Breaking Down Every Pick From 1st Round Of Nfl Draft

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 4:40 AM

breaking down every pick from 1st round of nfl draft

The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team. After months of speculation, the 2025 NFL Draft is here, and by the time the weekend is done, the Washington Commanders will have more new players to improve their roster. This is the second draft with general manager Adam Peters is leading a front office that is dedicated to finding players who best fit head coach Dan Quinn's vision for the franchise. They have five picks to do so, including the No. 29 overall selection. Check back to this live blog for every move leading up to the pick.

There shouldn't be any surprises here. The Titans need a quarterback, and they're expected to take the best one on the board in Cam Ward. Mel Kiper Jr. just said on ESPN that he's everything you want a quarterback to be, and there's little to dispute that. The 2025 NFL Draft Day 1 is in the books, and it did not disappoint! In this full first-round recap, I break down every pick from Thursday night—analyzing team strategies, prospect fits, surprise selections, trades, and all the biggest moments.

From the No. 1 overall pick to the late-round stunners, I give you instant reactions, in-depth NFL Draft analysis, and scouting insight on how each player fits their new team. Was your team a winner or a head-scratcher? Which prospects were steals, and which picks raised eyebrows? We cover it all—quarterbacks, wide receivers, offensive linemen, pass rushers, and everything in between. Whether you're a die-hard NFL fan, draft junkie, or just catching up on all the action, this recap gives you everything you need to know from Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The NFL draft is an annual sports draft in which National Football League (NFL) teams select newly eligible players for their rosters.[1][2][3] To be eligible for the NFL draft, a player must be at... While the regulations do not explicitly require collegiate attendance, players must either exhaust their college eligibility or seek a special exemption from the league.[4] Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the... The team with the worst record selects first, followed by the team with the second-worst record, and so forth. Teams also have the option to trade with another team to move up to a better draft position. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record, with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl).[6][7][8]

From 1947 through 1958, the first selection in the NFL draft was awarded by a random draw known as the "bonus pick." The team that received the bonus pick forfeited its selection in the... By the 1958 draft, all twelve league teams had received a bonus pick, leading to the system’s abolition. Following this, the NFL faced competition from the American Football League (AFL), which held a separate draft prior to the merger agreements in 1966. This rivalry resulted in both leagues often drafting the same players, sparking bidding wars for top prospects. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues adopted a unified "common draft" system. After the AFL-NFL merger was finalized in 1970, the common draft became the modern NFL Draft.[9][10][11][12][13]

Through the 2025 NFL draft, 90 players have been selected first overall, with the first being Jay Berwanger and the most recent being Cam Ward. The Indianapolis Colts and the Los Angeles Rams have each made the most first overall selections in history with seven, while the Baltimore Ravens, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Denver Broncos have never selected... The Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams have each held the first overall pick a total of seven times, the most of any NFL team. This includes the Colts' time in Baltimore and the Rams' time in Cleveland and St. Louis. The Boston Yanks are the only defunct franchise to have held a first overall pick.[131] The Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks are the only teams that have never had the first overall...

USC has the most first overall picks with 6. Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Georgia are tied for second-most first overall picks with 5 each. Only two schools have had first overall picks in consecutive years: USC, with Ron Yary (1968) and O. J. Simpson (1969), and Oklahoma, with Baker Mayfield (2018) and Kyler Murray (2019).[162] So much for the 2025 NFL draft starting off in a straightforward manner.

While many forecasted the first round to unfold with little mystery at the top, it didn't take long for things to get a little crazy in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After the Titans kicked things off with the widely expected pick of Cam Ward at No. 1 overall, the Jacksonville Jaguars delivered a bombshell with their blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns to secure Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Things didn't settle down from there, with several other teams swinging deals – including the New York Giants moving up for quarterback Jaxson Dart – to nab their desired targets. And after all the action, one of the draft's most notable figures in Shedeur Sanders was left to wait until Friday to learn his landing spot. With the first 32 picks in the book, here's a look back at our grades for every selection:

No shenanigans to start off the night. Though president of football operations Chad Brinker briefly had people wondering whether the Titans would target Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter after saying in January that the team wouldn't pass on a "generational talent,"... While it'd certainly be a stretch to describe Ward as a "generational" prospect – and maybe Tennessee didn't view Hunter or Carter at that level, either – he gives the organization new life and... Now the pressure is on the coach to ensure the dynamic playmaker strikes a balance between attacking downfield and being willing to take what the defense gives him, which he too often eschewed throughout... But with savvy and creativity both inside and out of the pocket, Ward could return the revitalized Titans to relevance in the AFC South in short order. Well, how's that for a shake-up?

