The 2025 NFL Draft is here as teams around the league bolster their rosters with college football’s top talent ahead of the new season.
Here is your quick guide to this year’s Draft, all three days of which you can watch live on Sky Sports…
The 2025 NFL Draft takes place at Lambeau Field and Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin from Thursday April 24-Saturday April 26.
The first round gets under way live on Sky Sports Main Event, Action and Mix at 1am in the early hours of Friday April 25, before resuming with rounds two and three from midnight later that day.
Day three will then consist of rounds four, five, six and seven live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm on Saturday.
Live on Sky Sports:
- 1am, Friday April 25: Round One
- 12am, Saturday April 25: Rounds Two and Three
- 5pm, Saturday April 26: Rounds Four, Five, Six and Seven
How does it work?
The draft order is determined on a worst-to-first basis according to the previous season’s final standings, with the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles holding the final pick of the first round after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans to deny Andy Reid’s dynasty team a historic three-peat in February.
The first overall selection traditionally belongs to the team with the worst record in the league, with the Tennessee Titans occupying the No 1 pick after finishing the 2024 campaign with a 3-14 record. The Cleveland Browns hold the No 2 pick followed by the New York Giants with the No 3 pick, both teams having also finished 3-14 but with a superior Strength of Schedule (SOS).
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holds the fourth overall pick, followed by fellow first-year coach in Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Full first-round order (subject to change)
Who will be the first pick?
NFL teams have used the No 1 overall pick at the Draft on a quarterback 18 times since the turn of the century, and on 39 occasions since the first ever Draft in 1936. This year figures to be no different.
Miami play-caller Cam Ward is expected to be the first name announced by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when the Titans open proceedings on Thursday night.
Ward arrives as the most complete quarterback prospect on the board and looks set to land in Tennessee two years after the Titans drafted Will Levis out of Kentucky in the second round. The 22-year-old embarked on a less conventional route to the NFL having started his college career at small school Incarnate Word in 2020 before transferring to Washington State where he spent two seasons.
He then spent his senior year with Miami in 2024, finishing the campaign 305 of 454 passing for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns to just seven interceptions while rushing for 204 yards and four scores. With him comes a cocktail of tremendous poise and patience in the pocket, an aggressiveness and willingness to attack downfield, feather touch and delicately-layered throws, the talent to throw off-platform and with multiple arm angles, and the ability to extend plays, create off-script and hurt defenses outside of the pocket.
“Ward is a thick, compact quarterback with outstanding arm strength and playmaking ability,” says NFL Network Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
“He plays a very free-wheeling brand of football. He drifts in his drop, throws from a variety of arm angles and often falls away from the target upon release of the football. He can really power the ball into tight windows, but his aggressive nature can put points on both sides of the scoreboard.
“He has very quick hands in the RPO game and he can navigate around free rushers by dropping his arm angle. He took the free yards with his legs when voids presented themselves in Miami’s spread attack. Overall, Ward will need to be reined in, but he’s a very gifted thrower of the football. If he can learn to better manage the game, he has a very high ceiling.”
Who is the big story?
The most notable story of the 2025 NFL Draft is Colorado star Travis Hunter, who looms as arguably the best prospect on the board.
Hunter played both cornerback and wide receiver under Deion Sanders in college, winning the Heisman Trophy as one of the most unique case studies to emerge from college in recent memory. While cornerback has become one of the most difficult positions to fill with elite talent, teams around the league are also desperate to help their young quarterbacks develop with the addition of high-end pass-catching weapons. Hunter has the skillset to become a top-tier starter at either position. The big question – how will teams use him in the NFL?
Hunter registered 713 offensive snaps and 748 defensive snaps in 2024 as he finished the campaign with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns while also making 32 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups. How the physical toll of such a heavy workload translates on the NFL stage remains to be seen, but the do-it-all phenom has no intention of straying from his versatility.
Colorado’s back Travis Hunter
“It’s never playing football again,” Hunter told CBS Sports regarding the prospect of only playing one position in the NFL. “Because I’ve been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it.”
Hunter made headlines in 2022 when he became the first ever five-star prospect to sign with an HBCU or FBS program by committing to Jackson State as the top prospect in his class. He played both offense and defense during his one season with the team before following head coach Sanders to Colorado.
He is a difference-maker on both sides of the ball, with the potential to become one of the faces of the league.
Who else to look out for?
Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter is projected to be among the top three picks in round one this week after finishing 2024 with a nation-high 23.5 tackles for loss alongside 68 tackles, 12 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, 66 pressures and two forced fumbles.
He is explosive off the edge with devastating speed, shifty feet and fluid movement to glide past blockers while being able to adjust direction if needed. Carter started out primarily as an off-ball linebacker in college before moving to a more conventional pass rush role, where he has become one of the most impactful players in the country.
Among one of the hottest talking points of the week will be the stock of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, whose destination appears as uncertain as any player expected to go in the first round. Once a possible No 1 overall pick, once a likely top three pick, and now a fascinating ‘will he slide?’ story. He is a phenomenal competitor without an ounce of self-doubt in his ability to transform a franchise, armed with exceptional touch and delivery to his passing but questioned over his arm strength and athleticism out of the pocket. Where will he land?
While Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry have fought back against recent running back narratives, it is a position that remains difficult to project when it comes to the Draft. With that said, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty will not have to wait long to hear his name called after a mammoth season in which he led the FBS with 374 carries for 2,601 rushing yards alongside a career-best 29 touchdowns in 2024.
He navigates the line of scrimmage with outstanding vision and lane patience, trusting his burst and slick footwork to beat defenders and escape contact while having the home-run speed to flip the field in a flash.
The Georgia Bulldog factory was well-represented by the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl, and continues to churn out top-end talent as it prepares to present edge rusher Jalon Walker as its next quarterback-hunting weapon. Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham enters as a wrecking ball to an offense’s best-laid plans, while LSU’s experienced and versatile Will Campbell is primed to be the first offensive tackle taken on day one.
Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka are touted as the leading wide receiver options outside of the two-way Hunter, while Penn State’s all-action Tyler Warren – who had 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns alongside 26 carries for 218 yards and four scores in 2024 – and Michigan’s Colston Loveland are this year’s in-demand tight end prospects equipped to fill the modern need for a Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Travis Kelce or George Kittle-mould big-bodied pass-catching X Factor.
Late-round gems?
Allow history to be a warning not to overlook days two and three in the NFL Draft, because a star might just be unearthed.
The Tom Brady story continues to stand the test of time as the unrivalled advocate for late-round joy, the Patriots using the 199th pick of the 2000 Draft to take a chance on the skinny kid out of Michigan who would go on to become a seven-time Super Bowl champion. More recently, the 49ers reached the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign behind quarterback Brock Purdy, who became ‘Mr Irrelevant’ as the last pick of the 2022 Draft.
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Ndamukong Suh explains how it felt to win the Super Bowl with Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
Meanwhile, take Chiefs Hall of Fame-bound tight end Kelce as an example, a 2013 third-round pick who would go on to become a three-time Super Bowl champion while building a case as the greatest player to play his position. And speaking of tight ends, the San Francisco 49ers snagged a certain Kittle – another superstar at the position – with the 146th pick in the 2017 Draft.
The retired Jason Kelce developed into arguably the greatest center in NFL history after being drafted by the Eagles in round six in 2011. Rewind all the way back to 2010 and the Seahawks had uncovered a Legion of Boom member in fifth-round safety Kam Chancellor, who retired in 2018 a Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowler.
In other words – the NFL Draft is about far more than just day one!
Prepare for trades!
Teams have the opportunity to offer up picks to other teams should they wish to move up the board in a bid to land a player of interest.
The Chicago Bears traded away a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick and a 2018 third-round pick to move from No 3 overall to No 2 overall and draft quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in 2017, overlooking the Chiefs’ three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes in the process.
The 49ers famously sent second and third-round picks to the New England Patriots in 1985 to move up from the 28th pick to No 16 and draft wide receiver Jerry Rice, who would go on to become a three-time Super Bowl champion and 13-time Pro Bowl selection. In a less successful example, the 49ers parted with three first-round picks and a second-round pick to trade up with the Miami Dolphins and select North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick in 2021, only for injuries, slow development and the presence of Purdy to derail his time in the Bay Area.
Eli Manning was selected No 1 overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2004 before being traded to the Giants for their first-round, No 4 overall selection Philip Rivers
And in one of the most famous mid-Draft trades in history, the then-San Diego Chargers agreed to swap their 2004 No 1 overall pick Eli Manning for the Giants’ No 4 pick Philip Rivers after Manning refused to play for the team. Manning went on to lead the Giants to two Super Bowl victories.
The 2022 NFL Draft meanwhile saw the Eagles give up the 18th overall pick as part of a deal to acquire Tennessee Titans wide receiver AJ Brown, who has since played a starring role in helping Philly reach two Super Bowls, including February’s win over the Chiefs in New Orleans.
Mixed success
For all the endless scouting and analytics, the Draft is by no means an exact science, Brady being the most obvious example as the Patriots spotted the talent that so many others had missed.
Some stories are less successful than others. In the 1998 Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Peyton Manning with the No 1 overall pick, the future Hall of Fame quarterback going on to win two Super Bowl rings and five MVP awards in his glistening career. In contrast, quarterback JaMarcus Russell lasted just three seasons with the then-Oakland Raiders after being selected first overall in 2007.
Draft night can also produce shock player slides. Aaron Rodgers was famously projected to become the No 1 overall pick to the 49ers at the 2005 Draft, before slipping all the way to 24th as Alex Smith was instead chosen first.
Washington Commanders offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, a prospective No 1 pick in 2016, also fell to the Dolphins at No 13 after a video emerged 10 minutes before the draft of him supposedly inhaling marijuana. Anything can happen.
Watch all three days of the 2025 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports Action, beginning with Round One from 1am in the early hours of Friday morning.
