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Nfl Draft Grades 2025 Evaluating First Round Picks For All 32 Teams

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nfl draft grades 2025 evaluating first round picks for all 32 teams

The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is behind us, as most all of the league's 32 teams have new rookies to help them on game days. Grading NFL Draft picks is a tricky proposition, as foresight never gives us the best analysis of how a draft pick will perform for their respective team. That's why, in these team grades, we will abstain from giving any "D" or "F" grades, if only because that's unfair to a decision that might make that team looks smart down the road. 2025 NFL DRAFT: Every team's biggest needs, from the Titans to the Eagles Using the variations of "A," "B" and "C," we've gone through all 32 teams and assessed them grades for how they performed in the first round of this year's draft. We're some of these grades will age like sour milk, as that's basically how most draft grades develop over time.

NFL DRAFT BUSTS: Every NFL team's worst first-round pick (from Ryan Leaf to Mitch Trubisky) 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... by TWSN Author | Apr 27, 2025 | Football, Headlines, NFL, NFL Draft <img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-987529884 lazyload" src="https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-scaled.avif" alt="NFL Draft Grades" width="1920" height="1281" srcset="https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-scaled.avif 1920w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-300x200.avif 300w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-1024x683.avif 1024w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-768x512.avif 768w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-1536x1025.avif 1536w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-2048x1366.avif 2048w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-1080x720.avif 1080w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-1280x854.avif 1280w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-980x654.avif 980w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cam-Ward-NFL-Draft-042725-480x320.avif 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px)... The first round this past Thursday was exciting.

We saw some surprise picks and some surprise falls. Who is going to make an impact on their team? Which team made a reach? While the first round was going on, I took the opportunity to grade each pick. 2025 NFL Draft Instant Reactions: Winners and Losers The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books.

After a flurry of selections from Thursday to Saturday, 257 players were selected to join the NFL. With that, we give you our full draft recap, with analysis on each team’s day and every notable selection made during the weekend. For more information on the players your favorite team drafted, it’s not too late to get the 2025 NFL Draft Guide, which includes expanded scouting reports, unique advanced data, PFF grades and much more. ARZ | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LV |... Nolen — The Cardinals add another extremely talented player to amplify their defensive front. As a plus run defender, Nolen earned the second-highest PFF run-defense grade in the FBS this past season (91.6).

The seventh-ranked prospect on the PFF Big Board will instantly upgrade an Arizona defense that ranked 27th in EPA allowed per rush in 2024. Johnson — A tough injury cut Johnson’s 2024 campaign short and sent his draft stock tumbling. However, he did prove his level of talent across his tenure at Michigan. His 57.2 passer rating allowed into his coverage across the last three seasons charted in the 94th percentile. Pairing Johnson with breakout cornerback Garrett Williams will upgrade a coverage unit that allowed the sixth-highest EPA per dropback. Immediate draft grades provide a foundation for future evaluations.

Waiting three years to assess draft classes without accounting for how the decision was viewed at the time usually leads to revisionist history. These 2025 NFL Draft snap grades reflect the value I think each pick (or set of picks) has, given the slot and the prospect's college film/athleticism scores. Trades, and the capital exchanged (both picks and players), are factored into these grades, too, as they also play a significant part in determining the future of a franchise. Draft grades are a combination of player value, addressing needs and of course the fit with that specific team. The grading scale is factoring those three aspects heavily, meaning if your team did not have a lot of assets, it’s going to be difficult to land a high grade. For each pick, the format in parentheses is simple.

The first number is when they were selected and the second number is where I had them ranked on my final 2025 NFL Draft Big Board, which ranked my top 320 players. This will be a lot of fun to look back at three years from now, so let’s dive in. Round 1: Walter Nolen, DT, Mississippi (16 / 33)Round 2: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan (47 / 10)Round 3: Jordan Burch, EDGE, Oregon (78 / 76)Round 4: Cody Simon, LB, Ohio State (115 / 203)Round... The results of this draft are largely dependent on the health of second-round pick Will Johnson, who I think was a worthy gamble at pick 47 with star potential. Walter Nolen is an athletic, gap-shooting disruptor who ends up on the ground more than you’d like. The Cardinals’ veteran defensive line room is a great place for him to develop into a pro.

Jordan Burch is a big, heavy-handed edge rusher who is starting to work in a long arm and two-handed swipe as a pass rusher. I love his alignment versatility up front. Kitan Crawford’s elite athleticism should help on special teams. Round 1: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia (15 /19)Round 1: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee (26 / 41)Round 3: Xavier Watts, SAF, Notre Dame (96 / 60)Round 4: Billy Bowman Jr., SAF, Oklahoma (118 /... 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. There, he became one of college football’s best quarterbacks. Ward set an NCAA record with 158 career touchdown passes, plus threw for 18,184 yards with a 65.1 completion percentage.

Last year alone, Ward threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out! Below, Chris Nalls hands out his 2025 NFL Draft Grades for all 32 teams. Also, check out Chris’s 2025 NFL Draft: Day 1 Winners.

Well, it’s been an exciting three days. The draft has come and gone, and franchises have changed their 2025 outlook. Many teams did a solid job of addressing needs and finding solid value in this year’s draft. Below are my grades for the 2025 NFL Draft in alphabetical order. I liked Arizona’s draft. They drafted DT Walter Nolin at 1.16 and then got great value at 2.15 by selecting CB Will Johnson, who was projected as a first-rounder.

The Cardinals focused on building up the defensive side of the football. Will Johnson will immediately come in and should start, and Nolin should be able to make an impact very early on. The Cardinals are a team on the rise in the NFC West. The Falcons were also on a mission to improve the defensive side of the football. I loved that they aggressively drafted two impactful players, LB Jalon Walker and Edge James Pearce Jr, but I did not like trading away a future first-round pick. I understand the Falcons are pushing in their chips to win now, but a future first in the NFL is like gold.

Atlanta also found great value in the third round by drafting safety Xavier Watts out of Notre Dame. The Falcons are on their way in the NFC South. The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin has concluded. Helluva a turnout from NFL fans. 205,000 on Thursday night! Without further ado, here are my draft grades for all 32 NFL teams:

Two of their biggest needs were Defensive Line and Cornerback and they attacked those holes in the first two rounds with Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen and Michigan CB Will Johnson. They didn't however address Wide Receiver. Marvin Harrison Jr. should continue to grow and develop in year two, and Michael Wilson is a nice piece, but Zay Jones is WR3, so would've liked to see them attack that area in the Draft. Jalon Walker is an outstanding pick at #15. I thought he was a top 10 guy myself.

But then to come back into the 1st and give up NEXT YEAR'S 1st is pure lunacy. Especially when you do it for an 245 lbs. pass rusher. James Pearce Jr. is going to have to be a perennial Pro Bowler for this to ever make sense. Xavier Watts is a decent pick in Round 3, but they also only had one pick after Round 4 and it was in the 7th Round.

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