Getty Image / Dustin Bradford
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone. Attention will now slowly move over to next year’s potential crop of prospects for NFL scouts and mock draft prognosticators.
Make no mistake, the most scrutinized prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft process will be Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Shedeur Sanders, the son of NFL legend and Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders, is probably the most recognizable name in college football coming into next season. That’s despite Colorado going 4-8 last season after a 3-0 start.
Sanders was one of the bright spots for arguably college football’s highest-profile team last year. After coming over with his dad from Jackson State, he threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Those are great numbers considering the Buffaloes had absolutely no offensive line play or run game.
Now, many think that Sanders will be the first-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s currently the favorite at sportsbooks to be the top pick, with odds as short as even money at some places.
But, Pro Football Focus disagrees. Their mock draft just a few days after the 2024 NFL Draft has Shedeur Sanders falling all the way to ninth!
WAY TOO EARLY 2025 MOCK DRAFT pic.twitter.com/yqR4cprAoF
— PFF (@PFF) April 29, 2024
He is still the top quarterback off the board, though. The only other quarterbacks in the complete 32-pick mock are Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
The top pick, as you can see, is Tennessee edge James Pearce Jr. He’s a freak athlete coming around the corner with elite speed, quickness, and bend. If he develops some more technique, he could be a Will Anderson-level prospect.
Unlike the 2024 NFL Draft that was heavily focused in the first round on offensive players, especially skills guys, 2025 figures to be a more defensive-minded first round similar to the 2022 NFL Draft.