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Expert projections if every QB-needy team picks QB
The stars of the NFL draft each season are the quarterbacks, no matter what other college stars are available.
A bad QB draft often means that the public is down on the overall draft group. A good QB draft usually throws that year’s group into the conversation as one of the best drafts in history.
The 2025 draft appears to be in between good and bad, with Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders destined for the top 10 in some form in April.
The Tennessee Titans are one of several teams that need a QB of the future, a list that includes the Browns at No. 2, the Giants at No. 3, the Raiders at No. 6 and the Jets at No. 7. In all, no fewer than seven teams have major long-term questions at the position. So what if every team that needed a QB selected a QB?
With the draft order now set through pick No. 30, here’s how The Tennessean predicts the first round of the 2025 NFL draft will look if each team that needs a quarterback picks one:
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GOOD OR BAD QB CLASS?Tennessee Titans picking at top of ‘weak’ NFL draft QB class. How top prospects feel about label
2025 NFL Mock Draft
1: Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL)
This process is continual, and as I continue through film, Ward’s off-platform ability and fearlessness with the football stands out. Is that the same kind of fearlessness that swallowed Will Levis whole in 2024? I don’t think so, though that isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
2. Cleveland Browns: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
I genuinely like both Ward and Sanders’ games, and would be comfortable with selecting both players based on tape alone if I needed a QB in the top five. The Browns qualify. Whether or not Browns fans would be comfortable with GM Andrew Berry throwing more major resources into the position is another thing.
3. New York Giants: Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
The Giants are in a rare position when it comes to how important the next four months are for the incumbent coach and GM. Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen cannot afford another non-competitive season, and they must find better options at quarterback. Even in this scenario, the Giants will need to find a veteran QB for 2025.
4. New England Patriots: Travis Hunter, WR/CB. Colorado
The Patriots turn their card in faster than any team in recent memory. In this scenario, the Week 18 loss to Buffalo ends up costing the franchise nothing in draft equity because New England selects the draft’s top prospect.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
Jaguars fans are going to get very tired of seeing Graham in every single mock draft. Graham will wreck the interior in the NFL, rounding out the Jaguars’ defensive line with yet another top pick used on the DL.
6. Las Vegas Raiders: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
There’s plenty of work to be done with the Raiders’ offensive personnel (other than Brock Bowers), and addressing QB is a must for Pete Carroll in Year 1. Dart has some arm talent, but shows an inability to anticipate throws consistently. Dart is considered by some as a top-50 prospect overall, but he goes to the QB needy Raiders here.
7. New York Jets: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Ewers struggled with consistency in footwork and ball placement (yes, the two are related) last season at Texas, and it placed a ceiling on the Texas offense. Despite a very good offensive line, two top-100 receivers and a tight end who will be picked in April, Ewers struggled to consistently hit downfield throws. In this scenario, Ewers sits behind a returning Aaron Rodgers in 2025.
8. Carolina Panthers: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
Carolina, like New England, spends as little time possible in making the selection. Carter’s explosiveness and speed-to-power ability (which still could improve) is something Panthers fans haven’t seen since…Julius Peppers? Ever?
9. New Orleans Saints: Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon
New Orleans doesn’t have a head coach yet for 2025, and it has little answer at QB past however long Derek Carr remains a Saint, whether that’s for a couple more weeks or another season. Gabriel is likely going to be a Day 2 or 3 pick, but the Saints fall under the category of a QB needy team.
10. Chicago Bears: Will Campbell, OL, LSU
Campbell will play somewhere on the Bears OL as Chicago builds around last year’s No. 1 pick, Caleb Williams.
11. San Francisco 49ers: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Brandon Aiyuk suffered a season-ending knee injury last October, and it’s unknown how that will impact his 2025 availability. Either way, BPA for the 49ers lands on the top outside receiver in the class who adds a dynamic San Francisco does not have on offense.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
CeeDee Lamb shouldn’t have to do it all in the Cowboys receiver room. Burden, like Lamb, can play inside and out at receiver and can run up the YAC totals.
13. Miami Dolphins: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
Simmons could have been the top offensive lineman in the draft had he not suffered a season-ending knee injury last October at Ohio State. He’ll have to settle for Miami inside the top 15 instead.
14. Indianapolis Colts: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
This format works well for the Colts, who get a top-10 prospect in the secondary at No. 14. Indy desperately needs difference makers on a very ordinary defense.