After no trades involving a first-round pick materialized in the months leading up to the draft, Day 1 got a major infusion of drama in the form of the Jaguars moving from No. 5 to No. 2 for Hunter. How Jacksonville plans to use the electric Heisman Trophy winner will be fascinating, as the two-way threat could either be the answer at boundary cornerback opposite Tyson Campbell or team with Brian Thomas Jr. to form one of the league's most dynamic receiving duos. Hunter, of course, will want to pull double duty at both spots.

The cost is at least approaching prohibitive for a non-quarterback, with Jacksonville giving up both a second-round selection this year and first-rounder next year. But in landing a player whom many – including us – ranked as the top overall player in this class, new general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen have taken a major step... Now, with their pick haul depleted, the pressure is on Gladstone to unearth the mid-to-late-round gems who helped keep the Los Angeles Rams – with whom the 34-year-old spent nearly the last decade –... November 6, 2025, 9:49am EST 479 • By Alex Hoegler The 2025 NFL first round was packed with quarterback drama, surprise risers, and blue-chip defenders expected to become instant cornerstones. Now that we’re halfway through the season, the early returns are finally clear.

Some rookies have exceeded expectations and become immediate impact players, while others are still struggling to adjust to the league’s speed and physicality. From breakout stars reshaping their franchises to first-round gambles that haven’t paid off yet, we break down how every 2025 first-round pick has performed so far — and what their trajectory looks like heading... It’s unfair to fully blame Ward for the Tennessee Titans’ struggles. But like, Caleb Williams and Robert Griffin III had excellent rookie years on horrible teams with textbook coaching malpractice. Ward is barely completing over half his pass attempts, is in danger of finishing with more interceptions than passing touchdowns, and, oh yeah, has his Titans in a spot to potentially pick first overall... The 2025 NFL draft officially started when the Tennessee Titans predictably made Cam Ward the No.

1 pick and their new franchise quarterback. The move has been evident for weeks, but it’s still worth asking whether the Titans made a mistake passing on Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, the consensus top two prospects in this draft class. That’s the first of many questions we’ll be asking ourselves Thursday night, when The MMQB will be grading every first-round pick, starting with Ward. MORE. SI NFL Draft. NFL Draft News, Mocks, Betting and Analysis.

dark We’ll have continuous coverage of everything happening in Green Bay through Saturday, including when Mr. Irrelevant comes off the board with the final pick at No. 257. This post will be updated throughout the draft in real-time as each of the picks are selected. The most predictable pick in the NFL draft came to fruition after the Titans announced Ward as their next franchise quarterback.

The 2025 NFL Draft is underway, and Round 1 is officially in the books. The PFF Live Draft Tracker has been grading and analyzing every pick in real time, and now it’s time to break down the results with full evaluations for all 32 first-round selections. For more on each prospect, check out the PFF Draft Guide and PFF Big Board, and you can get a head start on Day 2 by heading over to the PFF Mock Draft Simulator... Stay tuned for Day 2 and 3 coverage on the PFF Draft Show, streaming live on YouTube, X and FuboTV all weekend. NFL Draft Big Board | Mock Draft Simulator | NCAA Premium Stats2025 PFF Draft Guide | Mock Draft Hub | Prospect Data ProfilesDraft Position Rankings TEN | JAX | NYG | NE | CLE | LV | NYJ | CAR | NO | CHI | SF | DAL | MIA | IND | ATL | ARZ | CIN |...

Welcome to The Athletic’s pick-by-pick grades for Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Which teams filled a need with a potential star? Which GMs might wind up regretting their decisions down the line? Because we won’t know those full answers until the incoming rookie class has been in the league for a few seasons, our immediate grades take into account a number of factors: pick value, trade... (Note: Scott Dochterman provided grades for odd-numbered picks, Nick Baumgardner for even-numbered picks.) Tennessee needed a quarterback and Ward is the best one in this draft.

He has both talent and grit, which will endear him to his teammates and the fan base. Although hypothetical and irrelevant, it’s fair to ask where Ward would have landed in last year’s draft, or if Tennessee would have selected one of the 2024 draft’s six first-round quarterbacks ahead of him. Regardless, Ward has the skill set to become a successful NFL quarterback. Whether he becomes a Pro Bowler — and, thus, ultimately worth the No. 1 pick — remains to be seen. Ward played at Incarnate Word and Washington State before transferring to Miami last year.

Breaking Down Every Pick From 1st Round Of Nfl Draft

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