Some amazing moves, some questionable.
Throughout time, NFL teams have made massive mistakes or impeccable moves throughout the draft, but this matters the most in the first round, and this year was no different.
The Winners
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The Jacksonville Jaguars
Trading up is always a risk in the NFL Draft, especially when giving up a future first to make it happen, but this is a different scenario. The Jacksonville Jaguars had an opportunity lined up to give up their first this year (#5), a second (#36), a fourth (#126), and a 2026 first rounder for the Cleveland Browns’ first (#2), a fourth (#104), and a sixth (#200). The reason the Jags made this trade was to select star Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter. This may look like way too much to give up for a non-QB prospect, but selecting Travis Hunter is the same as drafting two prospects. Hunter is going to play WR and CB in the NFL, so the Jags will be paying one player to play both positions. He may not be able to play both positions 100% of the time, but Hunter is the best player in the draft, and this trade was worth it.
The Kansas City Chiefs
It is always easy to choose the teams drafting in the later of the first round as “winners” because their rosters are already good enough to just draft whoever is dropping to them, but I could not overlook the Kansas City Chiefs here. Originally, they were selecting at pick 31 but traded back one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles for an extra fifth round pick. It was a really small trade but getting extra assets for really nothing is always a positive. Now to the selection, which was perfect. OT Josh Simmons is one of the best tackles in the class, and if it was not for his season ending injury last year, there was a real chance Simmons could go early in the first round. The Chiefs know they cannot put Patrick Mahomes behind a struggling offensive line again, and with this pick, they get a franchise left tackle.
The Losers
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The Cincinnati Bengals
It was very difficult to choose teams that “lost” the first round of the NFL Draft, especially in this class where the talent is very similar from picks 10-40. Still, when comparing selections between teams, two picks had some question marks around them. Starting with the Bengals, they may have made the riskiest selection of the 2025 NFL Draft. At pick 17, they selected Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart. The Bengals needed edge rush help, so this pick makes sense, but Stewart is an extremely raw prospect that had an extremely low amount of production over his 3 years in college. There needs to be extensive development with Stewart, but he has the athletic ability to make it happen. This is one of those selections where we may look back and say this was the steal of the draft or it was one of the worst selections in the first round.
The Cleveland Browns
When talking about the winners, I mentioned the trade the Jags made with the Browns to select Travis Hunter. Although it was an outstanding move for Jacksonville, for Cleveland, it was a bit questionable. Before going on, it needs to be stated that this was not a bad move by the Brown. Getting another first round pick for next draft when the QB class is going to be better is very smart and only moving back 3 spots still allows the Browns to get a great prospect. The issue is who they gave up the chance to select. Travis Hunter is the best player in this class and has earned the right to be called a generational talent. He has everything: Very smart, great character, top tier athleticism, and shines as a #1 receiver and/or cornerback on a team. Yes, they were still able to get DT Mason Graham at 5 and also that future first that I mentioned, but passing up on Hunter could have been a massive mistake.