The NFL Draft has become one of the biggest events of the yearly sporting calendar in the US, even though there is no on-field action, no footballs thrown or touchdowns scored.

NFL Draft 2025 quick tips

• Shedeur Sanders to be selected in the top five – 17/4 with bet365
• Matthew Golden to be selected in the top ten – 22/1 with Paddy Power
• TreVeyon Henderson to be selected in the first round – 11/10 with Sky Bet
• Cam Ward, Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, Will Campbell & Mason Graham to be the first five picks, in that order – 12/1 with Sky Bet
• An offensive lineman to be Mr Irrelevant – 4/1 with bet365

Last year, it was watched by over 34 million people on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC and attended by a record-breaking crowd of 275,000 on night one. Viewership in the UK is on the rise too thanks to Sky Sports’ showing the entire thing on its dedicated NFL channel, plus several buildup and reaction shows ahead of, and throughout, the weekend.

On the surface, it sounds like the most tedious television imaginable – a man walks up to a podium, announces a player’s name, that player emerges on stage or is seen celebrating at home, and then we wait several minutes for the next one. Behind the curtain, however, is where the real drama is unfolding. 32 teams battle to secure the top college talents in the nation while analysts dissect all the speculation, strategies, smokescreens and thought processes behind every pick, or discuss why a certain player wasn’t picked.

For fans of football (the round ball variety) in this country, imagine transfer deadline day but with the same pool of players available to every team – with no transfer fees or budgets involved – and seeing everything play out very publicly. There are cameras inside each team’s ‘war room’ as well as the ‘green room’ where all the highest-rated prospects wait anxiously for the call, and even inside some players’ homes. The gathering hordes of fans in attendance, and their fancy dress, are also an obvious highlight as well as the guest appearances seen on days two and three!

There’s never a shortage of storylines as the three-day marathon is virtually guaranteed to throw up shocking twists and turns, as some players go unexpectedly early or slip down the board. The general managers and recruitment staff of all 32 teams are under intense pressure to build a roster capable of challenging for the Super Bowl next season and, with only a handful of selections each, it simply cannot go exactly as planned for all of them. 

How the NFL Draft works

All 32 teams in the NFL are assigned picks in each of the seven rounds, according to how well they performed in the season just finished. The team with the worst record goes first, and the Super Bowl winner waits until last. This year, it’ll be the Tennessee Titans getting the ball rolling. Teams can, however, trade picks and this often creates the biggest drama on draft night. A team desperately wanting a particular player can call another team higher up in the order, offering multiple picks to jump up and secure their guy. 

Often, it’s quarterbacks who are the most aggressively pursued players as their performance has a huge bearing on whether a team wins or loses. Many of the most famous faces in the sport past and present have been quarterbacks – think Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Pass rushers, wide receivers and cornerbacks are also regarded to be ‘premium’ positions which teams will covet. Last year, for example, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to grab corner/safety hybrid Cooper DeJean, who scored a ‘pick six’ in their dominant Super Bowl victory in February. It’s fair to say that one paid off!

They can also do this throughout the year too, trading picks in exchange for players to provide an immediate boost to their championship hopes during a season. This is why some teams may enter the draft with relatively few selections and some may have several. This year, the Minnesota Vikings only have four picks and the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers each have 11. The Vikings may therefore elect to trade down to gain picks and the Ravens and 49ers may package some of theirs to climb up the board. 

As they all prepare to go ‘on the clock’ on Thursday night, here is our guide as to how you can make the best selections in the betting markets.

Shedeur Sanders could still be a top 5 pick

A few months ago, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was regarded to be neck and neck with Cam Ward as the best signal caller in the class and therefore a shoo-in to be selected in the top five. 

As happens with some prospects every year though, his stock around the league is believed to have fallen following the scouting combine. The New York Giants, picking third and one-time potential suitors, have secured themselves in the short term having signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and are no longer desperate for a QB. 

The Tennessee Titans’ front office tried to throw the rest of the league a curveball by suggesting they would take a “generational talent” with the first pick. At the time, people were led to believe this wouldn’t be either of the quarterbacks as Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter are viewed as unicorns at their respective positions. Given they made no effort to land a veteran in free agency, however, they are surely selecting Ward on Thursday night.

