The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books which means we can begin parsing the respective draft classes of the NFC.
You can find recaps from each day of the 2025 NFL Draft below:
2025 NFL Draft NFC Team Grades
Arizona Cardinals
Draft Grade: B+
Pick 16: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
Pick 47: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Pick 78: Jordan Burch, EDGE, Oregon
Pick 115: Cody Simon, LB, Ohio State
Pick 174: Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State
Pick 211: Hayden Conner, G, Texas
The Cardinals were willing to take on some risk early in the draft, selecting Nolen with character concerns and Johnson with medical red flags. Both players are more talented than their draft slots suggest. Nolen was graded as a top-five defensive lineman by Pro Football Focus last year. Johnson earned top-40 grades at corner as a true freshman and sophomore. He failed to take the next step as a junior and missed six games with a turf toe injury and seven with a shoulder issue. The Cardinals went with a meat-and-potatoes approach for the next five rounds. Arizona didn’t draft a skill position player and only took one offensive player, Hayden Conner. There picks in rounds two through six all played in the college football playoff last year. The Cardinals got a truckload of high-pedigree players, often at values compared to most big boards. It wasn’t the sexiest draft, but it works.
Atlanta Falcons
Draft Grade: D-
Pick 15: Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
Pick 26: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
Pick 96: Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame
Pick 118: Billy Bowman Jr., S, Oklahoma
Pick 218: Jack Nelson, OT, Oklahoma
Atlanta’s player selections were fine. Jalon Walker is a unique prospect who is going to play a mix of off-ball linebacker and EDGE in the pros. He’s an extremely high-character player who, by all accounts, will be a great presence for the young locker room.
The two guys who have won the interview process and are universally beloved as people, in addition to their playing ability:1. Jalon Walker EDGE2. Emeka Egbuka WR
You will not find a coach or GM who doesn’t just rave about both young men. @ESPNNFL
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) April 21, 2025
James Pearce Jr., on the other hand, fell because of off-field concerns, but his production was undeniable. He totaled 17.5 sacks in two seasons as a starter. The issue with their draft is the cost of acquiring Pearce Jr. Atlanta sent their 2026 first to move back into the first round. The team is set to start a quarterback with three career starts to his name and their head coach has one winning season in four tries. The amount of risk Atlanta took on with this trade is absurd.
Atlanta closed out the draft with more defenders, highlighted by Xavier Watts. Watts is a play-making corner with 13 picks at a big school over the past two years. His level of on-ball production is rare to find in the third round.
Carolina Panthers
Draft Grade: B-
Pick 8: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Pick 51: Nic Scouron, EDGE, Texas A&M
Pick 77: Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss
Pick 114: Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia
Pick 122: Lathom Ransom, S, Ohio State
Pick 140: Cam Jackson, DT, Florida
Pick 163: Mitchell Evans, TE, Notre Dame
Pick 208: Jimmy Horn Jr., WR, Colorado
This draft class was unique in that many of the highest-graded players by film watchers were players at non-premium positions. That led to teams like the Raiders and Browns getting stud players, but at positions where big wins often don’t lead to crazy advantages. The Panthers went the other way with their top pick. McMillan has some minor red flags. He isn’t an elite separator and his Forty was hand-timed in the mid-4.5s. Still, his overall body of work is elite and a big swing at wide receiver is exactly what Bryce Young.
Lathom Ransom got loads of experience at Ohio State, contributing in four seasons for the Buckeyes. He’s a no-nonsense box safety who does the little things well. He comes down with power in run support and has special teams experience. Panthers DC Ejiro Evero is going to love him.
Carolina closed out their weekend with two more skill position options for Young. Mitchell Evans is an intriguing tight end prospect, having topped 400 yards in back-to-back seasons at Notre Dame with solid film grades to back up the numbers.
