Already having happened a week ago, the 2025 NFL Draft left many fans in “shock and awe” from the first overall pick all the way to final pick at 257th overall.
Just like most major events in the offseason, there were bound to be winners and losers of the draft. This idea of who won or lost can vary depending on the person and who they root for. For example, a Titans fan may be more biased towards saying their draft is good over admitting the Texans or Colts had a good draft.
With all of that being explained, here are the three biggest winners of the draft through studying each team’s needs, where they picked certain players and how much they improved heading into rookie training camp. At the end of the article there will be a list with each not-mentioned teams’ draft grades.
Winners
Patriots, A+
- Picks:
- Round 1, Pick 4 – Will Campbell, OT – LSU
- Round 2, Pick 6 – TreVeyon Henderson, RB – Ohio State
- Round 3, Pick 5 – Kyle Williams, WR – Washington State
- Round 3, Pick 31 – Jared Wilson, C – Georgia
- Round 4, Pick 4 – Craig Woodson, S – California
- Round 4, Pick 35 – Joshua Farmer, DT – Florida State
- Round 5, Pick 8 – Bradyn Swinson, EDGE – LSU
- Round 6, Pick 6 – Andres Borregales, K – Miami
- Round 7, Pick 4 – Marcus Bryant, OT – Missouri
- Round 7, Pick 35 – Julian Ashby, LS – Vanderbilt
- Round 7, Pick 41 – Kobee Minor, CB – Memphis
Patriots QB Drake Maye was sacked left and right last year and had what most would consider subpar-to-bad weapons. Coming out of the draft, not only did the Patriots address the offensive line issue in drafting Campbell, but they also addressed the weapons problem by bringing in Henderson and Williams.
After adding veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses in free agency, the Patriots went out and drafted the LSU left tackle at pick four in hopes of shoring up the offense line and giving Maye more than half a second to throw each play.
Maye somehow made it work with ok-to-bad weapons last year, but clearly the Patriots saw that he needs better. They brought in a national champion running back in Henderson, who adds a good short game to the offense along with good pass blocking skills. They then drafted a reliable young wide receiver in Williams to add Maye another option in the receiving game.
Panthers, A+
- Picks
- Round 1, Pick 8 – Tetairoa McMillan, WR – Arizona
- Round 2, Pick 19 – Nic Scourton, EDGE – Texas A&M
- Round 3, Pick 13 – Princely Umanmielen, EDGE – Ole Miss
- Round 4, Pick 12 – Trevor Etienne, RB – Georgia
- Round 4, Pick 20 – Latham Ransom, S – Ohio State
- Round 5, Pick 2 – Cam Jackson, DT – Florida
- Round 5, Pick 27 – Mitchell Evans, TE – Notre Dame
- Round 6, Pick 32 – Jimmy Horn Jr., WR – Colorado
The Panthers’ biggest issue in 2024 was clearly the lack of pass rush from the defense. Instead of reaching on someone they may not have liked at pick eight, they decided to add more weapons for their red-hot young QB Bryce Young. Dave Canales wanted his own Mike Evans, and he got it by adding McMillian.
What is better than one first-round EDGE on day 2? How about two! Adding two young pass rushers at a much needed position gives this defense and nose tackle Derrick Brown some much needed life and hopefully more sacks in 2025.
Bears, A
- Picks
- Round 1, Pick 10 – Colston Loveland, TE – Michigan
- Round 2, Pick 7 – Luther Burden III, WR – Missouri
- Round 2, Pick 24 – Ozzy Trapilo, OT – Boston College
- Round 2, Pick 30 – Shemar Turner, DT – Texas A&M
- Round 4, Pick 30 – Ruben Hyppolite II, LB – Maryland
- Round 5, Pick 33 – Zah Frazier, CB – UTSA
- Round 6, Pick 19 – Luke Newman, OL – Michigan State
- Round 7, Pick 17 – Kyle Monangai, RB – Rutgers
Now while that winner does say “Bears,” the real winner here is Caleb Williams. Ben Johnson decided he wanted more weapons, so he went out and drafted not one, but two great weapons. Loveland and Burden both add great short to intermediate route runners and will serve as more security blankets for the young Williams.
Well, what about the OL? How about a 6’8 monster out of Boston College? Trapilo is the son of the late NFL Saints OG Steve Trapilo.
Then, in the late second, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said it was his turn, taking a violent DT in Turner who, while needs some refinement, adds that much needed violent natured pass rusher on the defensive line.
Remaining Teams Grades:
- Titans, A
- Jaguars, A-
- Giants, B+
- Browns, B
- Raiders, A
- Jets, A-
- Saints, B-
- 49ers, A
- Cowboys, A-
- Dolphins, D+
- Colts, B+
- Falcons, B-
- Cardinals, A-
- Bengals, C+
- Seahawks, A-
- Buccaneers, C
- Broncos, C-
- Steelers, B+
- Chargers, B
- Packers, B-
- Vikings, B-
- Ravens, A
- Lions, C+
- Commanders, C-
- Bills, B+
- Eagles, A+
- Chiefs, A+
- Texans, A
- Rams, B+
