2025 NFL Draft: Shedeur Sanders vs Cameron Ward is closer than you think, cornerback hierarchy, and more storylines to watch
The 2025 NFL Draft class is going to be a wild ride. From a full scope perspective, it’s a strong defensive class but the offense leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a down year for quarterbacks and offensive tackles, but very deep at running back, tight end, cornerback, and safety. With the college football […]
The 2025 NFL Draft class is going to be a wild ride. From a full scope perspective, it’s a strong defensive class but the offense leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a down year for quarterbacks and offensive tackles, but very deep at running back, tight end, cornerback, and safety.
With the college football season wrapping up, and the NFL playoffs about to kick off, the offseason is going to be here before we know it. That means the all-star circuit and the NFL Scouting Combine are soon going to be the main conversations. In such a divisive class, there are also a ton of storylines already.
Here are some that haven’t been talked about enough, but you can bet they will be leading up to April.
Two quarterback race
It’s no secret that the two quarterbacks who have separated themselves so far in this class are Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and Cameron Ward (Miami). Unless something crazy happens, it’ll be extremely surprising if those two aren’t the first off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft come April. The major question out there right now, is who does the NFL like most?
While doing research with pretty much every league source available, it seems about as 50-50 as I can remember in recent memory. It does make sense when you compare them both, and more importantly, how different they are. Sanders is the more accurate and better player in structure consistently, while Ward has superior tools and is a bit of a risk taker. There is some magic Ward can make that Sanders can’t.
When it comes to the Tennessee Titans, who hold the No.1 overall selection, what they do and who they prefer will be a deep conversation. There are some thoughts out there that they could pass on a quarterback, and explore other options. If they are in the quarterback market, it does feel like Tennessee may be more inclined to go with the floor of Sanders over the volatility of Ward. The upside play already burned them recently with Will Levis.
Cornerback hierarchy
When you talk about the 2025 cornerback class, there are usually two players that usually get talked about first. Travis Hunter (Colorado) and Will Johnson (Michigan) typically kick off those conversations. While both are very much in play to go top ten, if not higher, they aren’t the only talented cornerbacks in the group.
If not for the injury to Shavon Revel Jr. (ECU), there could have been a good chance he would have been in the top 15 conversation. It wouldn’t be surprising if he still ends up going in that range based on pure talent.
One interesting note is that at least one NFL team has Georgia safety Malaki Starks graded as an outside cornerback. Not only do they have him rated as a cornerback, but they have him with a very, very high grade. While Starks will be more than likely drafted as a safety, there appears to be some who value his skill set in various spots.
Who are the true left tackles in the class?
After a really good offensive tackle class in the 2024 NFL Draft, the 2025 group leaves a lot to be desired. When you talk about the top offensive tackles off of the board, you are usually going to see names like Will Campbell (LSU) and Kelvin Banks Jr. mentioned. Both are talented players, but some around the league also have questions about whether they can stick at left tackle or not.
Behind them, it’s a class that is littered with right tackles types or potential guard converts. This overall group really lacks true left tackles who project favorably to the blindside without hesitation. That could push a couple of standouts up the board.
Two names to keep a close eye on are Josh Simmons (Ohio State) and Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon). Before the lower body injury to Simmons, it looked like he had a chance to go top 20. He is probably the best blindside pass protector in the class. Conerly isn’t quite on the same level as Simmons right now, but he certainly has a lot of talent to work with.
It wouldn’t be overly shocking if both ended up inside of round one, and go higher than many think in the end.
Volatile linebacker class
The overall linebacker class is well below average, and there is a wide range of opinions on the group. It feels like most out there project Alabama standout Jihaad Campbell to the top one of the board right now, excited about his athletic skill set and ceiling. There are others who prefer names like Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma) and Carson Schwesinger (UCLA) at the top.
In the end, this feels like a class that will be defined by sleepers who ascend throughout the process. Two names to get to know are Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss) and Demetrius Knight (South Carolina). Paul is the perfect modern linebacker. The former Arkansas transfer brings good overall movement skills, power, and instincts to the table. Knight is a rangy defender who moves at unreal level for a player nearly 250 pounds. Both will provide upside to a team somewhere rounds two through four.
2025 NFL Draft: Tyler Warren, DJ Giddens, and other “my guys” in an extremely thin offensive class
My guys in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
