It’s a little too early to predict who showed out at the NFL Draft and who fell flat. After all, only 32 picks have been made out of 257.

With that being said, some teams, groups, and individuals really impressed me last night. Simultaneously, some players and fans came away from the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft feeling worse than when the evening began.

Here are some winners and losers from the first night of the NFL Draft.

Winners

Cleveland Browns

The Browns entered the night with the second-overall pick but moved back three spots to acquire another second-rounder and a first-rounder next year. After taking Mason Graham with their first-round pick, they came away from last night with four more picks in the second and third rounds, including two of the first four picks that will be made tonight.

ESPN Sources:

🏈Browns are trading the No. 2 overall pick, a fourth-round pick (No. 104), and a sixth-round pick (No. 200) to the Jaguars.

🏈Jaguars are trading the No. 5 overall pick, a second-round pick (No. 36), a fourth-round pick (No. 126) and their 2026 first-round pick… pic.twitter.com/9J3QPHqhhU

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 25, 2025

The Browns have set themselves up to make a splash in this year’s draft and next year’s! They have five top-100 picks in this year’s draft class as well as two first-round picks in next year’s draft, which is expected to be loaded with talented quarterbacks. Cleveland can have franchise-altering drafts over the next two years.

Even though they didn’t land Travis Hunter, it’s not like Mason Graham is a consolation prize. He was the top-rated defensive tackle in this draft class, in my opinion. And, pairing him with Myles Garrett will create a ferocious defensive front that will be able to get after AFC North quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

New York Giants fans

I view Abdul Carter as the best prospect in this draft class. He is a relentless pass rusher who has upped his performance on the biggest stages at the college level. Lining him up next to Dexter Lawrence II (a 27-year-old defensive tackle coming off of his third straight Pro Bowl), Brian Burns (a two-time Pro Bowler), and Kayvon Thibodeaux (the fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft) gives Big Blue a front seven that can get after divisional quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels, Dak Prescott, and Jalen Hurts.

They also managed to add a rookie quarterback to their roster! This is huge news for Giants fans since the G-Men haven’t drafted a quarterback in any round since 2019. Now, they have a first-rounder in Jaxson Dart, who will be able to learn from Jameis Winston, and a Super Bowl champion in Russell Wilson.

New York made two of the best selections in the first round of the NFL Draft because they were able to acquire elite players who also fit their team’s needs. Giants fans should be thrilled with the moves their general manager made because, for the first time in a long time, there’s hope in the Big Apple.

Green Bay, Wisconsin

There was a lot of concern about a small town like Green Bay having the infrastructure to support one of the biggest sporting events in the United States. Amazingly, though, this place with a population of roughly 105,000 was able to answer the call and put on an amazing first night of the NFL Draft. Green Bay, Wisconsin saw over 205,000 fans show up for the first round of the Draft, and the first night went off without a hitch.

The citizens of Green Bay were also very respectful. When their bitter rivals, the Chicago Bears, were on the clock and preparing to make their pick, commissioner Roger Goodell was serenaded with a loud chorus of boos. However, the Green Bay faithful ceased their booing when Goodell spoke about the passing of longtime Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael and the impact of Hall of Famer Walter Payton. As soon as Goodell finished honoring those two men, the Packers fans immediately resumed booing the Chicago Bears in a hilarious, yet respectful tribute.

THE DROUGHT IS OVER

📺: NFL Draft on NFL Network April 24-26 pic.twitter.com/hFJFTh3jZv

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) April 25, 2025

The best moment of the night, though, came when Packers CEO and president, Mark Murphy, announced that Green Bay (for the first time since 2002) were selecting a wide receiver in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Once Murphy announced the selection of Texas wideout Matthew Golden, the venue erupted in cheers and applause similar to what one would hear at a live WWE show when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appears.

I am biased because I’m a Packers fan and have loved all of the visits I have made to Lambeau Field, but if Green Bay, Wisconsin can keep this up, this might go down as one of the best NFL Draft experiences of all time.

Losers

Shedeur Sanders

It was a terrible night to be Shedeur Sanders. There were rumors that he could’ve been drafted with the second-overall pick. But instead, he will now be a second-rounder at best.

I know what you’re thinking: “That doesn’t sound too bad. He will still be drafted by an NFL team at some point, right?” While that’s almost certainly true, history is working against him tonight. Over the last three years, only one quarterback has been drafted in the second round (Will Levis). There’s a chance that Sanders will fall to the third round!

The main reason why Shedeur Sanders is one of the biggest losers of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft has to do with money. Since the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement pays rookies based on where they’re drafted, Sanders missed out on millions of dollars by falling out of the first round. According to Forbes, Shedeur Sanders may have lost $29 million because of his draft day slide, easily making him the biggest loser of the first round.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans

Steelers fans may be tearing their hair out. They once again used the NFL Draft to address their defense instead of finding a long-term solution at the quarterback position.

The craziest part is they were in a spot where they could’ve traded back, acquired more draft capital, and still taken a quarterback like Sanders, Dart, Louisville’s Tyler Shough, or Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. But they didn’t trade back. They didn’t even take a quarterback with the 21st overall pick, they took a defensive tackle, who is basically going to be a backup to Cameron Heyward until he retires.

.@Chris_Broussard reacts to Shedeur Sanders slipping in the NFL Draft:

“When the Steelers did not take him, I was like floored. I was stunned…What all of these teams passing on him…there’s only one conclusion: they don’t think he’s that good.” pic.twitter.com/NcPlBXDaRG

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 25, 2025

Now, the Steelers will have to bide their time and hope that another one of the quarterbacks they like falls into their laps later because they don’t have a second-round pick. I seriously doubt that will happen, though, since the Browns have two second-rounders, and they need a quarterback. The Jets and Saints, who also need new QBs, also have picks before Pittsburgh, so the Steelers may be scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a rookie to compete with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.

I don’t care how good Derrick Harmon ends up being. This is managerial malpractice by Pittsburgh’s higher-ups. If they truly don’t add another quarterback to this team, then heads will roll next off-season.

Chicago Bears fans

There weren’t many glaring holes for the Bears after they had a stellar free agency. They shored up their offensive and defensive lines, which were huge goals for general manager Ryan Poles. After that, they were supposed to use the draft to finalize the rebuild, launching Chicago into a new era of success.

They had an excellent draft choice with the tenth overall pick in the first round and could’ve gone many different ways with it. There were rumors that the Bears wanted to move up in the draft to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who would’ve added a whole new dimension of explosiveness to Chicago. Then again, they could’ve added one more body in the trenches. The Bears aren’t necessarily set at the left tackle spot. They also run a 4-3 defense and could use another interior lineman to round out their front four.

Chicago didn’t address any of those needs. Instead, they picked a tight end, which is somewhat strange considering starting tight end Cole Kmet carries an $11.6 million cap hit this year. But he does have an out in his contract next off-season, so maybe the Bears are just trying to find a cheap replacement.

If that’s the case, then I can wrap my head around that line of logic. What I don’t understand is why they picked the second-best tight end in this draft when a generational tight end prospect like Tyler Warren was sitting right there. The numbers indicate that Warren is a much better player than the guy they picked (Colston Loveland).

It not only feels like the Bears wasted their pick on a position that they’re already set at, but they used their selection to draft a guy who wasn’t even the best tight end in this draft class. I am not a general manager, so I don’t know what Poles sees in Loveland, but I think they will come to regret the decision they made.