The 2025 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday in Green Bay, WI. All 32 NFL teams will play a role in shaping the draft, but some teams will have a larger impact there than others.
Here, we identify five teams that could play a vital role in determining how the 2025 draft goes.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The draft figures to “begin” at the No. 5 pick. Cam Ward (No. 1, Tennessee Titans), Travis Hunter (No. 2, Cleveland Browns), Abdul Carter (No. 3, New York Giants), and Will Campbell (No. 4, New England Patriots) are viewed as very likely to be the top-four picks.
What will the Jaguars do at No. 5?
It was assumed for weeks that the Jaguars would likely select Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. But over the last few days, there’s been a shift in the rumors.
For example, on Tuesday, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports wrote, “I think it would be a surprise if the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t take an offensive skill position player at fifth overall. I’ll just leave it at that.”
There’s been a big shift in the betting odds as well. Graham had been favored to be drafted at No. 5 (that’s just No. 5; not necessarily selected by the Jaguars), but as of Wednesday afternoon at DraftKings Sportsbook, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is favored at -160 (Graham has the second-highest odds at +250, followed by Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at +500).
It’s possible that the Jaguars also look to trade down. Maybe a team wants to move up for Jeanty or Graham, for example. Jacksonville needs to improve its defense, but first-year head coach Liam Coen — a creative offensive mind — might also want to get more impact talent around Trevor Lawrence. Perhaps acquiring more draft capital — and filling more needs — would be more appealing to the Jaguars than staying at No. 5.
Las Vegas Raiders
The pick that follows the Jaguars will also be one of the most interesting in the draft with the Raiders at No. 6.
For a while, the Raiders had been viewed as the clear favorites for Jeanty. But as of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings has the Jaguars favored to draft Jeanty (-160), followed by the Raiders (+200), and the Chicago Bears (+300).
There’s also always been the question as to whether the Raiders should even target Jeanty with the No. 6 pick. After all, they’re probably not just a running back away from title contention while playing in a loaded AFC West (and a loaded AFC in general).
But if the Raiders indeed want Jeanty, and the Jaguars select him at No. 5, it forces Las Vegas to go in another direction.
So, what happens at No. 6 is anyone’s guess, and it’s another spot where it’s easy to see a potential trade happening.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints need a whole lot, including at the quarterback position. Derek Carr has a shoulder injury and his 2025 status is in question. And even if Carr is healthy, he’s probably not the starting quarterback of the next title-contending New Orleans team.
Will the Saints look to take a quarterback at the No. 9 pick? You can never rule it out with how quarterback-desperate NFL teams get. If you don’t have high-quality quarterback play, the rest doesn’t matter in this league. But taking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders or Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 9 would feel, well, very quarterback-desperate on the surface. These are prospects that may very well be available in the 20s.
With the Saints having so many needs, and with the No. 9 spot potentially being desirable to teams outside the top 10 (maybe for teams targeting Penn State tight end Tyler Warren or Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., for example), a trade makes sense here too.
Chicago Bears
The Bears are the only team with three picks in the top 41 of this draft: 10, 39, and 41.
Chicago also has a new head coach in former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
There are many routes the Bears could go at No. 10. Maybe they want to continue to boost their offensive line depth to protect second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. Maybe they want to add a new toy for Williams and Johnson on offense. Maybe they want to improve their defensive line.
There have also been rumors that the Bears could be interested in trading up (like for Jeanty; potentially a trade match with the Jaguars or Raiders) or that they might look to trade down to load up on draft capital in a class that’s more about depth in the top 100 than blue-chip talent.
What Chicago chooses to do with picks 10, 39, and 41 will be very interesting.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers need a quarterback, and maybe two quarterbacks if Aaron Rodgers signs and ends up being the short-term starter. If the 2025 NFL season started today, Mason Rudolph would be the starter; that’s not a good situation!
Naturally, the Steelers have been heavily linked to Sanders and Dart (and some pundits even predicting Alabama’s Jalen Milroe). DraftKings has Pittsburgh as the most likely team to draft Sanders (+180).
And if the Steelers are dead-set on selecting a quarterback, they may want to trade up rather than hoping the player falls to No. 21. Additionally, if a team drafting behind the Steelers wants a particular quarterback and fears Pittsburgh could select that player at No. 21, that team could look to jump the Steelers.
It’s also possible that Pittsburgh doesn’t feel that these prospects are franchise quarterbacks and would rather just get the best player they can at No. 21, with the defensive tackle position being a strong possibility.
