KCCrow's 2025 Round 1 Mock 1.0

[kccrow]

1-01 | Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward, QB, Miami
Mike Borgonzi's first job as the new Titans GM will be securing a QB for Brian Callahan regardless of the "generational player" talk. Ward has the arm talent to be the top QB in the draft.

1-02 | Cleveland Browns - Abdul Carter, ER, Penn State
The Browns are in complete disarray given the disaster that is Deshaun Watson. Now, Myles Garrett is requesting a trade. Carter can fill the void that Garrett will leave while they figure out how to reload.

1-03 | New York Giants - Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
The Giants have to get a QB and Sanders is good enough to be better than Danny Dimes was. The real question is whether he's top-3 good. Sanders looks like he could provide Eli Manning-like stability though.

1-04 | New England Patriots - Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
The Pats must fix the offensive line in front of Drake Maye at multiple spots. Simmons may not be top-5 caliber but he's easily top-15 and would give the Pats a good starter at LT.

1-05 | Jacksonville Jaguars - Travis Hunter, CB, Colorado
The Jags struggled in coverage and have the best CB and player in the draft land in their laps.

1-06 | Las Vegas Raiders - Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
The Raiders are unlikely to land a QB in round 1 so they have to stock the cupboard for whoever ends up there. McMillan will give them a true #1 to pair with Brock Bowers.

1-07 | New York Jets - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
It seems like the entire Jets secondary sans Sauce is a free agent so they need to go to well often here. Johnson and Sauce is a scary combo.

1-08 | Carolina Panthers - Mike Green, ER, Marshall
Carolina has to bolster their defense at every level beginning with getting the pass rush going. Green is dynamic and will provide an instant spark.

1-09 | New Orleans Saints - James Pearce Jr., ER, Tennessee
The Saints need more juice up front on defense as Granderson is very average and Jordan is ready to collect social security. Pearce is an edge bender that can bring the heat.

1-10 | Chicago Bears - Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
The Bears need help at every OL position except RT in front of Williams. They best shore up LT if they want to throw the ball around the yard.

1-11 | San Francisco 49ers - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
The 49ers have to retool defensively and take pressure off Nick Bosa. With Hargrave missing 14 games and being an FA now, taking a 3-tech like Graham fits the bill nicely.

1-12 | Dallas Cowboys - Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
The Cowboys should address the DLine but we all know Jerry loves to watch his team run the football. Jeanty is the consummate do-it-all RB that Jerry is sure to love.

1-13 | Miami Dolphins - Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
The Dolphins are set to lose 3 of their 4 safeties to FA, including star Jevon Holland. Starks makes too much sense here and is a top-10 caliber player.

1-14 | Indianapolis Colts - Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
The Colts have put a lot around Anthony Richardson and now have an opportunity to add the final piece with a guy who can help both the run and the passing game. Warren is a stud.

1-15 | Atlanta Falcons - Mykel Williams, ER, Georgia
The Falcons need a spark plug defensively and Williams looks the part but needs a fair bit of development to reach his potential. Big risk-reward pick here.

1-16 | Arizona Cardinals - Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
The Cardinals improving the trenches is probably a priority but if a value falls like Burden, I can't see them passing. Burden opens up the entire offense with his speed and YAC ability.

1-17 | Cincinnati Bengals - Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
The Bengals have to be tired of Orlando Brown Jr at left tackle, given he allowed 20 pressures, 3 sacks, and committed 8 penalties last year. They can throw Conerly at LG for a year until they can unload Brown in 2026 or cut Brown as a June 1 designee.

1-18 | Seattle Seahawks - Will Campbell, OT, LSU
Seattle should look to bolster the trenches here and Will Campbell should upgrade them at LG and serve as an emergency RT option if Lucas has issues again.

1-19 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Nic Scourton, DE, Texas A&M
The Bucs must get more explosive opposite YaYa Diaby, especially after some whiffs like Joe Tryon. Scourton can provide the spark plug they sorely lack if he brings his weight back down to his Purdue level.

1-20 | Denver Broncos - Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
It's no secret that Sean Payton wants his next "Joker" and Loveland easily fits the bill as a pass receiver and athlete. If Loveland is here, he's the pick, hands down.

