Finally, it’s time for one of the least sexy NFL drafts in recent memory. There’s no drama with the Titans at no. 1, there’s a dearth of first-round-caliber quarterbacks after Cam Ward, and there are fewer eye-popping wide receiver prospects than in recent seasons.
And yet, the draft is never short on drama. As NFL teams finalize their draft boards, we’ve got some big questions about how the draft will play out, which teams could shake things up, and which veteran players could overshadow the entire process.
Does anyone want to trade?
Conventional drafting wisdom is that it’s bad process to trade up for any player who isn’t a quarterback. So it’s no wonder that no one has made a big move up the board ahead of this draft that’s very light on elite quarterback prospects. According to ESPN, this is the latest into draft season the NFL has gone without a trade in the first round.
So will that change on Thursday night? Probably not when it comes to the top pick; the Titans seem set to take Cam Ward at no. 1. But there are a number of non-quarterback prospects who might be worth bucking tradition for, whether it’s Colorado’s two-way star, Travis Hunter (though a team might need to come all the way up to no. 2 for him); a tackle like Missouri’s Armand Membou; or Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. On Tuesday, ESPN reported that both the Browns and Giants were fielding calls for their picks in the top three.
In recent days, the Denver Broncos have been garnering buzz that they could try to move up from no. 20, but it seems much more likely that teams are looking to move back in this draft than give up capital to move up.
All I know is the lack of predraft trades has me yearning for that moment ESPN gets to flash its “TRADE” chyron across the screen for the first time.
Which team will be the wild card?
There’s always one team that brings chaotic energy to the draft, keeping the rest of the league and those of us watching from home on our toes. Last year, it was the Atlanta Falcons, who pulled off one of the most memorable “What the actual fuck are they doing?” moments in recent draft history when they took quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at no. 8, kicking off a very weird run of first-round quarterbacks.
This year, I’m looking at the Jaguars at no. 5 as a team that could shake things up. They’ve got a new general manager, James Gladstone, who was raised in the Les Snead school of unconventional scouting. While most mock drafts (including ours here at The Ringer) figure Gladstone will play it safe and take defensive tackle Mason Graham here—he’s a high-floor player who fills a major need—there’s been growing buzz from NFL insiders that the Jaguars could do something surprising, like taking either Jeanty or Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
But there are a couple more teams I’ll throw into wild-card consideration: the Saints (with a long-term quarterback need and a general manager who enjoys tremendous job security), the 49ers (holding 11 draft picks—tied for the most in the league—and in the middle of a pretty clear roster reset), and the Giants (a coach and general manager with almost no job security and a premium pick at no. 3). Let’s get weird, shall we?
Will Shedeur Sanders fall? And if so, how far?
The Colorado quarterback/son of Prime is one of the most intriguing prospects in years. He’s a good player—accurate, tough, a winner—but he lacks the elite athletic traits teams look for in first-round picks. Throughout this draft process, he’s been projected to go as high as the top three and to fall out of the first round completely. There is simply no consensus on him as a prospect or where he might land.
It does seem like a fairly safe bet by now, in the final days before the draft, that he won’t get selected with one of the first picks. The three quarterback-needy teams drafting with the first three picks no longer seem like they’re interested. The Titans are likely taking Ward; the Browns, who added Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco this offseason, could add a quarterback this draft, but not this high; and the Giants, who signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, feel like they’re in a great spot to take a franchise-altering defensive player and go back into the rookie quarterback pool in 2026.
Could the Saints, who are in the middle of a weird and increasingly messy situation with Derek Carr, who may or may not be dealing with a serious shoulder injury, take Sanders at no. 9? That seems like the only possible spot in the top 10, though it looks increasingly unlikely. Beyond New Orleans, there’s not a team with a clear quarterback need until the Steelers at no. 21.
At the very least, Mike Tomlin seems to be doing his part to try to make other teams think they’re interested in Sanders, who took an official visit to Pittsburgh this spring.
Of course, Tomlin might not be bluffing at all. The Steelers surely need to do something at quarterback soon, whether that’s drafting Sanders, finally convincing Aaron Rodgers to leave his Malibu beach house, or both. But let’s say the Steelers do pass on Sanders at 21. That’s when we’re officially on slide watch, and Sanders could be in play for a team looking to trade back into the latter half of the first round.
Other quarterbacks to watch as potential first-round picks are Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, the latter of whom accepted an invite to attend the draft in Green Bay. Last year, six quarterbacks were drafted in the first 12 picks. This draft feels like it’ll be much more like 2022, when just one quarterback (Pickett to Pittsburgh, whoops) went off the board in the first round.
