While much of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft went as expected, there were several twists that turned the opening night in Green Bay into an exciting spectacle.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ decision to trade up to the second overall pick and take Travis Hunter will likely come to define the draft regardless of whether he makes it at the next level.
That was the headline move on a night of drama at Lambeau Field, which saw three more trades, including the New York Giants moving back into the first round for Jaxson Dart.
New York’s aggressive play for a quarterback not named Shedeur Sanders ensured he will remain the story heading into night two, but it would be wrong for his fall to consume all the focus.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the first 32 picks.
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The Jaguars believe in Travis Hunter’s two-way impact
Jacksonville stole the headlines on night one with a blockbuster trade to go from five to two to snag Hunter.
To do so, they dealt the fifth overall pick, a second-rounder (36th overall), a fourth-rounder (126th overall) and a 2026 first-rounder to move up to number two, also receiving a fourth-rounder (104th overall) and a sixth-rounder (200th overall) from Cleveland.
There is no way the Jags would have given up that kind of capital if they did not believe in Hunter’s ability to play both wide receiver and cornerback at the next level, and new general manager William Glastone made it clear he will be given the chance to shine at both spots.
“He is somebody who is deserving of a first-round draft pick as a wide receiver, and he is worthy of a first-round draft pick as a corner,” Gladstone told a press conference.
____ them picks 💀#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/U2sQU8KHT4
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 25, 2025
“Certainly look forward to each of those elements showing themselves over the next few years.”
It’s too early to know to what extent they’ll allow him to play both sides and how long such an experiment might last, but it will be fascinating to watch.
Pete Carroll isn’t for changing
The Las Vegas Raiders could have gone in several directions with the sixth overall pick. Offensive line would have been the safe and probably most sensible play, wide receiver would have a lot of sense, while there would have been a strong argument for bolstering the secondary.
Doing the latter would have been a very Pete Carroll move, but the Raiders’ new head coach — on top of having an excellent track record of developing secondary players — also loves running the ball.
It was therefore no surprise to see the Raiders’ first pick with Carroll as head coach spent on a running back regarded by many as a top-five or perhaps even top-three prospect in the class in Ashton Jeanty.
A dynamic, field-flipping back who had 50-yard runs in nine of his 14 games, Jeanty could make life substantially easier on quarterback Geno Smith in his first season back with Carroll as his coach in Las Vegas.
Even with the other holes at more important positions they could have filled, it’s very difficult to critique the pick of a player who can spectacularly create yardage for himself in the way Jeanty can. Pete Carroll is not changing who he is at this late stage of his incredible career and, in this instance, he is right not to do so.
The league’s view on Shedeur Sanders is clear
Quarterbacks always get vaulted up in the board in the draft. Even in a bad class at the position, that statement still rung true with the selection of Cam Ward by the Tennessee Titans first overall and the Giants’ big trade back into the first round to land Dart.
The latter move was a stunner, behind only the Jags’ move up for Hunter in terms of wow factor, primarily because most expected Sanders to be the second quarterback off the board.
Yet the difference is that both Ward and Dart have shown an ability to make plays with their arm and their legs outside of the pocket. Ward had four rushing touchdowns last season, while Dart had three and rushed for 495 yards on the ground. Sanders had negative 50 rushing yards in his final collegiate season.
Put simply, with at least some dual-threat upside at their disposal, Ward and Dart represent the type of quarterback the league is willing to bump up the board.
For all his success at Colorado, Sanders is not that kind of quarterback. Sanders is constantly looking for the big play, but he’s not a consistent creator. To the contrary, he’s a quarterback who will often hold the ball too long waiting for something to happen.
That’s a very bad habit with which to enter the league and, with the attention that also comes with being Deion Sanders’ son, it’s understandable that no team was willing to commit to him as a first-rounder.
The Browns and Rams are betting on the 2026 QB class
The Browns had a shot to take either of the two primary stars of that Colorado team in Hunter or Sanders with the second overall pick. Instead, they elected collect more assets, including a first-round pick next year, and drop back to fifth overall to take a high-floor defensive lineman in Mason Graham.
Cleveland does not have a long-term answer at quarterback following the Deshaun Watson debacle, but the 2026 first-round pick they received from the Jags gives them a shot to acquire one next year, when the options at the position are expected to be much better.
The Browns were not the only team to grasp an opportunity to have a shot at one of the 2026 quarterbacks. Indeed, the Los Angeles Rams netted a 2026 first-rounder from the Atlanta Falcons in the trade that saw them drop out of this year’s opening round entirely.
With Matthew Stafford a free agent in 2027, it will soon be time for the Rams to find a succession plan. The odds are much better that they will find a man who fits the bill next year when Arch Manning, Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier will all be eligible for the draft.
Kicking the can down the road at quarterback is the best bet for teams that aren’t as desperate as the Titans and Giants, and both the Browns and the Rams came to that realization.
Philadelphia’s Super Bowl message hits home
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line beat the Kansas City Chiefs into submission in the Super Bowl in February in.a brutal reiteration of the importance of the trenches to championship football.
And it is clear the rest of the league paid close attention to what happened at the Superdome, with most teams in the first round focusing either on reinforcing their D-Line or improving their pass protection.
Eighteen of the opening 32 selections were spent on the trenches, with three offensive linemen going in the top 10 and a fourth, Alabama guard Tyler Booker, surprisingly going to the Dallas Cowboys with the 13th overall pick.
The old football cliche is that the game is won in the trenches. The thing with cliches is that they are often true and, after the Eagles hammered home the validity of that axiom, the other 31 teams made it very clear they still subscribe to it.
With a plethora of talent from an extremely deep D-Line class still available, the theme of players in the trenches going early and often is likely to continue on night two.
