I Have No Wins and I Must Draft (Part 7)

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(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.)

Pick #11: San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers' fall from grace has been difficult to watch. The team that went 12-5 last year, made it to the Super Bowl, and lost by 3 in overtime had pretty high expectations for 2024. Instead, they went 6-11 and finished  last in their division. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will be returning for the duo's 9th season together, and with this draft pick they will likely be looking to tap into the deep pool of edge rushers available. Expect a player like James Pearce Jr. from Tennesee, Mykel Williams from Georgia, or Nick Scourton from Texas A&M to be the 11th player taken.

Pick #12: Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9 put the final nail in the coffin of the Cowboys' season. They were 3-4 heading into that game, and went on to finish the year 7-10. Jerry Jones won't let go as GM, and he may have run his only real option for a head coach out of town last week after talks with Mike McCarthy broke down. Typically for a team in this situation, we would expect them to go after a receiving threat such as Luther Burden III from Missouri, Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State, or maybe even a tight end like Tyler Warren from Penn State. This would ideally allow them to spread the ball around a bit more and not have to rely so heavily on CeeDee Lamb. A lot of the experts see them taking a runningback here though, and that's worth considering. If Ashton Jeanty from Boise State or Omarion Hampton are still on the board at #12, they could very possibly end up on the Cowboys. 

Pick #13: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins took a step backwards this year, finishing with an 8-9 record. It's the first time they've missed the playoffs since Mike McDaniel took over as head coach in 2022. He'll be back next season and general manager Chris Grier will return for what will be his 10th year in that role. The biggest challenge facing this team continues to be keeping their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa healthy, and to that end it would not be a surprise to see them draft an offensive lineman with this pick. Someone like Josh Simmons, the tackle from Ohio State, or Tyler Booker an interior OL from Alabama, might be the move here.

Pick #14: Indianapolis Colts

The Colts were 8-9 this year, but managed to stay in the playoff hunt all season long by virtue of playing in the AFC South. They only finished two games behind the divisional champion Texans, and considering that four of their losses came by a margin of 7 points or less, it's easy to look at this team and see a path to contention in the near future. Head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard aren't going anywhere, so no major roster overhauls should be expected. Indianapolis got very little production from the tight end position this season, and that feels like the quickest path to improving this offense. If Tyler Warren isn't taken by now, the Colts should grab him here. If not, Colston Loveland from Michigan is the next best thing.

Pick #15: Atlanta Falcons

While the Kirk Cousins experience is one that Falcon fans would like to soon forget, they have to feel generally OK with where they ended up. Michael Penix Jr. had a respectable 3-game stretch to end the season, with a win over the Giants followed by two overtime losses in a row to bring their season record to 8-9. There will be no major changes to the leadership on this team, as head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot will both be back. Atlanta has been accumulating offensive talent at the top of their last several draft classes as we discussed in our earlier discussion about the Falcons, and this time they should be looking to the defensive side of the ball. The 15th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft should be spent on an edge rusher or an off-ball linebacker. This late in the first round, that could be someone like Mike Green from Marshall or Jalon Walker from Georgia.

Draft Order Update 

With the Divisional Round in the books, we now know that picks 25 through 28 will be made by the Texans, the Rams, the Ravens and the Lions in that order. The losers of next weekend's Conference Championship games will be picking 29th and 30th, with the teams facing off in Super Bowl LIX picking 31st and 32nd. Once the postseason is officially over, we will be publishing our first Mock Draft of the off-season and updating this series based on the head coach hiring cycles and other changes that have taken place since the end of the regular season. I Have No Wins and I Must Draft (Part 8) will cover the 16th through 20th picks of the draft.


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