What’s the deal with Aaron Rodgers?
Speaking of Rodgers, we’re all at least somewhat expecting him to find a way to make Thursday about himself, right?
Sure, he went on The Pat McAfee Show last week to try to clear up some misconceptions about his offseason, but really it was a chance to air his grievances about the end of his Jets tenure and convince people that he’s got a lot going on in his personal life right now, all right??? As if he couldn’t simply end all the speculation and media reports he claims to despise by deciding whether he’ll play for the Steelers in 2025 or retire.
Like it or not, there will be a Rodgers-sized cloud over this draft. He’s the only starting-caliber quarterback still looking for a new team (if we don’t count Kirk Cousins, but more on him in a minute), and what better way to steal some of that spotlight that he totally doesn’t want than by FaceTiming into McAfee’s YouTube stream on Thursday night?
Will Travis Hunter go to a team that will let him play both ways?
There’s no question that Hunter will be one of the first players picked on Thursday night. The real question is what comes next. The Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado has been clear throughout the draft process that he wants to play both wide receiver and cornerback in the NFL, just like he did in college.
It’s an admirable goal, and I’d love to see him pull it off. But whether or not it happens and, if so, to what degree will be decided by the team that drafts him.
Surely, he’ll be assigned a primary position. Will that be receiver or cornerback? He’s an elite prospect at both positions, so it will be a matter of team need and preference. Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters last week that he views Hunter primarily as a receiver—an indication of where Hunter would begin his career if the Browns do use the no. 2 pick on him. Giants general manager Joe Schoen last week declined to reveal where he’d like Hunter to play, should New York draft him at no. 3, though he said he wouldn’t be afraid to play Hunter on both offense and defense.
Ultimately, I’m less interested in which side of the ball Hunter is assigned to as a rookie than I am in whether his NFL coaches are creative and bold enough to find a way for Hunter to truly be a two-way player in the NFL.
“You obviously get a unicorn if you use him both ways,” Berry said.
What will Tom Brady do in his first draft as an NFL team owner?
I didn’t include the Raiders in my potential wild-card teams above, mostly because they’ve answered their big quarterback question with Geno Smith, and as a team with plenty of roster holes, there’s not a whole lot they could do that would come as a surprise. But there is certainly a case that there is no more interesting draft room leaguewide.
There’s Pete Carroll in his first draft in Las Vegas: an older, established coach seemingly uninterested in a long rebuild. There’s a first-time general manager in John Spytek. And then there’s Tom Brady: the NFL’s QB GOAT/Fox TV analyst/minority Raiders owner. It is not unusual that a team’s controlling owner has a seat in the draft room during the first round. It’s exceedingly rare for someone with a much smaller stake in the team to have a say in whom the team drafts. Of course, just about everything about Brady’s role as an owner of the Raiders has been unusual.
Carroll has a long history of drafting offensive linemen early (but with little success hitting on those picks), and we know he loves smart, physical defensive players. But you also don’t have to squint to picture Jeanty in the Marshawn Lynch role with Carroll’s new Raiders team. You’d think that Brady’s experience as a quarterback would also make him inclined to prioritize pass protectors or field-tilting receivers. We’ll have to wait till Thursday night to see whose voice is loudest.
Which veteran players should keep their phones on during the draft?
Rodgers isn’t the only player who could snag the spotlight on Thursday night. Draft weekend serves as an unofficial deadline for teams to get deals done with veteran players—this could be contract extensions (Lamar Jackson’s extension was the biggest story on the first day of the 2023 draft) or trades (see: Brown, A.J., traded during the first round in 2022).
On the contract front, Brock Purdy is the player to watch. The Athletic’s Mike Silver reported this week that Purdy and the 49ers have made “progress” toward a new deal that would pay 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant more than $50 million a year.
As far as trades, there are a number of players who could be on the move. That list includes Cincinnati edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who is locked in a contract stalemate with the team; Giants edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, a former first-round pick who could become expendable should New York draft Abdul Carter at no. 3; Dolphins defensive back Jalen Ramsey, who recently was granted permission to seek a trade; and Green Bay cornerback Jaire Alexander, who has been a trade candidate for a while because of his injury history and hefty contract.
And then there’s Cousins. The Falcons were the story of last year’s draft when they picked Penix barely a month after giving Cousins a $180 million contract. Penix has already supplanted Cousins as the team’s starter, so you’d think Atlanta would want to find a trading partner rather than have the disgruntled and highly paid Cousins as the backup. Is there a chance that one of the teams that still needs a veteran quarterback will look at the group of QB prospects and decide they’d rather have Cousins? Now that would be interesting.
