2025 NFL Mock Draft: A Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward top 2 in a mini five-team mock

My Week 17 mock draft had the New England Patriots making the first overall pick. Whoops. The Patriots chose hard mode for their continued rebuild, beating the Buffalo Bills' backups behind rookie seventh-round draft pick Joe Milton to slide from first to fourth in the 2025 NFL Draft pecking order .

That may not ultimately influence who they select, but what was once a cushy place to trade back from in order to amass draft assets for a talent-deficient roster is much more precarious. In New England's place rose the Tennessee Titans, who can now select 2025's first quarterback without the pressure of having to make a trade up the draft board. Behind them are the Cleveland Browns, who can begin crafting a Deshaun Watson exit strategy in hopes of separating themselves from the league's 38th-best quarterback -- the same man who left the Houston Texans after more than 20 accusations of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as "predatory behavior.



" So what does the top of the 2025 NFL Draft look like now, and who could be each team's target? Let's make some educated guesses across the top five: 1. Tennessee Titans: QB Cam Ward, Miami Needs : QB, EDGE, OT, S, LB Will Levis is a dropped jar of Superballs in human form. The Titans gave him two years to claim the starting role and even shipped away Malik Willis to cement his place atop the depth chart.

He rewarded this faith by immediately turning himself into a meme . The question now is whether Tennessee prefers Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders at the top of the draft. Ward brings a little added stability -- top-level playmaking without the gunslinging tendencies that have led Sanders into drive-stalling sacks in his college career.

Ward has a little Michael Penix to his game; a veteran who rolled through multiple stops and won at all of them (to varying degrees) and is currently the silver lining to the Falcons' 2024. He threw an FBS-high 39 touchdown passes in fewer than 13 full games and added four more on the ground (and one through the air) in what would have likely been Miami’s best season in two decades had he finished up the Pop-Tarts Bowl. He didn’t, but that hardly matters; he’s a composed quarterback who’ll be an immediate upgrade in Nashville.

2. Cleveland Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Needs : QB, OL, WR, RB, DT Forcing Deion Sanders to spend extended time anywhere in the Rust Belt is a delightful idea, but the Browns could have a soft landing spot for Sanders. His inexpensive rookie contract could balance off the stupefying guaranteed money still due to Watson, who has set the bar so low with his ineffective play that Sanders could be a beacon of optimism through competence alone.

He's capable of much more. While he's flawed, he's also electric; those mistakes are the other side of the seesaw from "holy crap, how did he do that?" The Big 12 offensive player of the year is a big play machine, but his 74 percent completion rate also led the FBS. His risk/reward balance is a bit rougher than Ward’s and hoping the Browns can bring out the best in him, historically, has been an awful bet.

Even so, Cleveland needs to place another big wager on a quarterback and this time can get one without immense baggage. 3. New York Giants: OT Will Campbell, LSU Needs : QB, OL, CB, TE, RB, LB The Giants lose out here, picking third in a two-quarterback draft in which the top two teams also need help behind center.

While they could have sent New England a godfather deal to move up when the Pats had the top pick, the Browns and Titans may not be interested in missing out on Ward or Sanders. Instead, they can make life a bit more comfortable for whomever is slinging passes next season. New York is getting blitzed 26.

7 percent of the time but giving up pressure 38.1 percent of the time. That will improve with the return of Andrew Thomas, but Evan Neal has been a massive disappointment and there's a gaping hole at the other tackle position.

Enter Campbell, who is battling for the top spot among offensive linemen with Texas’s Kelvin Banks. Neither is a surefire All-Pro, but either would be an immediate plug-and-play upgrade for New York. In this case, Campbell’s extra reach at 6-foot-6 and exceptional mechanics make him the pick — and a selling point for future quarterbacks to come to north Jersey.

4. New England Patriots: CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado Needs : OT, WR, EDGE, CB, OG It would be a minor coup for Hunter to slide down to No. 4.

But while the Patriots may not get the haul of draft assets for which they could have flipped the top overall pick, they still end up with a game-breaking player who can be an asset on both sides of the ball. There's no need to rehash Hunter's Heisman-winning exploits. We've seen the circus catches, the interceptions and the lock-solid coverage that accompanies a seemingly endless gas tank of cardio.

Now he'd get the chance to catch passes from Drake Maye and lock down opposing wideouts with Christian Gonzalez. The idea of Hunter in red, white and blue should be enough to make New England's vacant head coaching spot even more appealing to prospective hires. 5.

Jacksonville Jaguars: CB Will Johnson, Michigan The Jaguars have plenty of work to be done. They could opt for more protection in front of Trevor Lawrence as the young quarterback links up with the third head coach of his NFL career. But the more glaring need is a secondary whose 0.

258 expected points added (EPA) allowed per dropback was by far the worst in the NFL in 2024. Johnson can be an immediate balm for that blistered wound. He was a true shutdown corner at Michigan as a big (6-foot-2), athletic defensive back who can hold his spot in press coverage or off the line and breaking toward the ball.

Johnson allowed a 52.9 passer rating in coverage this fall, which is only a disappointment compared to his 30.9 rating in 2023.

Though a foot injury has forced him off the field since mid-October, he should be capable of bolstering his stock with a big Combine showing. This article originally appeared on For The Win: 2025 NFL Mock Draft: A Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward top 2 in a mini five-team mock.