The 2025 NFL Draft has been described as somewhat ho-hum and vanilla in talent. Very few players appear to be generational-type talents, but that uncertainty might be exactly what makes this draft so interesting, at least according to one NFL insider.
What’s So Different About This NFL Draft?
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network is one of the most knowledgeable insiders in professional football. He joined Kyle Brandt and Jamie Erdahl, the hosts of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” to discuss how unusual this draft is.
“This is the most unpredictable draft that I can remember, in terms of teams not really having a good feel, not just down at the bottom of Round 1, in like the middle or just outside the top 10,” Pelissero said, explaining how the draft feels like it could veer in any direction after the first pick.
.@TomPelissero expects an unpredictable @NFLDraft 👀 pic.twitter.com/PzTIw9Fg2l
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb)
While quarterback Cam Ward is the consensus No. 1 pick headed to the Tennessee Titans, nothing after that is obvious, according to Pelissero.
Brandt asked if insiders claim every year that the draft is unpredictable. Doesn’t the draft always seem to feel that way?
“We don’t,” Pelissero said. “In a normal draft, teams would have 18, 20, 22 first-round grades on players. This year, you talk to teams, there’s like eight, 10, 12 blue-chip type players, and then there’s this big clump, depending on the team, of 20–30 guys who all could come off the board in different orders.
“And nobody quite knows exactly where the runs are gonna come at different positions.”
Who Might Be Looking To Move Up or Down the Board?
Pelissero said most mock drafts have two-way phenom Travis Hunter from Colorado going No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns. However, the Browns have reportedly received calls about that pick, but he added that most insiders think it’s unlikely Cleveland will want to move. But if they do, Pelissero warned, fans can just throw out every mock draft they’ve seen.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that could be looking to move up, said Pelissero, so they might be trying to strike a deal with Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers are a team that might look to trade back. They have several needs, and Pelissero explained they’ve graded many players similarly. Working out a deal with a team looking to move up would give them the additional picks needed to add talent to their roster.
The reason Carolina is in such a prime spot is that they pick one spot ahead of the New Orleans Saints, who sit at No. 9. Pelissero said if a team wants a quarterback, like Shedeur Sanders, they’ll want to jump ahead of both New Orleans and Carolina.
As for the rest of the quarterbacks after Ward — Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, and even Tyler Shough — Pelissero said they could just as easily all go in the second round as in the first. It will all depend on when a run at the position starts.
He believes Sanders will be the second quarterback selected and sees the New York Giants at No. 3 and the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21 as the two most likely landing spots.
While the star power may not be there, this could be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent memory — and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
