Sometimes it’s fun and educational to look around at some prominent mock draft projections as they flow out, even at this early juncture. It’s a good way to see what some analysts might be hearing or anticipating.
One of the most respected draft analysts is Dane Brugler from The Athletic, and he posted his projections from the end of the college football regular season on Wednesday. At this point in the draft cycle, we still aren’t sure who will be declaring or which team will be picking where, but the early insight offers some glimpses as to how the 2025 NFL Draft might shape up in April.
Here’s what I took away from Brugler’s latest mock draft and commentary.
It’s thin at the top
If you follow the NFL Draft community or even the college football season, you already know that the 2025 class isn’t considered very strong relative to recent drafts. Brugler lays that out right away, sharing this from an AFC team staffer,
Outside of Travis Hunter, there is very little consensus about the non-quarterbacks at the top of this draft. “Hunter,” a second AFC scout told The Athletic, “is the only guy this year who would have been a top-10 pick last year — probably in most years.”
Non-traditional No. 1 pick
The No. 1 overall pick has been either a quarterback or a defensive end in every class since the 2013 draft, when offensive tackle Eric Fisher went to the Chiefs with the top pick. There hasn’t been any other position but those three represented with the No. 1 pick since 1996.
That should give an indication of just how special Colorado’s Travis Hunter is as a dual-threat prospect. Brugler projects him No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, even though nobody is really sure if he’s going to play wide receiver, cornerback or both.
Surprise names
Remember–this is all speculative conjecture about who will come off the board and when they will hear their name called. But there does tend to be the “usual suspects” of about 20-25 names that predominate nearly every mock draft at this time of year. Brugler includes a couple of names outside those usual suspects, at least names that surprised me as I set out to concoct my latest projections.
East Carolina CB Shavon Revel stands out here. He’s certainly talented and has coveted NFL size and athleticism. But Revel hasn’t played against NFL-caliber talent for the Pirates. In fact, he hasn’t played at all; Revel tore his ACL in September and has missed nearly all of the 2024 season. Brugler still projects him as a top-15 pick to the Colts.
Others who don’t normally appear as top-32 projections at this juncture:
Oregon OT Josh Conerly to the Seahawks
Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston to the Steelers; like Revel, Hairston has fallen out of mind thanks to injury.
Purdue OL Marcus Mbow to the Vikings. Mbow just declared this week
Marshall EDGE Mike Green to the Bills. Green still has two years of eligibility but this is more confirmation that the hype around him declaring is real.
Detroit picking 32nd
I know that’s the current draft order based on the NFL standings entering Week 14. But it’s still crazy for this longtime Lions fan to look at a mock draft and see my team picking No. 32 and last in the round.
Brugler’s projection for Detroit with the final pick of the first round is another name that doesn’t currently get a lot of first-round run, Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell. Wouldn’t be my choice, but the draft is still almost five months away…
