We are finally here: the week of the 2025 NFL Draft. Yahoo Sports draft experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald have done eight (!) mock drafts and a combined eight big boards, all to help prepare you for the NFL’s signature offseason event, which starts Thursday.
You can watch Tice and McDonald, along with host Jason Fitz and fantasy analyst Matt Harmon, on the Yahoo Sports Draft Live show, which starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Thursday for the first round, and then at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Friday for the second and third rounds. Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Reporters Charles Robinson and Jori Epstein will also make appearances.
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Tice and McDonald have ranked the top five prospects at each position heading into the draft, and you can read a snippet of their breakdowns below. Click on the link at the bottom of each position section for the full rankings. And check out Tice and McDonald’s consensus big board here, along with Tice’s final big board and McDonald’s final big board.
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Quarterbacks
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Nate Tice: Sanders improved his play this season, especially with his feel in the pocket and timing that he plays with on concepts. Sanders is tough, has a good arm and is more than willing to challenge defenders on tougher throws like in-breakers over the middle. When in rhythm, he can let his pass catchers thrive because of his friendly ball placement.
Sanders has below-average size and is also just an average athlete, which shows up when asked to create. He has markedly improved his pocket movement (although he still has a tendency to drift backward).
Sanders still has plenty to work on, especially in regards to timing and feel in the pocket. And while he has a good-enough arm for the NFL, his tools aren’t overwhelming enough to consistently mitigate tough situations. Sanders will have to be dropped into a good ecosystem to keep ascending at the next level.
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Where does Shedeur Sanders rank among the top five QBs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Running backs
Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
Charles McDonald: It’s unlikely that a running back is selected this high come draft day, but Jeanty is absolutely one of the best players in this class.
He is built like a ball of steel and is incredibly tough to bring down when defenders get their hands on him. He bounces off tackles with ease, showed he can carry a heavy workload and had some solid performances against the tougher teams Boise State faced. Jeanty’s ability to break tackles made him a home-run threat and if he can continue to do that in the NFL, he’ll be a sweetener for offenses in the way veteran running backs were last season.
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Where does Omarion Hampton rank among the top five RBs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Wide receivers
Travis Hunter, Colorado
Charles McDonald: Putting Hunter anywhere but the top spot feels like overthinking, even if he doesn’t ultimately live up to the lofty hype he set for himself after a once-in-a-lifetime college career.
In addition to the Heisman Trophy, Hunter won the Bednarik Award for the best defensive player in college football and won the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best wide receiver in the country. Hunter is a legitimate first-round prospect at both wide receiver and cornerback, thanks to some otherworldly ball skills and overall athleticism that make him an impact player on both sides of the ball. So far, Hunter is adamant on playing both ways in the NFL, which will prove tough, but it’s hard to doubt someone who has already made it this far on his talents.
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Hunter might be a bit more pro-ready at cornerback right now, where his instincts and athleticism can make him a nuisance for passing games, but a play at wide receiver is completely defensible (and exciting) as well.
The term “generational” gets thrown around way too much in draft coverage, but for someone like Hunter, it actually applies.
Where does Travis Hunter rank among the top five WRs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Tight ends
Mason Taylor, LSU
Nate Tice: Taylor has a strong pedigree being the son of Jason Taylor and nephew of Zach Thomas. He has a good frame and is a clean route runner who can quickly transition from receiver to runner — while also having the speed to be an intermediate threat down the seams.
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Taylor will compete as a blocker, but still has to get physically stronger. He still shows the potential to hang as an in-line blocker.
Taylor was an instant contributor when he started college and LSU’s dropoff in receiver talent allowed him to be highlighted more this past season. He’s a classic QB’s best friend with good hands and a large catching range; Taylor is more than comfortable extending and snatching throws away from his body and is such a smooth athlete that he can still keep his feet even when he needs to reach for throws.
Taylor has the size, athleticism and football IQ to be an early starter who can be a positive player in any type of offense.
Where does Mason Taylor rank among the top five TEs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Offensive line
Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
Charles McDonald: Another big, athletic offensive lineman who can contribute right off the bat. Conerly might be a right tackle in the NFL, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This position group is about the sum of its parts, and Conerly is a quality prospect with room to grow. He’s a good mover who can still get stronger, but the movement ability at his size is what makes him a coveted prospect.
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Where does Josh Conerly Jr. rank among the top five OLs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Edge rushers
Abdul Carter, Penn State
Charles McDonald: Carter is oozing with 10-sack potential in the NFL. He is an explosive, agile player who spent all last season knifing through offensive lines as he racked up a monster final season for the Nittany Lions. Carter has a slender build (250 pounds at 6-foot-3), but he’s often able to mitigate that with blinding speed — which allowed him to lead FBS with 24 tackles for loss last season across the regular season and CFP.
Carter will be able to make an impact early with his speed while he gets stronger and puts on weight for the NFL. Carter is dealing with a foot injury right now that will sideline him from working out for the rest of the draft season, but that won’t stop him getting selected early.
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Where does Abdul Carter rank among the top five edge rushers in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Interior defensive line
Kenneth Grant, Michigan
Nate Tice: Grant won’t always fill up the box score with his play, but he’s a 330-plus-pound nose tackle who can devour blockers with his size and strength, but has light feet and plenty of quickness to do more than just push the pocket or lean into the block.
Grant is squarely built with a big trunk but isn’t a total plodder. He plays with the agility to retrace on screens and chase down plays down the field, too. He wasn’t consistently productive at Michigan, but there are real stretches of games where Grant dominated (ask USC and Ohio State). Grant is an intriguing combination of size and athleticism, with enough good film to make talent evaluators optimistic that he is starting to just come together as a player.
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Where does Kenneth Grant rank among the top five IDLs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Linebackers
Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
Nate Tice: Campbell is a refreshing player to watch: a defender with the combination of size, speed, violence and intelligence to truly have the potential to play as an every-down off-ball linebacker in the NFL.
Campbell is a big body (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) who had a great day of testing in Indianapolis with a 4.52 40 time. He also has the game tape that reflects his size and speed combination. Campbell is strong enough to take on climbing offensive linemen and has the speed to run sideline-to-sideline. He is plenty fluid and explosive enough to be a good coverage player, but can be a bit inconsistent in that area because of his still-developing feel as an off-ball player.
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Campbell also is a disruptive pass rusher who can win against linemen (he has experience as an edge defender) and was a total mismatch against poor college RBs. There are still parts to clean up, but Campbell has the potential to be a real impact defender at a position where it has become increasingly hard to find even mid-term starters. He makes sense in a lot of different defenses, too.
Where does Jihaad Campbell rank among the top five LBs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Cornerbacks
Jahdae Barron, Texas
Nate Tice: Barron has aligned all over the field in college. He’s best described as a football player. He doesn’t have great overall long speed, but he’s twitchy and has the burst to quickly close on the ball carrier. He’s a good tackler who has a knack for making plays on the football (he tries to punch and jar every ball near him loose). Barron is also a good blitzer who has a feel for knifing inside and making plays.
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In coverage, Barron is best as a zone defender or in man coverage on tight ends (better and faster receivers can give him issues).
Barron’s best position will be as a full-time slot defender who can move around the defense for a creative defensive play-caller.
Where does Jahdae Barron rank among the top five CBs in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Safeties
Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
Charles McDonald: Watts had a productive career on the back end for the Fighting Irish, but is more of a pure ballhawk with some room to be desired on the tackling front. However, it’s hard to ignore a whopping 13 picks over the past two seasons, which will have a lot of value to NFL teams.
Where does Xavier Watts rank among the top five safeties in the 2025 NFL Draft?
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