1-21 | Pittsburgh Steelers - Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
The Steelers need a reliable WR outside of the more explosive Pickens. Egbuka is a dynamic player with speed and YAC ability.

1-22 | Los Angeles Chargers - Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
The Chargers have a ton of holes and free agents on defense. A disruptive presence in the middle could free up their LBs to make more plays.

1-23 | Green Bay Packers - Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
Green Bay whiffed hard on Eric Stokes and they must be better opposite Jaire Alexander. At this point, it's about improving for the Packers instead of filling holes and Barron should do that with his more physical brand of play. As a note: Until we know about Ben Morrison's hip, I can't put him in R1.

1-24 | Minnesota Vikings - Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
The Vikings are set to lose 5 or 6 starters on defense, including their top two DEs. Nolan can give them more juice at one of those spots and improve that side of the ball that needs to carry a young QB.

1-25 | Houston Texans - Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
The Texans' interior offensive line was atrocious last season, especially guards Shaq Mason and Kenyon Green. They will fix it and Membou makes a ton of sense moving inside from RT to RG as a physical player with good pass-blocking skills.

1-26 | Los Angeles Rams - Shevon Revel, Jr., CB, East Carolina
It'll be interesting to see if the Rams let Alaric Jackson walk. If not, they need CBs badly. and Revel is a big, fast corner that shows a lot of promise.

1-27 | Baltimore Ravens - Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota
The Ravens have Stanley at LT and Mekari at LG as free agents. Even if they re-sign Stanley, it may not be long-term, given his injury history. Ersery was built in a lab to play for Baltimore with a long, thick, powerful frame and can start at LG and then move later to LT if needed.

1-28 | Detroit Lions - Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
Detroit, still, has to get better on defense, and improving next to Alim McNeil could be a high priority. Harmon shows a rare athletic profile in the mold of some highly touted former Ducks like Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner.

1-29 | Washington Commanders - Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
The Commanders need to help their pass rush but they also need to maintain weapons for Jayden Daniels. I have them taking the last of the top tier of WRs in Golden, who can be explosive and provide a nice compliment to McLaurin.

1-30 | Buffalo Bills - Azareye'h Thomas, CB, Florida State
The Bills' struggles at CB outside Benford are noteworthy so it's hard to fathom them going another direction early. Thomas has the size and speed to be a lockdown player.

1-31 | Philadelphia Eagles - Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
The Eagles have few holes but one is replacing Mekhi Becton at RG should he depart as an FA. Booker is a stud OG prospect who can maul. When you pick this late you start taking the top of other positions that give you elite players in non-traditional spots.

1-32 | Kansas City Chiefs - Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
KC probably needs to address LT in free agency and bank on the development of day 2 players. If they lose Nick Bolton, LB becomes a big need plus Drue Tranquill seemed to lose a step and Leo Chenal isn't an every-down LB because of coverage limitations. Campbell was built to be a modern NFL LB with his sideline-to-sideline range, coverage chops, frame, and command of the defense.

[Couch-Potato]

Whoa! Surprise pick there! Thought for sure you’d go Conerly Jr.

Good work!

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

Whoa! Surprise pick there! Thought for sure you’d go Conerly Jr.

Good work!

Interesting.

Conerly was off the board.

[Bowser]

Agreed on your Tranquill take. He looked like the weak link at linebacker for us this season. That's not saying he was terrible, but he was clearly not the same guy he was in '23, and we could shore that position up.

Would it make me a Mizzou homer if I said I would really, really like us to find a way to get Luther Burden in here (even if that means passing up four OT's if it went down like your predictions say it will)? Rice, Worthy, and Burden would make a sweet mf-ing combo for Mahomes the next few years at WR, and I don't think Hopkins or Hollywood will be here next season (maybe Hollywood, we'll see).

[Dunerdr]

Do you work nights or just stay up until 4 am mocking? Jw lol.

Not big on LB positional value but this team and the lions have just pretty much obliterated that narrative anyway. I'd take it!

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

Do you work nights or just stay up until 4 am mocking? Jw lol.

Not big on LB positional value but this team and the lions have just pretty much obliterated that narrative anyway. I'd take it!