15. Atlanta Falcons: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
Atlanta finally goes defense in the first round here after a lengthy stretch of poor pass-rush production over the last few seasons. Pearce’s speed off the edge is the dominant trait of the remaining edge prospects, though his size and play strength may limit his snaps early on.
16. Arizona Cardinals: Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
The edge rushers behind Abdul Carter are a group of in-the-eye-of-the-beholder prospects. Walker’s potential is untapped, and Arizona likes versatility in the front seven.
17. Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
Teams will take note of Green’s Senior Bowl practice work and his eyebrow-raising 2024 resume (17.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, including three sacks in games against Virginia Tech and Ohio State). He could stand to add strength, but the Bengals need to help Trey Hendrickson out off the edge and Green could contribute as a rookie.
18. Seattle Seahawks: Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota
Ersery is becoming one of my favorite prospects. His hand usage needs work, and he loses a lot against defenders who know how to use their hands. Ersery also needs some technical refinement with his overall base. But when he gets his hand placement correct, it’s over for defenders. He is a heavy-handed blocker who can push players around.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
Chris Godwin or not, Egbuka meets need and talent as the Bucs’ future at the position.
20. Denver Broncos: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Build around the second-year first round pick QB after a positive rookie season? Check. Warren is the unquestioned TE1 and fills a need for Sean Payton and the Broncos offense.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Will Howard, QB, Ohio State
Howard clears Tyler Shough and others on my rankings for now, so that’s the play under the mandatory QB pick for a needy team. In reality, this is not the place for a quarterback that needs a friendly system with a deep group of pass catchers.
22. Los Angeles Chargers: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Chargers fans are going to get tired of seeing Loveland mocked at No. 22, too. But it makes too much sense.
23. Green Bay Packers: Kelvin Banks Jr., OL, Texas
Banks’ drop here is not because I don’t like him as a prospect. But there are legitimate questions as to whether or not he’s a guard or a tackle in the NFL. In Green Bay, he’s a guard with positional versatility.
24. Minnesota Vikings: Malaki Starks, DB, Georgia
Minnesota adds the top safety in the draft at No. 24. Starks will play all across the defense as a rookie.
25. Houston Texans: Josh Conerly, OT, Oregon
Conerly is the last offensive tackle on my list at this point that I’d be confident in being a Year 1 contributor.
26. Los Angeles Rams: Armand Membou, OL, Missouri
Membou, at 6-3, will have to become more technically proficient to have a real shot as a long-term tackle in the pros. But his physical edge is second to none in this class.
27. Baltimore Ravens: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Baltimore is a natural fit for Williams, who is the BPA here. Is he destined to be a 10-sack-per-season player? Maybe, maybe not. But he’s far from a finished product physically or in terms of ability.
28. Detroit Lions: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
Here comes a run on defensive linemen. Nolen adds a measure of havoc on the Lions defensive line that the group sorely needed at the end of the season.
29. Washington Commanders: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Jeanty will rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie and contribute in the passing game. Book it.
30. Buffalo Bills: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Amari Cooper’s status aside, Buffalo must improve its receiver corps. Golden fits the Bills’ need for a physical receiver who can win in a phone booth against man coverage.
31. Philadelphia Eagles: Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Philly has the most well-rounded roster in the league, so adding to a strength will be likely no matter the position. The Eagles may lose Milton Williams in free agency, and Grant is an underrated prospect.
32. Kansas City Chiefs: Tyler Booker, OL, Alabama
KC replaces Trey Smith with Tyler Booker at right guard, replacing one road grader with another.
With the 2022 NFL Draft quickly approaching, experts have been analyzing the potential outcomes if every quarterback-needy team were to select a quarterback in the first round. This scenario would likely cause a domino effect, with teams scrambling to secure their future signal-caller.
Here are some expert projections for how the first round could play out in this scenario:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Malik Willis, Liberty
2. Detroit Lions – Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
3. Houston Texans – Matt Corral, Ole Miss
4. New York Jets – Sam Howell, North Carolina
5. Carolina Panthers – Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
6. New York Giants – Carson Strong, Nevada
7. Atlanta Falcons – Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
8. Denver Broncos – Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
9. Washington Commanders – Matt Fiscsher, Penn State
10. Seattle Seahawks – Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan
These projections are based on team needs, player abilities, and potential fits within each system. It will be interesting to see how the actual draft unfolds and if teams stick to their plans or pivot based on the picks of other teams. Stay tuned for more updates as the draft approaches!
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- Quarterback projections
- NFL draft predictions
- QB-needy teams
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- NFL quarterback prospects
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