Chicago Bears
Draft Grade: C+
Pick No. 10: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Pick 39: Luther Burden, WR, Mizzou
Pick 56: Ozzy Trapilo, OT, Boston College
Pick 62: Shemar Turner, DT, Texas A&M
Pick 132: Ruben Hyppolite II, LB, Maryland
Pick 169: Zah Fraizer, CB, UTSA
Pick 195: Luke Newman, OT, Michigan State
Pick 233: Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers
Like the Panthers last year, the Bears spent this draft weekend doing everything they could to support their No. 1 overall pick who struggled as a rookie. They went offense with their first three selections and went back to the well for their final two. One quirk of their player selections is that they went high-risk with both of their pass-catchers. Colston Loveland plays a position that typically doesn’t hit right away and he had serious medical red flags heading into the draft. Luther Burden is a demon with the ball in his hands, but there are legitimate questions about whether he is a complete receiver or a schemed-touches player. Both picks raise Caleb Williams’ ceiling more than his floor.
As an analytics dork, I understand a team not spending much on running back. However, this was the deepest running back class in years and the Bears only had D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson of note on the roster. Only coming away from the draft with Kyle Monangai—a five-year player at Rutgers with two years of grinder work to his name—is disappointing.
Dallas Cowboys
Draft Grade: B+
Pick 12: Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
Pick 44: Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
Pick 76: Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
Pick 149: Jaydon Blue, RB, Texas
Pick 152: Shemar James, LB, Florida
Pick 204: Ajani Cornelius, OT, Oregon
Pick 239: Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson
Pick 247: Tommy Akingbesote, DT, Maryland
I want to hate the Cowboys’ draft more than I do. The team needed a three-down back, spent two picks on the position in an excellent class, and came away with a pair of role-players at the position. Dallas is planning to start Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks at wide receiver. The strength of this receiver class was its depth. Not coming away with a single wideout is criminal.
On the other hand, they got potential first-round values in the second and third rounds. Donovan Ezeiruaku totaled 16.5 sacks in 2024 and was a betting favorite to go in the first round. Shavon Revel was player No. 43 on Arif Hasan’s amalgamation of industry boards. Nitpick as I might, Dallas crushed Day Two of the draft, and that’s worth a lot.
Detroit Lions
Draft Grade: D+
Pick 28: Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State
Pick 57: Tate Ratledge, OG, Georgia
Pick 70: Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Arkansas
Pick 171: Miles Frazier, OG, LSU
Pick 196: Ahmed Hassanein, EDGE, Boise State
Pick 230: Dan Jackson, S, Georgia
Pick 244: Dominic Lovett, WR, Georgia
Tyliek Williams is a fine interior defensive lineman prospect, having racked up 11.5 sacks and 28 TFLs in four years at a major program. Georgia’s Tate Ratledge looked underrated to me throughout the process. He was a three-year starter at Georgia with solid film grades and a 9.96 RAS. With that out of the way, this was not a good draft.
Returning to Hasan’s big board, Williams was forecasted to go nearly 20 picks later, ditto for Ratledge, for Isaac TeSlaa was projected to be a late Day Three pick. Not only did the Lions take him over 100 spots before his projected draft slot, they traded a pair of future third-round picks to get him.
The Lions made an aggressive trade up for Isaac TeSlaa, giving Jacksonville a 21% premium compared to what my Empirical Trade model would expect.
Even with the heavy discounting of the two future 3s, this premium falls in the 95th percentile of trade-ups since 2011. pic.twitter.com/wbpngQhErC
— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhardNFL) April 26, 2025
Was he at least productive at Arkansas? Of course not. He finished third on the team in catches and nearly 600 yards behind their leading receiver.
Green Bay Packers
Draft Grade: C+
Pick 23: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Pick 54: Anthony Belton, OT, NC State
Pick 87: Savion Williams, WR, TCU
Pick 124: Barryn Sorrell, EDGE, Texas
Pick 159: Collin Oliver, EDGE, Oklahoma State
Pick 198: Warren Brinson, DT, Georgia
Pick 237: Micah Robinson, CB, Tulane
Pick 250: John Williams, OT, Cincinnati
Packers evaluators and players alike talked endlessly in the offseason about how the team needed a true No. 1 receiver. Jayden Reed is an explosive play-maker but the coaches don’t see to view him as a do-everything wideout. Romeo Doubs is trusted in high-leverage spots on a snap-to-snap basis. Christian Watson is recovering from a late-season torn ACL and Dontayvion Wicks can’t catch a football. They drafted a first-round wideout for the first time since 2002 and went back to the well on Day Two. Did they get their alpha? Unlikely. Golden never commanded targets at a high level in college and peaked at a 24 percent college dominator during his second season, back when he played at Houston. Savion Williams is a project gadget player. He caught 60 passes and rushed 61 times for a total just shy of 1,000 yards from scrimmage. The Packers didn’t need more pieces to tinker with on offense and now they have muddied the waters even further.