Nah, just had a bout with not being able to sleep lol. I tweaked up a few things that I was working on the past week and threw it up.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

Do you work nights or just stay up until 4 am mocking? Jw lol.

Not big on LB positional value but this team and the lions have just pretty much obliterated that narrative anyway. I'd take it!

The positional value is always an interesting narrative isn't it?

I spoke to it a bit in my summary of the Eagles' pick. I think there reaches a point in the round or in the draft where you start looking at what is the best possible outcome with the pick, best player available type of thing.

Is it better to take the 7th-best edge rusher or the best LB? Take the 10th-best offensive lineman or the best RB? The list goes on right...

For both the Eagles and the Chiefs, I thought taking the best OG and the best LB was better than picking from that next tier of Edge Rushers or reaching on that next Offensive Tackle.

Do I view Jack Sawyer, for example, as that much better than JT Tuimoloau, Jared Ivey, Kyle Kennard, Princely Umanmielen, or Tyler Baron? No, not really. I guarantee one or many of those guys are there at 63/64.

Now, I have Jihaad Campbell probably 30 slots higher than the next-best LB and a much better prospect. I like quite a few LBs in this class and think there will be value at 64/66 but they don't come in Campbell's physical package either.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Agreed on your Tranquill take. He looked like the weak link at linebacker for us this season. That's not saying he was terrible, but he was clearly not the same guy he was in '23, and we could shore that position up.

Would it make me a Mizzou homer if I said I would really, really like us to find a way to get Luther Burden in here (even if that means passing up four OT's if it went down like your predictions say it will)? Rice, Worthy, and Burden would make a sweet mf-ing combo for Mahomes the next few years at WR, and I don't think Hopkins or Hollywood will be here next season (maybe Hollywood, we'll see).

Passing on OTs to go get him? Hmm. I sure hope we're trading Rashee Rice for Myles Garrett then (I know, people hate my idea a lot).

I have him going #16 in my mock but I seriously contemplated sending him to Carolina at #8, and then I remembered Jalen Coker came on strong. So, that's how I think of him. He was a strong consideration at #9 to NO, #11 to SF, #12 to DAL, and #15 to ATL. The point is, I think he goes in the top half of the draft and that's just too much to give up considering we have Rice and Worthy.

There are some day two guys I like a lot as potential slot guys for us in Jalen Royals, Isaiah Bond, Tai Felton, Tez Johnson, Jaylin Noel, and Ja'Corey Brooks. I don't think we need to rush WR, if we go that route again.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by kccrow

The positional value is always an interesting narrative isn't it?

I spoke to it a bit in my summary of the Eagles' pick. I think there reaches a point in the round or in the draft where you start looking at what is the best possible outcome with the pick, best player available type of thing.

Is it better to take the 7th-best edge rusher or the best LB? Take the 10th-best offensive lineman or the best RB? The list goes on right...

For both the Eagles and the Chiefs, I thought taking the best OG and the best LB was better than picking from that next tier of Edge Rushers or reaching on that next Offensive Tackle.

Do I view Jack Sawyer, for example, as that much better than JT Tuimoloau, Jared Ivey, Kyle Kennard, Princely Umanmielen, or Tyler Baron? No, not really. I guarantee one or many of those guys are there at 63/64.

Now, I have Jihaad Campbell probably 30 slots higher than the next-best LB and a much better prospect. I like quite a few LBs in this class and think there will be value at 64/66 but they don't come in Campbell's physical package either.

Great take.

Teams like the Eagles and Chiefs have a luxury that other teams don't have. They can take a player that's a sure fire starter day one and it helps them fill holes on the roster, manage the cap, and improve the overall talent on the team.

For the Chiefs this is especially true at the LB and RB positions. Any improvement there will be noticeable.

I think the LT spot is really problematic for the Chiefs. Meaning there just isn't a great solution to the issue. I'm not going to be upset if we draft a LT in the first, I get it, I'm just not convinced that it will really improve the situation that much. Veach can make his money by figuring out the LT situation before the draft.

I would love to walk away with a DT, RB, and CB with three of our top 4 picks this year. Doing so not only adds legit talent where we need it, but again help's manage the cap.

[Couch-Potato]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Interesting.

Conerly was off the board.

lol my bad, must’ve glanced over him in the teens there