NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah held his annual pre-NFL draft conference call with members of the media on Friday, answering 52 questions in just under two hours. Here are five takeaways from the event.
Programming note: Tune in for live coverage of Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft beginning at 8 p.m. ET on April 24 on NFL Network, NFL+, the NFL Channel, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
1) "Game of chicken" emerging between Browns, Giants? It's beginning to feel like the top three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft are firming up. Miami QB Cam Ward is the overwhelming favorite at No. 1 to the Titans, Colorado's two-way star Travis Hunter is being mocked to the Browns at No. 2 and Penn State's Abdul Carter might not get past the Giants with the third pick.
That means the Browns and Giants would be passing on quarterbacks. So how will these two teams address those needs? Trade up from Round 2 or stand pat?
Jeremiah sees a fascinating little subplot between the Browns and Giants developing the longer the draft goes on, assuming viable QB options remain available. Those two teams also have "darned near identical" draft capital, as Jeremiah noted, for any potential trades, too.
"It's almost a game of chicken, of who's going to pay the biggest price, and how much do they love one of these quarterbacks," Jeremiah said. "And I don't even know that they like the same quarterbacks, so that's kind of an interesting thing."
After Ward, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Mississippi's Jaxson Dart and Alabama's Jalen Milroe (more on him later) are some possible early options. Louisville's Tyler Shough also has met with QB-needy teams and could be a Day 2 option.
There are also some moving parts with teams. The Saints, picking ninth, are dealing with the uncertainty around Derek Carr's health. It's not clear if the Steelers, at No. 21, can count on Aaron Rodgers at this point. Do they enter the mix? Is it necessary to trade over either or both teams to land a signal-caller?
Jeremiah didn't project a range with Sanders but said he believes the conversation on Dart starts at about No. 20 overall. The first round (and early second) might end up with more interesting QB maneuvering than we imagined a few months ago.
2) Potential top-five surprise. For weeks now, two of the chalkier mock-draft selections outside the top three picks have been Michigan DT Mason Graham to the Jaguars at No. 5 and Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty to the Raiders at No. 6.
Might we have those two flipped around?
Jeremiah said Jeanty would be a "great option" for the Raiders with the sixth pick, but he also mentioned the Jaguars as a team to keep an eye on for Jeanty, calling it a potential "statement pick" at No. 5 for the new regime in Jacksonville.
"Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but when I listen to (coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone) talk and ... discuss what they're looking for in a player," Jeremiah said, "... and valuing the things that they're valuing in terms of the character, the competitiveness, all those things, I'm like, golly, that sounds like two players to me.
"That sounds like Ashton Jeanty and that sounds like (Georgia pass rusher) Jalon Walker. So, I would not rule out the possibility that Jeanty went ahead of that (Raiders) pick, and then he's off the board."
As for the Raiders -- especially if Jeanty is no longer available to them -- Jeremiah said that Pete Carroll, Tom Brady and the rest of the decision-makers "could like Shedeur Sanders" but that the Geno Smith trade might not have them feeling urgent about taking Sanders with the sixth pick. There's also a need in the trenches, and Jeremiah said Graham or Walker would make sense there as strong options.
"When I talked to folks tight with those inside the Raiders organization, they've talked about the line of scrimmage (being) a big focus," Jeremiah said. "They're in a really good spot on that defensive line if they can stay healthy. And I'm like, man, what if you added Mason Graham to that group, and he's playing next to (Christian) Wilkins and Maxx (Crosby)?
"That's pretty fun to see what that could look like. Or, you know, you look at it, you know, if Jalon Walker's there, and just a fastball and a versatile chess piece that you could move around, those would be fun."
Jeremiah also mentioned the need for an immediate offensive guard and possible future tackle, such as Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr.
3) "Lottery ticket" with Lamar Jackson-like running ability. If there's a QB mystery man after Shedeur Sanders in this year's draft, it's probably Alabama's Jalen Milroe -- and the buzz on Milroe only has grown the closer we get to the event.
Even with some first-round buzz, Milroe is far from a perfect QB prospect, but Jeremiah gushed about the quarterback's ability to make plays with his legs.
"He is an elite, elite, elite runner," Jeremiah said. "If you just did a cut-up and just with the ball in your arm and running, and you stack him up with a really, really good running back class, just looking him just as a runner, he would not look out of place at all.
"... There is zero question that he's going to have an impact with the ball under his arm."
Jeremiah admitted finding comps for Milroe is tricky but dropped a pretty big name to comp running styles.
"In terms of a comparison, the only thing I'd say is, as a runner, he's as impressive as Lamar Jackson was as a runner coming out (of Louisville)," Jeremiah said. "Lamar was light years ahead of him in terms of the passing game."