The Cleveland Browns, picking second, also need a starting quarterback given Deshaun Watson is set to miss the whole 2025 season after tearing his Achilles in January. According to the latest mock drafts and bookies’ odds, however, it is believed their eyes are firmly on Sanders’ college teammate Hunter – who, uniquely, plays as both a wide receiver and a cornerback.

In the leadup to the 2023 draft, there were rumours going round that the Houston Texans were in fact not going to take C.J. Stroud. I still wouldn’t rule it out. Despite picking second, the Browns have a solid roster and their terrible 2024 season owes a lot to Watson’s poor play before his injury. Sanders may not be an elite prospect, but he may be good enough to propel the team into the playoff conversation.

Unlike last year’s class which saw six quarterbacks selected in the first round, and three-in-a-row to kickstart proceedings, this year only Ward and Sanders are believed to be worth the gamble. Given the scarcity, it also wouldn’t be shocking if a team traded up for Sanders. The New England Patriots, at four, selected one of those six QBs last year – Drake Maye – and may therefore be willing to deal with a team making them a lucrative offer – the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints, perhaps? 

Sanders is currently 17/4 to be a top five pick, and 15/1 if you’re feeling a bit bolder and have him going number two. It’s worth a punt.

Pick Shedeur Sanders to go in the first five picks at 17/4 with bet365

Who could sneak into the top 10?

After the first few picks, you’ll notice a greater discrepancy between mock drafts and a wider gap in the bookies’ odds between clusters of players. Naturally, there are always around five to ten names who stand out each year but after that, there is little to separate the rest of the prospects who’ll be snapped up in round one. 

Positional needs for each of the teams selecting, and how each scouting department ranks players within those positions, comes into effect. A team shopping for a wide receiver may, for instance, be looking for a tall, contested catch target rather than a short, speedy threat – but the best receivers in the class might not be of that type! That said, I’ve spotted some potentially great team-player fits which could fall perfectly into place within the top 10 selections.

The Cowboys have been routinely linked with Texas receiver Matthew Golden in most mocks – including those written by NFL.com experts Chad Reuter, Lance Zierlein and Daniel Jeremiah. They pick 12th, so it would only take a small trade package – just their third round pick, potentially – to jump a couple of spots. Golden is 22/1 with Paddy Power to be selected in the top 10 – great value!

Another player I could see teams falling in love with is Texas A&M pass rusher Shemar Stewart. His skillset is fairly reminiscent to that of Travon Walker who, out of nowhere, became the first overall pick of the 2022 draft. Stewart is just as polarising but it only takes one team to view him and his raw traits as worthy of a top 10 pick. Who that might be is less clear. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints have multiple holes to fill but analysts have, as a result, touted them with several different players. Paddy Power have Stewart at 5/1 to be taken in the top 10.

In the last few days, Omarion Hampton’s name has been rising up in mocks. The North Carolina running back is deemed by many to be second only to Ashton Jeanty at his position in this class, but the gulf between the two has been a lot wider until very recently. Jeanty is nailed on to go in the top 10, whether that’s to the Las Vegas Raiders at 6, the Chicago Bears at 10 or someone else trading up for him. Therefore, if Jeanty goes to Vegas, Chicago may turn to Hampton. That’s certainly what Bucky Brooks thinks in his latest Mock Draft 3.0! Paddy Power are offering 12/1 on Hampton to be a top 10 selection. 

Back an NFL team to make a Golden selection in the top 10 at 22/1 with Paddy Power

Other possible first round picks

Jaxson Dart seems to be the consensus third best quarterback and while most analysts don’t rate him as a first-round prospect, the reality is that due to being a QB, a team will likely “throw a dart” at the board and see if it sticks. The most likely scenario is that someone trades into one of the last couple of picks on night one so that they also secure a fifth-year option on his rookie deal (draftees come with a four-year contract by default). The bookies, however, have seemingly cottoned onto this and are pricing him at around 1/6 or 1/7. 

