2025 NFL Draft Buzz: Latest league news, rumors ahead of Thursday's Round 1

The 2025 NFL Draft is here, and the biggest question in New Orleans figures to remain unanswered as Round 1 approaches.

The Saints are not expected to have clarity on Derek Carr's shoulder injury and what the future holds for their starting quarterback prior to tonight's first round, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday, per sources.

New Orleans and Carr were hoping to have a clearer outlook on an injury which could threaten the veteran's availability for the 2025 season. Rapoport reported on April 11 that Carr is weighing his options, including the possibility of surgery. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told reporters Wednesday that an update would come sooner rather than later, but clarified that the uncertainty of the situation won't affect the club's draft plans.

Holders of the No. 9 overall pick, the Saints are in position to draft one of the top QB prospects in order to prepare for life without Carr. Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler, who shared starts while Carr was out with injury in 2024, would be the starting options in NOLA should Carr be out and the Saints decide not to draft a QB. Backup Ben DiNucci is also on the roster.

It's a peculiar spot for a Saints team that hasn't picked inside the top 10 since 2008. Carr inked a four-year, $150 million contract to lead the Saints ahead of the 2023 season, but New Orleans' playoff-less streak has since extended to four straight seasons. Carr holds a 14-13 record as the Saints' starter the past two seasons.

We will find out tonight what the Saints do despite the uncertainty, and whether Loomis deems Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart -- the perceived top QB prospects outside of Cam Ward, who's expected to go No. 1 overall to Tennessee -- as top-10 picks. The Saints GM wasn't showing his cards the day before Round 1, but what the team does with its first-rounder figures to indicate their plan going forward.

"I think there's guys that are good quarterbacks, really good quarterbacks," Loomis said Wednesday. "I don't know that the quantity is the same that it is some other years, but that goes up and down.

"One thing about that position: I think you fall in love with somebody. [For] each of our teams, I think that's a different guy."

Here's what else we're monitoring ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, which kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET:

• While there's been zero movement in the first round in the lead-up to the draft, one team to watch tonight is the Jacksonville Jaguars. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on NFL Draft Kickoff that the Jags are expected to be "bold with the moves and picks they make tonight" under new general manager James Gladstone. Rapoport speculated the Jaguars could be a candidate to trade up from No. 5 overall to the Browns' No. 2 pick, potentially for Colorado's Travis Hunter or Penn State's Abdul Carter. Buzz surrounding Duval as a potential first-round lynchpin began on Wednesday and only seems to be heating up as the first round draws near.
• NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero believes 2025's first round is about as unclear as any other, and there's potential all the mock drafts can be thrown away quickly after the No. 1 overall pick. "This is the most unpredictable draft that I can remember in terms of teams not really having a good feel, not just at the bottom around one, in like the middle or just outside the top 10," Pelissero said Thursday on Good Morning Football. "In a normal draft, teams would have 18, 20, 22 first-round grades on players. This year you talk to teams, just like eight, 10, 12 blue-chip type players, and then there's this big clump of, depending what team, 20 or 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." Pelissero added that the Carolina Panthers are a team looking to move down from the No. 8 overall pick, which is an interesting spot for any club worried about the Saints taking a QB at No. 9.
• Speculation abounds as to who could fall or drop out of the first round, and who can conversely surprise with a Day 1 selection. Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show Thursday, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero discussed some of the prospects he thinks could be first-round sleeper picks, following up on his five potential surprise first-rounders, but added that even in the week since that was posted more names have come out that could fit that category. Pelissero noted Shavon Revel Jr. out of East Carolina, saying that though his recovery from a torn ACL has kept him out of many mock drafts, he thinks “might be the best corner in this draft” and could have a team take a chance on him Thursday. Iowa State's Jayden Higgins was another possible sleeper named, joining Emeka Egbuka as a possible surprise first-round wide receiver, depending on how the “wide-open” position gets valued. Pelissero later appeared on NFL Network's Draft Kickoff mentioning Louisville's Tyler Shough as another potential first-round sleeper given the uncertain landscape of this year's draft.
• Speaking to Rich Eisen later in his interview, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero gave his thoughts on which positions could see more players drafted early in the night, saying that he thinks there’s a chance there will be more running backs than quarterbacks taken in the first 20 picks. That possible run on RBs would be spearheaded by Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton, with TreVeyon Henderson also in the mix early on with so many teams needing a running back this year. Pelissero added that tight end is another interesting position, with a non-zero possibility that both Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland hear their names called in the top 10, or that a team moves up to grab Loveland at some point in the night.