Jeremiah noted how Milroe's struggles as a passer were related to his eyes and feet not being connected, hurting his accuracy, as well as Milroe's decision-making and turnovers. But the Alabama product is still viewed as a terrific aim-high pick in waiting -- with a ceiling that could even surpass that of potential No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
"I do think (Milroe) needs time. I do think he requires patience," Jeremiah said. "Talking to teams ... the phrase with him that's used more than any other of all the quarterbacks in this draft, that's the 'lottery ticket' (prospect).
"If you want to just take a lottery ticket that you could hit huge on if it all works out and all comes together, he's got the highest upside of anybody in this draft, and that goes all the way up to Cam Ward at No. 1, but he is a long way from getting there."
For Jeremiah, that just doesn't quite sound like a first-round pick.
"To me, (Milroe is) a classic second-round pick," he said. "You get your first pick in the bag, you feel comfortable about it. It's a double off the wall. And then now you can stop choking up and you can swing for the fences with Jalen Milroe.
"That's how just about everybody universally views him."
4) Bears in enviable spot. Jeremiah mentioned the Bears as a team to watch in next week's draft, loaded with four relatively early picks to buttress what has been another big offseason full of additions.
"They are in a fantastic position when you're picking 10, 39, 41 and 72," he said. "They get four instant-impact players with the way this draft shakes out."
But figuring out which order to address their positions of need in will be key. If the Bears are locked in on upgrading at offensive tackle, Jeremiah suggested they act quickly.
"If you are dead set on getting an offensive tackle and you want to get your long-term left tackle, you're going to want to do that with your first pick," Jeremiah said. "I just don't love the possibilities of you seeing someone that's going to be an upgrade over what you have once you get into the second round of this particular draft."
But even if a top offensive tackle doesn't fall to them at 10, Jeremiah said that having the three picks that follow allows them to let the board come to them. That could mean taking "one of the top two tight ends" or Jeanty at 10, if they're available.
"If they want to reinforce the defensive line, get an edge rusher, to me a sweet spot for them would be pick 39 for an edge rusher," Jeremiah said. "That's a great area to find that guy.
"... They're in a great spot where they don't have to be aggressive with the first pick. Somebody's going to go to them there that they're going to love and is going to start from Day 1 and (make) an impact. I'm almost more excited to see what happens with their next picks, because that's going to be a fun combination of players they put together."
Big picture, Jeremiah doesn't believe the Bears' defense is fully complete. But with Ben Johnson joining forces with Caleb Williams, it would certainly make sense if they lean heavily in the offensive direction this draft.
"We can look at the defensive side of the ball and you can find holes, but at the end of next year, if Caleb Williams has taken a massive leap with Ben Johnson, I think Bears fans will be feeling pretty darn good about the direction," he said. "So that's why, if it's close, I look to that side of the ball."
5) Stock climbing for tight ends Taylor, Fannin. Jeremiah is a big fan of the tight end class as a whole, and he has his top two -- Penn State's Tyler Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland -- in the top seven overall of his most recent ranking of the top 50 prospects.
But there's another TE prospect who might be nipping at their heels: LSU's Mason Taylor.
"Mason Taylor, to me, he's an emerging player in that everybody is comfortable with him," Jeremiah said. "He's a safe player. He's rock solid. He had a nice week at the Senior Bowl."
It helps to be the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer (Jason Taylor) and have a Hall of Fame uncle (Zach Thomas), as Taylor does. He also won't turn 21 until a couple weeks after the draft and possesses a lot of upside. Taylor opened eyes at the Senior Bowl with his receiving ability and might be closer to the top two TE prospects than some people realize.
"When you're talking to teams, (and you ask), 'Hey, if you got wiped out, who would be your guy?' And (many said), 'Well, if we got wiped out, we would just take Mason Taylor. He's going to start for us for the next 8-10 years. Just a steady, solid player."
Jeremiah believes Taylor will be drafted "in the back half of (Round) 1; at worst, he goes early (Round) 2."
Jeremiah extolled the virtues of other tight ends, including Miami's Elijah Arroyo and Oregon's Terrance Ferguson. One TE prospect who has risen with coaches getting more involved in the process has been Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr.
"There are teams that have Fannin over Taylor, so he's a tight end darling," Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah said there's a running joke among scouts about how many position coaches will attend pro days together, and they all tend to be more biased toward the same few prospects. This year, Fannin was one of the tight end coaches' favorites.
"The consensus was Harold Fannin was the coaching favorite of the tight end coaches. They all really, really liked him," Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah believes Fannin could "go in the second round, when it's all said and done," or, "worst-case scenario, top of (Round) 3," even if Fannin lacks ideal measurables or testing numbers.
"He's just excellent with the ball in his hands," Jeremiah said.