Packers invest in passing game with Golden
The Green Bay Packers do not typically select wide receivers, but Mike Florio reacts to the Packers picking a “speedy” WR in Matthew Golden, who can help add “fire power” to the offense.
Los Angeles Rams
Draft Grade: B+
Pick 46: Terrance Ferguson, TE, Oregon
Pick 90: Josaiah Stewart, EDGE, Michigan
Pick 117: Jarquez Hunter, RB, Auburn
Pick 148: Ty Hamilton, DT, Ohio State
Pick 172: Chris Paul Jr., LB, Ole Miss
Pick 242: Konata Mumpfield, WR, Pittsburgh
The Rams get a pretty favorable boost in their grade by being on the other side of the much-maligned Falcons trade. Terrance Ferguson is an intriguing backup tight end out of the gates who could develop into a starter within a year. He logged a 9.84 RAS at the combine.
He was a weapon on play action and racked up a total of 591 yards. Jarquez Hunter is also a play for the future as he will be behind Kyren Williams—entering a contract year—and Blake Corum as a rookie.
The Rams went with bread-and-butter picks in the later rounds, taking a run-defending defensive tackle in Ty Hamilton and a Butkus Award (given to the country’s top linebacker) finalist in Chris Paul Jr. Both players could contribute earlier than expected, given their experience and strong film grades.
Minnesota Vikings
Draft Grade: C+
Pick 24: Donovan Jackson, OG, Ohio State
Pick 102: Tai Felton, WR, Maryland
Pick 139: Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, DT, Georgia
Pick 201: Kobe King, LB, Penn State
Pick 202: Gavin Bartholomew, TE, Pittsburgh
After spending a truckload of future picks to get their guys in the 2024 draft, Minnesota didn’t enter this year’s proceedings with much firepower. They were projected by many to move out of the first round and with the deals some teams made to get back into the mix, it’s shocking they didn’t trade down. After staying put, they took a high-floor interior lineman prospect in Donovan Jackson. They did eventually trade down multiple times in the later rounds, the first of which saw them take Tai Felton at the end of night two. Felton projects as an eventual replacement for Z receiver Jalen Nailor.
The Vikings moved down on Day Three to acquire Sam Howell from the Seahawks. It’s a sharp move for a team with a quarterback coming off a season-ending knee injury, though Howell only has one year left on his rookie deal, so the benefit is short-term only.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins was the top recruit out of South Carolina coming out of high school but was parked behind several future NFL players for most of his time at Georgia. He totaled three sacks and eight TFLs in his only year as a starter. The pick is a strong upside play on a defender who simply needs more reps.
New Orleans Saints
Draft Grade: C-
Pick 9: Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
Pick 40: Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville
Pick 71: Vernon Broughton, DT, Texas
Pick 93: Jonas Sanker, S, Virginia
Pick 112: Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
Pick 131: Quincy Riley, CB, Louisville
Pick 184: Devin Neal, RB, Kansas
Pick 248: Mliki Motavao, TE, UCLA
Pick 254: Fadil, Diggs, EDGE, Syracuse
Credit where it’s due, the Saints held off on taking the quarterback everyone knew they wanted until Day Two of the draft. With the No. 9 overall pick, they took a highly-recruited, three-year starter at left tackle at a major program. Kelvin Banks Jr. got better every year and earned a top-10 PFF grade at his position in 2024. This was an easy win for New Orleans.
The Saints may have had no choice but to draft a quarterback this weekend. Derek Carr’s future is uncertain and the team was staring down the barrel of 17 Spencer Rattler starts. Did they have to draft the seven-year college quarterback with one full season to his name and an extensive injury history ahead of his big board rank? Tough to say. Shough has strong film grades but middling efficiency numbers, ranking sixth in the class in EPA per dropback. He avoids mistakes extremely well, but it feels like the Saints wanted a Week 1 upgrade at quarterback and took the safe choice here.
