(I Have No Wins and I Must Draft is our ongoing series that follows the 2025 NFL draft order and the players projected to be taken at the beginning of that draft.) With one game left to play in the Wild Card round, the first 18 picks of the draft are set in stone and we know five of the six teams that will pick between 19 and 24. There have been many head coaches and GMs fired in the recent days that make some of these picks more interesting, and a few of these teams worked in a dramatic finale to their season to mix up the order a little bit more. Here is a look at how the first five picks of the 2025 NFL Draft should shape up as of now:
Pick #1: Tennessee Titans
The Titans announced earlier this week that they will be keeping head coach Brian Callahan around, but have fired general manager Ran Carthon. The team ended the season with a 23-14 loss to the Texans at home, giving them a final record of 3-14. They are now 9-25 over their last two seasons. With the first overall pick, a quarterback has to be on the mind of whoever takes over as GM, especially given how shallow of a quarterback class this one is expected to be. Since they traded up in 2023 to draft Will Levis at the top of the second round two years ago, he has started 21 games for the Titans. He didn't take over as the starter until midway through his rookie year and he missed some time this season due to a shoulder injury, but in those 21 games he's thrown 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He has also fumbled 17 times and lost 10 of those fumbles. Unless they feel that there is still the potential for Levis to significantly improve in year 3, the new general manager will probably be looking for a fresh start at quarterback and use this pick to select either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders. Experts seem to be leaning more in the direction of Cam Ward right now, but aren't too high on either prospect.
Pick #2: Cleveland Browns
The Browns are a mess. They ended the 2024 season with a 35-10 loss to the Ravens to cement their 3-14 record, and just got the news this week that Deshaun Watson somehow tore his right achilles again and now might be missing a significant number of games in 2025 due to the same injury that ended his 2024 season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry seem to be safe for now, but one has to think 2025 is their last chance. This duo has been running the Browns together for the last five years and have only managed to put together two winning seasons. Even if Watson were healthy, the sunk cost fallacy might be the only reason he still has a job in Cleveland. In the 3 years since he was acquired by the Browns, he has played in 17 games and posted 3,011 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over that time. Despite this, the experts currently seem to believe that the Browns are more likely to try and bring in a veteran quarterback to bridge the gap until Watson is healthy enough to play again than they would be to draft a quarterback with this pick. If that is the case, it would stand to reason that Travis Hunter will be the pick here. The Browns ranked dead last in Points Allowed and were 27th out of 32 teams in Points Scored this season, so whether he plays cornerback, receiver, or they try him at both, Travis Hunter can probably fill an important need for Cleveland.
Pick #3: New York Giants
Some will find it shocking that the Giants have decided to retain both their general manager Joe Schoen and their head coach Brian Daboll. Their season ended with a 20-13 loss to an Eagles team that rested most of their starters, landing them at a 3-14 record on the year. This duo has been running the Giants for 3 years now, and must be on their last strike at this point. After letting Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney leave in free agency last year, both players went on to have outstanding seasons for other teams. The roster that remained with the Giants had to endure the miserable final 8 games of quarterback Daniel Jones' tenure in New York, then Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock in mop-up duty for the rest of the year. This is a team that needs to immediately upgrade by the start of next season unless a lot of people want to lose their jobs, and it seems inevitable that they would be taking a quarterback here if either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders are still available.
Pick #4: New England Patriots
The Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo 90 minutes after the final whistle of their surprising 21-16 win over Buffalo. A surprisingly strong performance by third-string quarterback Joe Milton III against the Bills' backups pushed the Patriots to end the season with their 4th win, which moved them from the first pick in the draft down here to the fourth. Six days later, it was announced that Mike Vrabel had been hired as the new head coach. The general manager situation is a bit more nebulous; technically the Patriots have not had a true general manager since the departure of Bill Belichick. Those duties were given to their Director of Scouting along with an upgraded job title - Eliot Wolf handled the 2024 Draft and the roster this past season under the position of Executive Vice President of Player Personnel. It remains to be seen whether or not Wolf stays in this role. Regardless, the Patriots find themselves in the very fortunate position of not needing to draft a quarterback this year. If these picks fall the way they are expected to, New England will get their choice of any player on the defensive side of the ball, any receiver other than Travis Hunter (if you consider him a receiver) or any offensive lineman in the class. The defense in New England was actually pretty decent for most of the season, so this pick will most likely be on the offensive side. If they do decide to pick up an offensive lineman, it is expected to be Will Campbell from LSU or Kelvin Banks Jr. from Texas. If they elect to go with a receiver instead, the obvious choice is Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona.
Pick #5: Jacksonville Jaguars
Like the Patriots, the Jaguars fired their head coach shortly after the conclusion of their final game, but have retained their general manager. Doug Pederson was sent packing the day after their thrilling 26-23 overtime loss to the Titans, but Baalke somehow got through the season unscathed - for now. Head coach interviews are still ongoing, but several reporters have speculated that team owner Shad Khan would be willing to part with Baalke if the right head coaching candidate wanted to bring in his own general manager. The question of who gets to make the 5th pick in the draft might be tougher to answer than who gets picked with it. The Jaguars have several bright spots on the offensive side of the ball, but are working with one of the worst defenses in the league. They finished the season with an average of 389.9 defensive yards allowed per game (only the Panthers were worse), 257.4 passing yards allowed per game (worst in the league), 132.6 rushing yards allowed per game (25th out of 32 teams), and 25.6 points allowed per game (27th out of 32). There are enough glaring flaws on that side of the ball that it would be very difficult not to get an immediate upgrade at one position with this pick. Given the slightly worse pass defense numbers, the secondary should get some attention here. Will Johnson from Michigan is generally considered to be the best cornerback in this class, but if his injury status scares you away then they can still get his teammate Mason Graham to anchor down the interior line or Penn State's Abdul Carter, an excellent edge rusher.
Picks 6 through 10 will get broken down in Part 6, but here is the full draft order that has been set in stone for now:
1. Titans
2. Browns
3. Giants
4. Patriots
5. Jaguars
6. Raiders
7. Jets
8. Panthers
9. Saints
10. Bears
11. 49ers
12. Cowboys
13. Dolphins
14. Colts
15. Falcons
16. Cardinals
17. Bengals
18. Seahawks
19. Broncos
20. Buccaneers
21. Steelers
If the Vikings beat the Rams on Monday night, the next 3 picks will go:
22. Rams
23. Chargers
24. Packers
But if the Rams manage to upset the Vikings instead, the next 3 picks would be:
22. Chargers
23. Packers
24. Vikings
Everything else will be sorted out as the playoffs continue.