Having seen how the Kansas City Chiefs have lost Super Bowls against the Philadelphia Eagles this year and also to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2021, their focus should be on upgrading their offensive line. In terms of left tackles – i.e. those who would protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side – Josh Conerly Jr from Oregon may be the best option left by pick 31, where the Chiefs are selecting. I would expect fellow tackles Kelvin Banks Jr and Josh Simmons to come off the board in the 15-25 range and Will Campbell and Armand Membou are expected to go before that. Conerly Jr is 4/6 with Sky Bet to be selected on night one.

Another name I’m watching is TreVeyon Henderson, one of two running backs from the national champions of college football, Ohio State. Henderson displays blistering acceleration and an ability to score on any rushing attempt, akin to Saquon Barkley. Very few mock drafts have had him going in the first round, yet his odds are fairly short – but still decent value. SkyBet have him at 11/10. 

Our chances of landing this one may improve dramatically if Omarion Hampton goes early, as noted above, and teams get a hankering for running backs after the season Barkley (and others) have just had. The position is certainly being looked at more favourably throughout the league than it was a couple of years ago.

Bet on TreVeyon Henderson to be in the running for a first round selection at 11/10 with Sky Bet

My top 5 in order

Sky Bet are also offering a market for those who feel they can predict the first five selections in the correct order. Cam Ward is the first name to appear in every single combination of these and it seems inevitable that he will be a Titan. It’s then expected that Travis Hunter is selected by the Browns, leaving Abdul Carter for the Giants at 3.

The Patriots were being linked with receiver Tetairoa McMillan earlier in the draft cycle but now experts seem fairly aligned that they will take the most polished offensive lineman available – namely, Will Campbell of Michigan. Mason Graham, also of Michigan, and the Jaguars has been deemed a fit for several months.

It’s interesting, however, that swapping Hunter and Carter around drastically changes the odds – from 6/4 to 12/1. And I don’t think the Browns selecting Carter is out of the question. Sure, they have the greater need for what Hunter brings, but pairing Carter with Myles Garrett to create the most deadly pass rush duo in the NFL sounds very enticing. If that happens, the Giants wouldn’t think twice about taking Hunter. They wouldn’t trade down or select anyone else.

There’s a chance someone leapfrogs the Raiders for Ashton Jeanty, or perhaps the Raiders themselves trade up to prevent that. However, a top five of Ward, Carter, Hunter, Campbell and Graham at 12/1 sounds like a great price to me.

Back my top 5 of Ward, Carter, Hunter, Campbell, Graham at 12/1 with Sky Bet

Mr Irrelevant

This is the title ‘awarded’ to the 257th and very last selection of the draft. While it may sound like a cruel joke, the intention is actually the opposite. Former NFL wide receiver Paul Salata first coined the term in 1976 and went on to set up an Irrelevant Week of festivities to celebrate the player. 99% of all players in college football don’t make it to the professional game, of course, so to be selected at all is a great achievement.

In recent years, the most notable Mr Irrelevant is undoubtedly Brock Purdy from 2022 who not only displaced Trey Lance as the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback – whom the team traded up to pick at third overall the year prior – but also led his team to the Super Bowl and very nearly won it.

There is of course no way of predicting an exact player but some bookies are allowing bettors to take a punt on which position they think Mr Irrelevant will be. The favourite this year seems to be defensive lineman or ‘edge’ rusher, perhaps owing to the sheer number of draft-eligible players at that position – this is 16/5 at bet365. Offensive lineman is also a good shout, given that this essentially covers three positions (tackle, guard, centre) and teams obviously have to line up with five at all times and will always need depth. This is priced at 4/1 with bet365.

The longest odds, 25/1, are for the special teams positions – kicker, punter and long snapper. Given that teams can just wait until after the draft to sign these up as undrafted free agents, it makes little sense to use the last actual pick on one of these.

Bet on an offensive lineman to be drafted as Mr Irrelevant at 4/1 with bet365

How to follow the NFL Draft

Here’s everything you need to know about round one (night one).

Date: Friday 25th April
Time: 01:00am BST
Venue: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Where to watch: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix

Rounds two and three are on Friday and will start an hour earlier (at midnight on Saturday at UK time) and rounds four to seven are on Saturday starting at 5pm.

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