With Alvin Kamara showing signs of decline and Kendre Miller doing nothing through two seasons, the Saints shored up their backfield with Devin Neal on Day Three. Neal was a four-year starter at Kansas and played a key role in turning a laughing-stock program into a respectable name. At 5’11/213, Neal profiles as an early-down complement to Kamara.
New York Giants
Draft Grade: A-
Pick 3: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
Pick 24: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Pick 65: Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo
Pick 154: Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State
Pick 219: Thomas Fidone II, TE, Nebraska
Pick 246: Korie Black, Oklahoma State
The Giants went chalk early with Abdul Carter. Carter is a future NFL star and taking him over pulling the trigger at quarterback this early was the right move. New York eventually came back into the first round to get Jaxson Dart.
Using the (better) player value trade charts, the Giants give up the equivalent of an early 3rd round pick to get their QBGiants get: 1.25🔄
Texans get: 2.34 + 3.99 + 2026 3rd pic.twitter.com/R1q3r7MON8
— Doug Analytics (@Doug_Analytics) April 25, 2025
The move cost the Giants a premium, but it’s not an egregious price to pay for the QB2 of the class. Dart got the system-merchant label playing in Lane Kiffin’s offense at Ole Miss, but his numbers were off the charts and he graded extremely well on deep throws.
Cam Skattebo was a potential Day Two pick who slipped to the top of Day Three and Giants reporters were quick to point out that the team had their eye on him. Skattebo is a physical chain-mover who posted a 291/1,711/21 rushing line last year. He doesn’t have good top-end speed, but he will keep the team on schedule. Skattebo is also an incredible receiving prospect, going for 605 yards through the air in 2024.
Philadelphia Eagles
Draft Grade: A-
Pick 31: Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
Pick 64: Andrew Mukuba, S, Texas
Pick 111: Ty Robinson, DT, Nebraska
Pick 145: Mac McWilliams, CB, UCF
Pick 161: Smael Mondon Jr., LB, Georgia
Pick 168: Drew Kendall, C, Boston College
Pick 181: Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse
Pick 191: Myles Hinton, OT, Michigan
Pick 207: Cameron Williams, OT, Texas
Pick 209: Antwaun Powell-Ryland, EDGE, Virginia Tech
He’s done it again. Howie Roseman once again landed a top-tier defensive prospect from the SEC who fell because of some form of a red flag. For Jihaad Campebll, the concern is that he could start the year on the PUP list because of a torn labrum that he underwent surgery for last month. Campbell is a do-it-all inside linebacker and Roseman said they don’t have any long-term concerns about the shoulder issue. Even if it costs him a few games in year one, the value was too good to pass on.
Philly doubled down on their defensive strength via the draft, spending their first five picks on defense. They closed the streak with yet another Georgia defender in Smael Mondon Jr., a former five-star recruit who can contribute on three downs.
Roseman eventually got around to the other side of the ball with his many Day Three picks. Syracuse passer Kyle McCord headlined the group. After struggling with inconsistency issues as a Buckeye, McCord thrived in orange, throwing for 4,779 yards and 34 touchdowns while generating the second-most EPA among quarterbacks in the country.
Nothing crazy here just EPA – Avg EPA allowed by the defense to get us EPA Above Average. Leading the way in the Power 4 this past season was Cam Ward, Kyle McCord & then Will Howard pic.twitter.com/qyWo03GyOR
— CFBNumbers (@CFBNumbers) February 12, 2025
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein comped him to Mitch Trubisky (a great value if he had been drafted on Day Three).
San Francisco 49ers
Draft Grade: B
Pick 11: Mykiel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Pick 43: Alfred Collins, DT, Texas
Pick 75: Nick Martin, LB, Oklahoma State
Pick 100: Upton Stout, CB, Western Kentucky
Pick 113: CJ West, DT, Indiana
Pick 138: Jordan Watkins, WR, Ole Miss
Pick 147: Jordan James, RB, Oregon
Pick 160, Marques Sigle, S, Kansas State
Pick 227: Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana
Pick 249: Connor Colby, OG, Iowa
Pick 252: Junior Bergen, WR, Montana
After shedding multiple hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, largely by cutting defenders, San Francisco needed to get younger on defense in a hurry and did so with five consecutive defenders to open the draft. Georgia EDGE Mykiel Williams doesn’t have eye-popping stats, tallying five sacks in 2024 and 4.5 in each of his previous two seasons. Given Georgia’s never-ending stable of pass-rushers, his low sack total isn’t awfully concerning and the fact that he was earning playing time early in his career is impressive.
