The 2025 NFL Draft is just over a week away, and with that, the peak of mock draft season is upon us. There are so many intangibles that make it nearly impossible to know how the first round will actually go, but there are trends to be followed that give us a pretty good idea of what might happen, especially with the earliest picks.
As of now, it appears that the Tennessee Titans are going to take Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, leaving Cleveland with a choice: take a quarterback, or take the best overall athlete in the class.
According to Todd McShay, they might find a way of doing both, and it would put two familiar faces together in The Land.
In his latest mock draft, McShay has the Browns taking Colorado’s Travis Hunter with the No. 2 pick, then trading up to the No. 15 pick—which belongs to Atlanta—and taking Shedeur Sanders to serve as the franchise’s next quarterback.
Hunter was a unanimous first-team All-American after logging 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, setting new CU records for receiving touchdowns while finishing second in receptions and third in receiving yards. On defense, he had 36 tackles, four interceptions, and 11 pass breakups, leading the FBS with 1,483 snaps, which included 86.8% of offensive and 82.9% of defensive snaps for the Buffaloes.
Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders was named the Johnny Unitas Award winner and the unanimous pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year this past season, earning him multiple first and second-team All-American selections.
He completed 74.0% of his attempts in 2024, tossing for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the year. Over his two seasons in Boulder, Sanders completed 71.8% of his passes for 7,364 yards with 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Both Hunter and Sanders are expected to go in the first round, and the same team landing the superstar duo from Colorado would be quite an impressive way to kick things off.
One more Big 12 athlete is projected to hear their name called in the first round, with Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan going to the Dallas Cowboys with the 12th pick.
