On April 26, the New England Patriots wrapped up the 2025 NFL Draft with their selection of Memphis cornerback Kobee Minor. The 257th pick concluded three whole days of franchise-altering decisions that will change the course of this NFL season and the ones that come after it.
The main storyline to emerge during the three-day event was the unprecedented draft fall of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. With each quarterback selection and prank phone call, the noise surrounding Sanders grew louder and louder until he was eventually selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.
The Sanders storyline was all Mel Kiper and every other draft analyst seemed to talk about, as plenty of other intriguing talking points were swept under the rug. With that being said, these are the overlooked winners and losers of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Winners: Young Quarterbacks
It was no surprise to see NFL general managers look to surround their young quarterbacks with as much talent as possible. However, the extent to which they supported their young signal callers was a mild surprise.
Drake Maye was the biggest winner out of anyone. The Patriots sat and picked Louisiana State University (LSU) offensive tackle Will Campbell with the fourth overall pick. After his selection, Campbell let Maye know that he would “fight and die to protect him with everything [he’s got].” The Patriots didn’t stop there, they followed up the Campbell pick with Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams and Georgia center Jared Wilson on day two.
Fellow 2024 draftee Caleb Williams was a big winner, too. The Bears missed out on Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. However, they were still able to grab Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III and Boston College offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo with their first three picks.
Plenty of other young quarterbacks got new, talented pass-catchers, too. Carolina’s Bryce Young and Green Bay’s Jordan Love were paired up with first-round wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Matthew Golden, respectively. Meanwhile, Iowa State receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will help Houston’s CJ Stroud.
Losers: Kansas City Chiefs Front Seven
The Chiefs will be fine this season. They still have Patrick Mahomes and are favorites to win the AFC West for a tenth straight season. However, each of their division rivals made massive upgrades to their rushing attacks that will give defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo headaches.
The Broncos selected the University of Central Florida (UCF) running back RJ Harvey after moving on from injury-prone Javonte Williams in the offseason. Harvey is small, but makes up for it with home run speed. His style will complement running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who will come in on passing downs.
JK Dobbins enjoyed a career-best season last year, but Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers still felt like there was room for improvement. The Chargers already signed Najee Harris in free agency, but doubled down during the draft by selecting North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton. Hampton’s finesse and Harris’s power can potentially be one of the league’s best tandems.
The Raiders probably made the biggest upgrades of them all. After being the worst rushing offense in the NFL last year, new General manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll pounced on the opportunity to select Heisman trophy runner-up and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick.
Drawing comparisons to Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Jeanty has the potential to be special. He’ll elevate the Raiders on his own, but Spytek was also able to snag offensive tackles Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant in the third round after trading down in the third round.
Winners: Long snappers
Special teamers get overlooked. They play a massive role in every NFL game and often make the difference during tight contests. However, while kickers and punters do get recognition every once in a while, long snappers don’t get the same treatment.
Most NFL fans probably don’t even know the long snapper’s name on their own team. That’s how bad it is. But it was nice to see the position get some love after the Patriots selected Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby in the seventh round. This ended a four-year drought for the position that hadn’t seen anyone get drafted since Thomas Fletcher and Camaron Cheeseman in 2021.
Losers: NCAA Division II and Small Conferences
The NFL has seen many Division II players have successful careers. Stars like Tyreek Hill, Austin Ekeler, Kyle Dugger and Matthew Judon are just a handful of former Division II players to have carved out successful careers in the NFL. However, in the 2025 NFL Draft, not a single Division II prospect was selected.
Meanwhile, the SEC and the Big Ten made up 150 out of 257 selections in the draft. In this new era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and conference realignment, the dominance displayed at the NFL draft by the power four conferences does not bode well for any group of five, FCS or Division II and III schools.