Per usual, Kyle Shanahan got some shiny new toys in the later rounds of the draft. Jordan James is a consistent back who gets what’s blocked and then some more often than not but doesn’t have a top gear. Junior Bergen is a running back convert who will start his career as a return specialist, but the versatility likely drew Shanny in.
Seattle Seahawks
Draft Grade: A
Pick 18: Grey Zabel, G, North Dakota State
Pick 35: Nick Emmanwori, SAF, South Carolina
Pick 50: Elijah Arroyo, TE, Miami
Pick 92: Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Pick 142: Rylie Mills, DT, Notre Dame
Pick 166: Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State
Pick 175: Robbie Ouzts, TE, Alabama
The Seahawks fielded a bottom-tier offensive line in 2024 and signed Sam Darnold, a quarterback infamous for his struggles under pressure, to a $100 million deal in the offseason. Offensive line was always going to be the pick at 18 and they got a player who can play left guard or either tackle spot depending on what the team views a its biggest hole in the trenches.
Seattle then moved up in the second round to get the most athletic safety ever in Nick Emmanwori.
Though he’s not the best safety prospect ever, the film evaluations on Emmanwori were also strong. He doesn’t use his athleticism as a crutch too often but still plundered four interceptions and two pick-sixes in 2024.
Nabbing a falling Jalen Milroe was also a sharp decision by the Seattle front office. He’s raw as a thrower but has Lamar Jackson levels of rushing potential. Darnold only has true guarantees in his contract for 2025.
The Jalen Milroe/Lamar Jackson talk will not stop in NFL circles. From an anonymous AFC coordinator, via @TomPelissero:
“He has a lot of accuracy issues. But he’s a freak. He’s the best running quarterback I’ve ever evaluated. He’s like Cam Newton’s power with Lamar’s speed” pic.twitter.com/mOg0RvqGrk
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) April 22, 2025
I love what Seattle did at wide receiver, taking two analytics darlings on Day Three to compete for an outside role with Marquez Valdes-Scantling. I wrote way too much about both in my wide receiver rankings.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Draft Grade: B+
Pick 19: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
Pick 53: Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
Pick 84: Jaco Parrish, CB, Kansas State
Pick 121: David Walker, EDGE, Central Arkansas
Pick 157: Elijah Roberts, EDGE, SMU
Pick 235: Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon
I used this phrase, borrowed from Denny Carter, to describe the Jayden Higgins pick in m Day Two Recap and I’m going to use it again here for Emeka Egbuka: “He’s a good fit because he’s good at football.” You can never have too many talented receivers, even if Egbuka and Chris Godwin are both slot-native wideouts.
Benjamin Morrison is an outside corner with decent size (6’193) and elite production early in his career. He amassed nine interceptions and 14 breakups as a freshman and sophomore. He missed most of his senior season with a hip injury and that also hurt his draft stock. This is the type of upside shot Day Two was made for.
Having already added Egbuka to a crowded receiver room, I’m not sure how the highly productive Tez Johnson cracks Tampa Bay’s roster. He will need to beat out Trey Palmer for punt return duties.
Washington Commanders
Draft Grade: B-
Pick 29: Josh Conerly Jr, OT, Oregon
Pick 61: Trey Amos, CB, Mississippi
Pick 128: Jaylin Lane, WR, Virginia Tech
Pick 205: Kain Medrano, LB, UCLA
Pick 245: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Arizona
Josh Conerly Jr. isn’t a hulking tackle, standing at just 6’5/311, but the lower weight for his position allows him to move fluidly, a trait that will help him keep up with the absurdly mobile Jayden Daniels.
At 6’1/195 with 4.43 wheels, Trey Amos has the size/speed blend of a potential CB1. He’s most comfortable in zone but can also step up for press coverage duties.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a strange player to evaluate. He spent four years at Alabama State and never topped 500 yards. JCM then transferred to New Mexico where he ran for 1,190 yards and 17 scores at 6.3 YPC. An eligibility hangup cost him all but one game in his final season. Croskey-Merritt is a violent runner who could eventually take over early-down work in the Washington backfield.
