#24 Green Bay — Mike Green (EDGE, Marshall)
He had a great season and with good testing, could go ahead of some of the bigger name pass rushers in this class.
#25 Pittsburgh — Nick Emmanwori (S, South Carolina)
He could be their answer to Kyle Hamilton — just with a totally different testing profile.
#26 Washington — Will Campbell (T/G, LSU)
Campbell lacked aggression and doesn’t always finish, while his arm length means he probably has to kick inside. I don’t think he played well this year. However, the expectation is he’ll test through the roof.
#27 Baltimore — Josh Connerly Jr (T/G, Oregon)
Highly athletic and aggressive, the Ravens could play him at tackle or guard — although he is a bit undersized.
#28 Philadelphia — Jonah Savaiinaea (G/T, Arizona)
He doesn’t finish enough plays for me but when he plays square he can lock in and hold position.
#29 Buffalo — TJ Sanders (DT, South Carolina)
One of the more underrated players in the draft. He can wreck an O-line. He did it to Georgia.
#30 Detroit — Mykel Williams (DE, Georgia)
He’s had a stop-start season and hasn’t elevated his stock — but the physical potential is there.
#31 Minnesota — Walter Nolen (DT, Ole Miss)
At the end of the season we saw his best form, especially against Florida.
#32 Kansas City — Princely Umanmielen (DE, Ole Miss)
When he wants to be, Umanmielen can be really difficult to stop.
Round two
#33 Tennessee — Matthew Golden (WR, Texas)
He showed in the playoff game that he can go in this range.
#34 Cleveland — Wyatt Milum (T/G, West Virginia)
I think he’s strictly a guard but Cleveland has had success converting tackles into interior linemen in the past.
#35 NY Giants — Kaleb Johnson (RB, Iowa)
Johnson has star potential and is being slept on.
#36 New England — Aireontae Ersery (T/G, Minnesota)
I think he’s too sluggish with his footwork to stick at left tackle but the options aren’t great if you want to improve at the position.
#37 Chicago (v/CAR) — Dylan Fairchild (G, Georgia)
The Bears continue to rebuild their offensive line.
#38 NY Jets — Mason Taylor (TE, LSU)
They need to add talent here and Taylor is really good.
#39 Las Vegas — Emeka Egbuka (WR, Ohio State)
A reliable target for Shedeur.
#40 Chicago — Kenneth Grant (DT, Michigan)
People keep saying he’ll go in the top-20 but I didn’t see that on tape.
#41 Jacksonville — Tyleik Williams (DT, Ohio State)
The only thing he lacks is length. I love the intensity and motor he plays with.
#42 New Orleans — Xavier Restrepo (WR,Miami)
There’s just something about Restrepo which makes me think he’ll go earlier than people are projecting.
#43 San Francisco — Jake Majors (C, Texas)
The 49ers really need to do something to fix their offensive line. Majors is such an athletic, physical center. He’s had a great 2024 season.
#44 Dallas — Deone Walker (DT, Kentucky)
He has an unorthodox body shape and runs hot and cold but the Cowboys need someone who can create impact at defensive tackle.
#45 Arizona — Nic Scourton (DE, Texas A&M)
Players like Scourton — bigger defensive ends — always get mocked in round one. Then like AJ Epenesa and Boogie Basham, they go in round two.
#46 Indianapolis — Benjamin Morrison (CB, Notre Dame)
If it wasn’t for the injury, he’d probably be a first round pick.
#47 Cincinnati — Derrick Harmon (DT, Oregon)
For me he’s more of a third rounder but the Bengals tend to draft defensive linemen I’m not crazy about.
#48 Atlanta — Donovan Ezeiruaku (EDGE, Boston College)
Ezeiruaku has been consistently good this season rushing the edge.
#49 Miami — Kevin Winston Jr (S, Penn State)
Without the injury, he would go earlier.
#50 Seattle — Jordan Burch (DE, Oregon)
They gave Dre’Mont Jones every chance to succeed, which suggests they are keen on a player with his skill-set. Burch is highly athletic, incredibly so for his size, and could be a cost-effective replacement.
#51 Denver — DJ Giddens (RB, Kansas State)
He’s a poor-man’s Alvin Kamara and Sean Payton knows how to use a player like this.
#52 Tampa Bay — Grey Zabel (T/G, North Dakota State)
I really enjoyed his tape and for me, he’s destined to be a success in the NFL.
#53 Houston — Armand Membou (T/G, Missouri)
Athletic, aggressive lineman who can be tried at right tackle or guard.
