NFL mock draft: Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders slides, three RBs land in first round

For the first time in the common draft era, every team enters the first round of the NFL draft holding their first-round pick. Still, uncertainty abounds, especially after Tennessee at No. 1. Here’s our best guess at how it plays out on Thursday night in Green Bay.

1. Tennessee Titans — QB Cam Ward, Miami: The consensus has moved this way over the past month and the Titans have shown no signs of going a different direction. Ward is a good player with real upside who also might have been the seventh quarterback taken last year.

2. Cleveland Browns — WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado: When you’re picking this high in a weak quarterback year, you go for impact. That’s the Buffs’ Heisman Trophy winner. Maybe against the grain here, but it would be great to see Hunter play corner full time and work in some receiver rather than vice versa.

3. New York Giants — OLB Abdul Carter, Penn State: Like Cleveland, the Giants need a long-term answer at quarterback. Like Cleveland, they pass at the top of the draft. Instead, they take a guy who wreaks havoc off the edge and has all the traits of an elite edge rusher.

4. New England Patriots — OT Will Campbell, LSU: The Pats have their quarterback in Drake Maye and a coach in Mike Vrabel. There’s plenty of time for weapons later, but here’s a blindside protector for Maye.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars — RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State: New coach Liam Cohen and GM James Gladstone could go defense here… or they could get Trevor Lawrence, perhaps the best offensive playmaker in the class.

6. Las Vegas Raiders — OT Armand Membou, Missouri: The Raiders landed QB Geno Smith this offseason and now give him an upgrade on the perimeter. They’d have loved to get Jeanty here, but a road-grading tackle will work, too, for new head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek.

7. New York Jets — TE Tyler Warren, Penn State: New Jets GM and former Broncos lieutenant Darren Mougey undoubtedly learned from Denver’s recent roster build and could look to the trenches, but instead swings big at tight end. Warren is a beast — huge catch radius, ability to win in traffic and tough to tackle after the catch.

8. Carolina Panthers — DL Mason Graham, Michigan: Graham has a mini fall through no fault of his own and ends up with former Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who needs help… pretty much everywhere. Graham would look good next to Derrick Brown up front.

9. New Orleans Saints — WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona: The Saints have quarterback questions with Derek Carr likely out for the year, but they pass on Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart here in favor of a big, physical receiver who can be a difference-maker right away.

10. Chicago Bears — OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas: New coach Ben Johnson has made the offensive line a priority since arriving in the Windy City and that continues with a battle-tested, talented tackle. Chicago’s current starting left tackle is Braxton Jones. Banks could push for the job and provide quality depth from the jump if nothing else.

11. San Francisco 49ers — OLB Jalon Walker, Georgia: The 49ers need a big draft after an offseason of attrition. Walker isn’t the ideal size for an edge rusher, but the talent and production are undeniable. He’d fit the temperament coordinator Robert Saleh wants to play with.

12. Dallas Cowboys — WR Matthew Golden, Texas: Dallas gets a bit unlucky that the top back and top receiver are off the board, but they stay in-state and land a blazer in Golden. The talented pass-catcher ran 4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash and has upside.

13. Miami Dolphins — CB Jahdae Barron, Texas: The Dolphins are trying to trade Jalen Ramsey and need help in the secondary, even without that consideration. Barron is versatile, can play inside or out and would immediately be a player to try to build around.

14. Indianapolis Colts — TE Colston Loveland, Michigan: The Colts are one of the teams that have been tied to tight ends — Denver is another — for months. In this case, they get a crack at a big, fast, talented receiver in Loveland. He can be an immediate impact player, assuming a shoulder injury is under control.

15. Atlanta Falcons — OLB Mykel Williams, Georgia: The Falcons have widely been tied to edge rushers. Perhaps they’ll look right down the road to Athens and land Williams, who is 6-5 and 267 pounds and has big upside.

16. Arizona Cardinals — DL Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M: The Cards take a big swing with Stewart, who is as talented as any pass-rusher in the class but doesn’t have the production to match. Just 4.5 sacks in three college seasons.

17. Cincinnati Bengals — DL Walter Nolen, Ole Miss: Another high-upside defensive lineman, Nolen is explosive and disruptive as a pass-rusher. After paying their top two receivers $70 million a year this offseason, Cincinnati may need to go all defense in this draft.

18. Seattle Seahawks — OL Grey Zabel, North Dakota State: Mike MacDonald’s team needs help across the offensive line and Zabel is the latest high-quality player out of NDSU. He could play any number of spots, including center and both guard spots.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — ILB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama: The Bucs have Lavonte David back for another season, but Campbell is a sideline-to-sideline player who can be the future in the middle of Todd Bowles’ defense.

20. Denver Broncos — RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State: Sean Payton and George Paton could address running back later, but Henderson fits everything they want. He’s a home run hitter in the run game, dynamic pass-catcher and force in pass protection. True three-down capability.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers — QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: The Steelers may have to move around the board if they want to ensure they get the quarterback they want, but in this rendition, Sanders falls to them. Now, will he learn for a season under Aaron Rodgers?

22. Los Angeles Chargers — RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina: The Chargers and Broncos could each be interested in backs or tight ends. In this case, Jim Harbaugh lands the talented Hampton, who has three-down capability but is more of a hammer than Henderson.

23. Green Bay Packers — DL Derrick Harmon, Oregon: The Packers are notorious for taking athletic big men in the first round and Harmon becomes the latest. Versatile enough to play up and down the line of scrimmage and explosive enough to make an impact right away.

24. Minnesota Vikings — CB Will Johnson, Michigan: This looks like a coup for the Vikings. If Johnson hadn’t been limited last fall and this spring by injury, he might have been long gone by now. If he gets healthy, he can be one of the bright young corners in the NFL.

25. Houston Texans — WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State: Sure, the Texans need offensive line help. But imagine how happy C.J. Stroud will be to land Egbuka, with whom he played in college. Egbuka is OSU’s all-time leading receiver and had his best year with Stroud in 2022.

26. Los Angeles Rams — S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina: The Rams land a physical marvel and potential early impact defender in the 6-3 safety from South Carolina. Emmanwori has the frame and physical talent to be a unique defensive weapon.

27. Baltimore Ravens — DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan: The Ravens sit near the bottom of the first round every year and just collect the talent that comes their way. Grant could go to the Chargers, too, given Harbaugh’s familiarity, but in this case, he becomes a key cog on a defense that needs fresh blood.

28. Detroit Lions — OLB Mike Green, Marshall: If teams are comfortable with Green’s off-field status — he’s denied two allegations of sexual assault — he may not be around this late. As a player, Green is a disruptive pass-rusher who had 17 sacks in 2024 for the Herd.

29. Washington Commanders — OLB Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College: Ezeiruaku has a wide array of moves to get to the quarterback. He’s just OK against the run, but he can be a difference-maker and the Commanders need pass-rush punch.

30. Buffalo Bills — S Malaki Starks, Georgia: The Bills need reinforcements in the secondary and Starks is a heck of a find late in the round. He’s versatile and accomplished in college, earning freshman All-America in 2022 and first-team All-America the past two seasons.

31. Kansas City Chiefs — OT Josh Simmons, Ohio State: Everything comes up Chiefs. Simmons would not be around this long were it not for a knee injury that ended his season early. K.C. can be patient with him and have it pay off big in the long run.

32. Philadelphia Eagles — OLB Nic Scourton, Texas A&M: The Super Bowl champs reload on the edge after losing Josh Sweat in free agency. Scourton racked up 10 sacks in 2023 at Purdue and had five last fall.

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