Here’s everything you need to know about the NFL for April 25
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
The NFL Draft got off to a wild start on Thursday and we can all thank the Cleveland Browns for that.
The Browns were so bad in 2024 that they earned the right to take the top talent in the draft (Travis Hunter) with the No. 2 overall pick, but they decided to throw that opportunity out the window in a trade with the Jaguars. Classic Browns.
The Browns’ trade with the Jaguars was one of the biggest surprises from the first round. In today’s newsletter, we’ll be taking a look at few more surprises from Thursday, plus we’ll be giving you a Day 2 mock draft. And since Shedeur Sanders is still available, we’ll go ahead and throw out some potential landing spots for him.
As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
1. NFL Draft winners and losers from Round 1
When it comes to the NFL draft, every fan likes to think that their favorite team came out a winner, but I have some bad news: that’s not the case. There were winners AND losers from the first-round of the draft and we’re going to cover them here.
Let’s check out two of the winners and two of the losers from Thursday:
WINNERS
- James Gladstone. In his first draft ever as an NFL general manager, the 34-year-old pulled off the most stunning move of the night when he made a deal with the Browns that gave Jacksonville the second overall pick.
- The Giants. The Giants are rarely listed on anyone’s winner’s list, but we have them here because they arguably had the best first round of any team in the draft by landing the best pass-rusher (Abdul Carter) and their possible QB of the future (Jaxson Dart).
LOSERS
- Shedeur Sanders. As recently as two weeks ago, Sanders was projected to be a top-10 pick, but as it turns out, he didn’t even get taken in the first round.
- Falcons front office. The Jaguars made the most shocking trade of the day in a good way. On the other end of the spectrum, the Falcons made the most shocking trade of the day in a bad way. After taking Jalon Walker at 15th overall, the Falcons wanted to trade back into the first round, so they made a deal with the Rams that involved sending a 2026 FIRST-ROUND PICK to Los Angeles. That’s right, they gave up a first-round pick to trade into the BACK of the first round.
We have a few more winners and a few more losers, and if you want to see the full list, you can do that here.
The 2025 NFL Draft continues from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Join us for live 2025 NFL Draft analysis from CBS Sports and an updating NFL Draft tracker. Also check out Pete Prisco’s NFL Draft grades for every first-round pick and subscribe to the “With the First Pick” podcast for nightly recaps, winners and losers and more.
2. Five biggest steals from Round 1
If you don’t like surprises, then you probably hated the first round of the NFL Draft because there were a ton of surprises. No one loves a good surprise more than CBSSports.com’s Tyler Sullivan, which is why we put him in charge of writing about the biggest surprises from Round 1.
With that in mind, here’s our list of the biggest surprises.
- Jaguars make blockbuster trade. “Initially sitting with the No. 5 overall pick, the Jaguars executed a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns to move up to the No. 2 overall pick, where they selected Heisman Trophy winner and dual-threat weapon Travis Hunter. The wide receiver/corner hybrid is a rare talent who is arguably the top player at both positions in this class.” Note: The Browns acquired the No. 5 overall pick, a second-round pick (No. 36), a fourth-round pick (No. 126) and a 2026 first-round pick from the Jags. On the other hand, Cleveland sent the second overall pick, a fourth-round pick (No. 104) and a sixth-round pick (No. 200) to Jacksonville.
- Colston Loveland taken over Tyler Warren. “Throughout the pre-draft process, Penn State’s Tyler Warren had been looked at as the top tight end in this class. Yes, some preferred Michigan’s Colston Loveland — like our own Mike Renner — as TE1, but Warren was the favorite on the betting markets to be the first player at his position drafted, while Loveland was in the +300 range to be the first tight end drafted as of Thursday morning. With the 10th overall pick, however, the Chicago Bears decided to bring Loveland aboard as the new tight end in Ben Johnson’s offense over Warren.”
- Giants trade back into first round to land Jaxson Dart. “Not only was New York able to get back up to No. 25 overall in a trade with the Texans, but they turned heads by forgoing the opportunity to select Shedeur Sanders and instead went with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Giants didn’t break the bank to trade up (No. 34, No. 99 and a 2026 third-round pick), but how Dart’s career pans out compared to Sanders’ will be a storyline linked to the franchise for the foreseeable future.”
If you want to see Sullivan’s full list of surprises, you can do that here. We also have a list of the biggest steals and you can see that here.
3. NFL Draft: Five biggest snubs of Round 1
Now that we’ve covered the biggest surprises, it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest snubs from the first round of the draft. Shedeur Sanders cracked our list, but we’re going to be covering him in our next section, so let’s take a look at the four other snubs from the first round not name Shedeur Sanders
- CB Will Johnson (Michigan). “Johnson is one of the best cover corners in this draft, having the IQ to find the football and make plays when in range. So how did Johnson fall out of Round 1? Johnson has a knee issue that’s been flagged by teams, and the longevity of the injury is the question going forward. He also suffered shoulder and toe injuries last season, and a hamstring injury kept Johnson out of Michigan’s Pro Day.”
- EDGE Mike Green (Marshall). “Off-field concerns are why Green fell out of Round 1. He had a sexual assault allegation while playing at Virginia and another sexual assault allegation in high school, which left teams questioning his character. Virginia even requested he sign a zero-tolerance policy.”