#54 Carolina — Tre Harris (WR, Ole Miss)
Maybe the Panthers spend some money on their defense and focus on weapons in the draft?
#55 LA Chargers — Josaiah Stewart (EDGE, Michigan)
Harbaugh reunites with a player perfect for his system, as the Chargers gradually move away from Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.
#56 Green Bay — Jared Ivey (DE, Ole Miss)
He showed what he can do against Georgia.
#57 Pittsburgh — Ty Robinson (DT, Nebraska)
Big, nasty and athletic. My kind of player. An AFC North kind of player. Don’t be surprised if he rises after the Senior Bowl and combine.
#58 Baltimore — Billy Bowman (S, Oklahoma)
Bowman plays like a Raven.
#59 Washington — Devin Neal (RB, Kansas)
I still think they’re looking for the guy at running back and Neal can be the guy.
#60 Philadelphia — Alfred Collins (DT, Texas)
He’s had an excellent season and finally delivered on his potential in college.
#61 Buffalo — Danny Stutsman (LB, Oklahoma)
A very consistent, hard-nosed linebacker who fits the Bills.
#62 Buffalo (v/MIN) — Shavon Revel (CB, East Carolina)
The third defensive back in this round who could’ve gone earlier but for injury.
#63 Detroit — Carson Schwesinger (LB, UCLA)
Few players have improved their stock as much as Schwesinger this season.
#64 Kansas City — Xavier Scott (CB, Illinois)
He’s such a sparky playmaker. I really enjoyed watching him.
Thoughts on the Seahawks
In 13 of John Schneider’s 15 draft classes he took an offensive or defensive linemen with his first or second pick. In five of his drafts, the top two picks were both linemen. Despite the complaints over the years, Schneider has mostly stuck to the Ron Wolf mantra of drafting for the trenches. There’s just been some painful deviations and missed opportunities when they didn’t stick to it.
The point is, Schneider does like to draft for the lines. This draft class is ideally suited to match his preference, so the chances are this will be another draft where they focus on the O-line and D-line.
This is all the more critical given Seattle’s need to reinforce and improve the offensive line in particular.
As discussed in my off-season predictions video yesterday, I don’t think the Seahawks are motivated to make major roster changes. I think they’ll most likely set out to upgrade the areas they know they need to target.
We’ve talked about the offensive line all year. A lot of fans and media have discussed Jim Harbaugh’s approach with the Chargers. He took Joe Alt fifth overall because he wanted to make a statement about the kind of team he was building. He could’ve had Malik Nabers instead, arguably the most talented player in the class. Nope. Harbaugh wants the identity of his team to be the O-line.
It would be quite a thing if the Seahawks, having experienced the season they’ve just had, decided to wait on improving their line in favour of taking a player at a different position. Admittedly, sometimes a player falls to you and you’ve just got to pull the trigger. You also can’t force bad value. Joe Alt was expected to go in the top-10, so the Chargers weren’t reaching a year ago. The Seahawks can’t reach.
However, if they feel an O-line pick at #18 is a reach, they can always trade down. There are a clutch of guards (or tackle converts) I have graded in a similar range.
I do think they need to add at least one key veteran starter at guard or center and then add another with a high draft pick, though.
Tyler Booker has long felt like an obvious pairing. The Seahawks reportedly liked JC Latham last year, presumably to kick inside to guard. He was massive, like Booker. The Rams have turned to bigger linemen and I’d like to see the Seahawks do the same, especially if running the ball more effectively is a priority.
Booker’s tape is very good, with evidence of finishing plays, getting out on the move, handling blocks with aplomb and he’s played with a high level of consistency. I think he’s ideally placed, more so than any other lineman in this draft, to start quickly. The Seahawks have needed a classic plug-and-play left guard for ages. That’s Booker.
He also has a tremendous amount of football character and leadership — something the Seahawks have paid a lot of attention to in recent drafts.
With their second pick, I have them taking Jordan Burch from Oregon. He’s a fantastic athlete for a 6-6, 290lbs lineman. He has the physical potential to be an extremely good defender. I’d say maybe even the upside to be special, with the right coaching. I want the Seahawks to try and find special in these rounds again.
They seem to want this kind of player, thus why they’ve persisted with Dre’Mont Jones. If they cut Jones to save cap-space, Burch could be a good replacement.
It’s not a great draft class at the top-end but there’s value to be had in rounds 3-5, particularly at safety, linebacker, running back, receiver and tight end.
