Apr 23, 2025
“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg
Man, I have to admit, Titletown is going to be absolutely electric on Thursday night. Y’all ain’t ready to see what this looks like.
But what you are ready for is my final mock draft leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins at 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN, NFL Network, ABC and probably some weird Lithuanian stream you can pick up with rabbit ear antennas if a plane flies by at the perfect angle.
After many thoughts, ideas and chats with prospects and media personnel I still have no idea how this is exactly going to go, but like I said in my mock draft 2.0 I can still make a hypothesis or two.
So, here goes nothing.
1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL) — This appeared to be the consensus on Wednesday morning, unless you ask Ashton Jeanty (more on him later). The Titans need a quarterback, and Ward is the top dog in the pack. Whether it’s at Incarnate Word, Washington State or Miami Ward has won. He goes from a 0 star prospect to the No. 1 overall pick in 2025. What a story.
2. Cleveland Browns: Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado — Spare me the “he can’t play both ways” debate, this dude can physically handle it. The camera does not do his surprisingly large frame justice. He’s the best pure athlete to enter the draft since Charles Woodson in 1998. The Browns are desperate for talent on the perimeter on both sides of the ball. Here you go.
3. New York Giants: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State — The Giants pass on a quarterback (for now) in order to take not only the best pass rusher, but arguably the best defensive player in the draft. This dude oozes confidence, his tape speaks for itself. And while I would love to see the Giants erase the Saquon Barkley misfire with Jeanty here I realized that the top edge rusher is more valuable thanks to an insanely deep running back class.
4. New England Patriots: Will Campbell, OT, LSU — The Patriots need to keep quarterback Drake Maye upright and off his back. Enter Campbell, who was the highest rated offensive tackle in nearly a decade when he came out in 2022. Here’s a Louisiana farm boy who draws major influences from former All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Campbell is the safe play here, but the Patriots have the most smoke around them then any other team.
5. TRADE Chicago Bears (from Jacksonville Jaguars): Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State — Experts believe that the price to move up is too rich, that this selection is like buying the horse before the wagon. I beg to differ. Chicago has done a great job solidifying its offensive line, surrounding two emerging offensive tackles with quality interior offensive line help. The Bears also have Carolina’s second-round pick in their back pocket. It’s going to take more than picks No. 10 and 39 to move up five spots, but Jacksonville’s roster is in desperate need or re-tooling for new head coach Liam Cohen, and if the Bears are truly all in with new head coach Ben Johnson it really doesn’t get better than adding Jeanty to this young nucleus on offense. Plus the Bears will have their choice of a few quality under the radar edge rushers with their own second rounder.
6. Las Vegas Raiders: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan — Head coach Pete Carroll wants to win in the trenches. The combination of Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins and Graham is a great start on the defensive side of the ball.
7. New York Jets: Armand Membou, OT, Missouri — The Jets brought in Justin Fields (who should’ve gone No. 2 overall in 2021) to be their new quarterback. If Fields is going to have any shot at success he needs protection. Olu Fashanu is awesome at left tackle, now it’s time to secure right tackle. Enter Membou, who’s benefited mightily from the pre-draft process on top of the talent he already possesses. With any luck the Jets have two legitimate offensive tackles for the next decade.
8. Carolina Panthers: Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M — The Panthers need help in a lot of spots. Adding to the defensive line is a great start. Stewart is not only a mountain of a human being, but also has a friendly confidence to him.
9. New Orleans Saints: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona — Outside of Hunter, McMillan is regarded as the top receiver in the class not because of his size, but experts believe he’s the best receiver not named Travis Hunter when it comes to creating his own space. Are there questions about his love of the game and eagerness to watch film? Yes, 100%. But his ceiling is too hard to pass up, and the Saints can spend the pick on a receiver here while filling holes, mainly at quarterback, later on.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Chicago Bears): Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State — The Jaguars drop back five spots, get pick No. 39 and a first and third next year and get the player I had mocked at No. 5 in my mock draft 2.0. I think both sides win here. Warren is a literal Swiss Army knife at tight end, and with Evan Engram gones as a salary cap casualty the need is here, and he’s honestly the best offensive player Jacksonville can land at this point.
11. TRADE Los Angeles Chargers (from San Francisco 49ers): Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan — Yeah, Warren’s selection is actually a domino effect which creates a bidding war to come up and take Loveland and jump the Cowboys in line at the same time. The 49ers, who had a lot of holes to fill, sell the pick to the highest bidder, which in this case is the Los Angeles Chargers. A reunion between Loveland and head coach Jim Harbaugh happens here, and the Chargers get a crucial piece for their offense.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
13. Miami Dolphins: Will Johnson, CB, Miami
14. Indianapolis Colts: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
15. Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
16. Arizona Cardinals: Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
17. Cincinnati Bengals: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
18. Seattle Seahawks: Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
20. Denver Broncos: TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
22. San Francisco 49ers (from Los Angeles Chargers): Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
23. Green Bay Packers: Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky — This is my deep sleeper of the class. Hairston, a West Bloomfield graduate in Metro Detroit, is an athletic freak. His measurables at the NFL Combine were off the charts. He’s a menace on the outside in Cover 3 zone defenses and is developing as a man corner. As an added bonus, he has a legitimate chance of becoming a fan favorite wherever he goes, and Green Bay is definitely no exception.
24. TRADE Kansas City Chiefs (from Minnesota Vikings): Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
25. Houston Texans: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
26. Los Angeles Rams: Grey Zabel, OG. North Dakota State
27. Baltimore Ravens: Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
28. Detroit Lions: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss — Let’s get this straight: Alim McNeil, who signed an extension last season, is still covering from a torn ACL. DJ Reader and Levi Onwuzurike are free agents in 2026. The Lions still need help on defense, but defensive tackle is the play here. And the best defensive tackle prospect on the board is Nolen, who was an All-American and First Team All-SEC with 14 tackles for loss in 2024. The Lions can still add an edge rusher and a secondary piece on Day 2 and still come out better.
29. Washington Commanders: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
30. Buffalo Bills: Jihaad Campbell, EDGE/LB, Alabama
31. Minnesota Vikings (from Kansas City Chiefs): Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina
32. TRADE Las Vegas Raiders (from Philadelphia Eagles): Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama — I had something similar in mock draft 2.0, and I’m sticking to my guns here. Milroe gets two years to learn behind Geno Smith, and the price to move up from No. 37 to 32 is not that steep. The Raiders add a playmaker on the defensive line and get their quarterback of the future on night 1. I call that a win.
“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for The Daily Press (Escanaba). He can be reached at mvosburg@dailypress.net. Follow him on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch) and on X (@realmitchvburg).
Today’s games Track and field Powers North Central, Manistique at Marquette Invitational, 3 p.m. Delta …
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