- S Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina). “He’s a Week 1 starter at safety, so why is Emmanwori still on the board? Safeties just don’t get taken high in the draft, as Malaki Starks was the only one taken in the first round at No. 27. Emmanwori is a good player, and should be an excellent bargain for the team that drafts him in the second round.”
- EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College). “Ezeiruaku finished top three in the FBS in both sacks (16.5) and tackles for loss (20.5). So why wasn’t he picked Thursday? The height and frame are concerns for teams, but the sack production is there.”
This list comes from Jeff Kerr, and you can check out his full explanation for each snub here.
4. Shedeur Sanders landing spots: Where will Colorado QB end up?
One of the biggest surprises of the first round was the fact that Shedeur Sanders didn’t get selected. Sanders didn’t attend the draft, but he did hold a draft party and spoke to his friends and family after the first round was over Thursday night.
“We all didn’t expect this, of course,” Sanders said of falling out of the first round. “But, I feel like with God, anything possible, everything possible. And I feel like this happened, you know, for no reason. All this is is of course fuel to the fire and under no circumstance we all know this shouldn’t have happened.”
So where is Sanders going to end up? Former NFL general manager Ran Carthon has three potential landing spots in the second round for the Colorado quarterback.
- Browns. The Browns need a quarterback and they have two of the first four picks in the second round, so they seem like the obvious candidate. The Browns are currently the betting favorite to land Sanders, but things could get awkward if Cleveland decides to pass on him TWICE in the second round.
- Raiders. The Raiders currently have the fifth pick in the second round (37th overall) and Carthon named them as a potential target for Sanders. Yes, the Raiders have Geno Smith, but the Raiders can get out of his contract after just one year if they have a QB waiting in the wings. Sanders has a relationship with Tom Brady and he seems to like Las Vegas, so this could certainly be a fit.
- Saints. If the Browns and Raiders both pass on Sanders, the Saints will be lurking at 40th overall. With Derek Carr’s future up in the air due to an injured shoulder, the Saints are in desperate need of a quarterback. It won’t be surprising if the Saints target a QB on Day 2 of the draft, but will it be Sanders? Other quarterbacks out there include Jalen Milroe, Tyler Shough, Will Howard and Kyle McCord.
The second day of the draft isn’t always must-see TV, but it will definitely be worth watching tonight just to see where Sanders ends up.
5. Day 2 mock draft: Browns pass on Shedeur Sanders
If you thought the end of the first round meant there would be no more mock drafts, you were wrong: We have another mock draft for you to read.
After the first round ended last night, Chris Trapasso put on a pot of coffee and then stayed up through the night putting together his mock draft for the second round.
With that in mind, let’s check out the top-10 picks from his mock:
- 33rd overall — Panthers (via Browns): CB Will Johnson (Michigan)
- 34th overall — Texans (via Giants): EDGE Nic Scourton (Texans A&M)
- 35th overall — Titans: WR Luther Burden III (Missouri)
- 36th overall — Browns (via Jaguars): S Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina)
- 37th overall — Raiders: QB Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)
- 38th overall — Patriots: EDGE Mike Green (Marshall)
- 39th overall — Bears: RB TreyVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)
- 40th overall — Saints: CB Trey Amos (Ole Miss)
- 41st overall — Bears: EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College)
- 42nd overall — Jets: WR Tre Harris (Ole Miss)
This mock also has Jalen Milroe going to the Seahawks with the 50th overall pick.
Trapasso actually put together a multi-round mock that also covers the third round, and if you want to see how it all plays out, be sure to click here. We’ve also got a full list of the 50 best available players heading into Day 2 and you can check that out here.
6. Extra points: NFL schedule release set for May
It’s a busy time in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that’s happening, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- NFL schedule is coming May 14. The release of the 2025 NFL schedule is less than three weeks away. During the NFL Draft on Thursday, the league announced that the schedule will be coming out on Wednesday, May 14. That’s when the full 272-game schedule will be released. We’ve got more details here.
- Lions pick up fifth-year options for two stars. The Lions have decided to exercise the fifth-year option for both Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams, according to ESPN. Teams have until May 1 to pick up the option on any first-round player from the 2022 NFL Draft. It was a no-brainer for the Lions to pick up Hutchinson’s option, but the decision might not have been as easy with Williams. The receiver has already been suspended twice in three seasons and he unfollowed the team on social media this week, which led to some trade speculation. With the Lions picking up his option, it will be interesting to see if that mends things with Williams.
- Why the Eagles traded up one spot at the end of the first round. The Eagles had the 32nd pick in the draft and they ended up trading up ONE spot to 31st to grab Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. The Eagles sent a fifth-round pick and the 32nd pick to Kansas City to make the trade happen. So why move up one spot? Eagles GM Howie Roseman said they made the deal because Campbell “was a top-10 player” on their big board.
- Giants tried to get the No. 1 pick. The Giants made a massive offer to the Titans in an attempt to trade up to the first overall pick. The Giants apparently offered their 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick and multiple other picks in an effort to move up just two spots. The deal didn’t happen, though, because the Titans were set on getting Cam Ward. We’ve got more details on the Giants’ proposal here.
- Adrian Peterson arrested for DWI. The former Vikings star was arrested early Friday on a charge of fourth-degree DWI. Peterson attended a team draft event Thursday night and then was arrested just hours later. According to the Minnesota Star-Tribune, Peterson blew a .14, which is well above the legal driving limit of .08.
