2025 NFL mock draft: Solving each team's biggest need, with obvious choice for Tennessee Titans

2025 NFL mock draft: Solving each team’s biggest need, with obvious choice for Tennessee Titans

Posted by author February 17, 2025 NFL

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Let’s make the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft as easy as possible for the 32 teams picking.

The Tennessee Titans own the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, and like every other team in the league, they headed into the offseason with particular needs. Some teams have more needs than others. But starting with the Titans and heading all the way down to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, each team needs something.

So in this week’s mock draft, The Tennessean is granting every NFL team its biggest wish. Using the parameters below as our guide, we’ve selected each NFL team’s biggest weakness in 2024 that translates into a need for 2025.

Passer rating
Yards per carry after contact
Percentage of first downs gained through passes
Offensive pressure rate allowed
Defensive pressure rate
Rush yards allowed per carry
Defensive passer rating

Here’s what the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft would look like if teams drafted according to their biggest need.

NFL mock draft 2025

1. Tennessee Titans: Abdul Carter, DE/OLB, Penn State

Biggest need: Pass rush

Again, the Titans need help everywhere. But their pressure rate last season was the worst in the AFC and second-worst in the NFL. Carter has the potential to be a cornerstone-caliber edge presence and someone who immediately profiles as the best and most dominant havoc-creator the Titans have had in years.

2. Cleveland Browns: Cam Ward, QB, Miami

Biggest need: Quarterback

The Browns weren’t particularly good at anything on offense in 2024. But it all traces back to awful quarterback play. Ward doesn’t come into draft season with the same bona fides as previous QB1s, but he upgrades the Browns at the most important position from Day 1.

3. New York Giants: Will Campbell, OT, LSU

Biggest need: Offensive line

The Giants are another team with myriad needs. Quarterback, receiver and secondary help are all needed. But their offensive line continues to be a huge problem, and adding Campbell could at least help the front reorganize and get talent where it’s needed.

4. New England Patriots: Mykel Williams, DE/OLB, Georgia

Biggest need: Pass rush

Coach Mike Vrabel comes in and strengthens the unit he’s most familiar with. Sounds about right. Williams is a bit raw, but his talent can’t be missed, and that athleticism is the type of thing Vrabel should jump at the chance to harness.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travis Hunter, WR/DB, Colorado

Biggest need: Secondary

In this scenario, the Jaguars are drafting Hunter as a cornerback. Sure, he’ll be able to help out on offense as needed. But they need pass defense help like few other teams, and they would sprint to the podium for the opportunity to add Hunter in that unit alone.

6. Las Vegas Raiders: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

Biggest needs: Quarterback, run offense

There’s nothing stopping the Raiders from splurging here and replenishing their skill positions. But Sanders is the lightning rod they need to pull themselves out of years of national irrelevance. He doesn’t make Vegas the favorite in a division with Patrick Mahomes, but he gets people talking and takes over a room currently headlined by some of the league’s least productive and most forgettable passers.

7. New York Jets: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

Biggest needs: Quarterback, receiving game

The temptation will be high for the Jets to fill one of their biggest needs with whichever player they deem to be QB3, especially as Aaron Rodgers moves on. But rather than reach, the Jets insulate their future starter with another top-shelf receiving option to line up opposite Garrett Wilson.

8. Carolina Panthers: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

Biggest needs: Pass rush, run defense, secondary

The Panthers finished 32nd out of 32 teams in every defensive stat used in this exercise. Here’s an instance where they just go for the best defensive player available and put Graham in the middle alongside Derrick Brown, creating as stout of a tandem as exists in the league.

9. New Orleans Saints: Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas

Biggest needs: Receiving game, offensive line

The Saints opt for interior help rather than perimeter, even if there’s equal urgency with the two needs. Banks very well could end up being the first tackle off the board in this class, and the Saints plug him in as a blindside protector for years to come.

10. Chicago Bears: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss

Biggest need: Run defense

It’s a bit of a shock to see the Bears’ biggest need isn’t pass protection. By the standards used in this mock draft, it’s not even a top-three need. Instead, they replenish the trenches on the other side by snagging the former No. 1 recruit in the nation and letting him loose on run and pass downs.

11. San Francisco 49ers: Jalon Walker, DE/OLB, Georgia

Biggest need: Pass rush

Nick Bosa can’t do it all on his own. The 49ers go back to their roots here by loading up with more first-round defensive linemen. The pick easily could’ve been offensive line or wide receiver here, too, but the safest bet is the one that accentuates the 49ers’ strengths and best positions them to get back to the playoffs.

12. Dallas Cowboys: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

Biggest needs: Receiving game, run defense

Burden and CeeDee Lamb would make quite the duo. The Cowboys’ passing game took a dip with Dak Prescott hurt, but now he returns to full health with the best one-two punch he has had at receiver in years.

13. Miami Dolphins: James Pearce Jr., DE/OLB, Tennessee

Biggest need: Pass rush

Outside linebacker depth isn’t a huge concern for the Dolphins, especially if Chop Robinson continues to get better. But with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips coming off serious injuries and Emmanuel Ogbah headed for free agency, adding depth isn’t a bad idea. The fact that Pearce has the potential to be as good as any of those players listed is just icing.

14. Indianapolis Colts: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss

Biggest need: Quarterback

Look, maybe it’s too soon to give up on the Anthony Richardson experiment. But clearly something’s not working there. Dart represents a lifeboat if the Colts want to try something new, giving coach Shane Steichen a more traditional passer who still has mobility as needed.

15. Atlanta Falcons: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

Biggest need: Secondary

This has to feel like a dream scenario for the Falcons. A top-10 talent falls to them in the middle of the first round — and it’s a top-10 talent at their biggest position of need, at that. Johnson profiles as every bit Hunter’s equal at corner, and might even be better.

16. Arizona Cardinals: Mike Green, DE/OLB, Marshall

Biggest need: Pass rush

The Cardinals benefit from where this draft is deepest in first-round talents. Green doesn’t have the big-program name recognition of his peers, but his standout performance at the Senior Bowl has him up among the first-round projections.

17. Cincinnati Bengals: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

Biggest need: Run game

Given the way the Bengals’ defense played last year, this might feel like a luxury pick. But Bengals backs were dreadful in creating for themselves. Give quarterback Joe Burrow a self-starter like Jeanty to keep defenses honest, and the Bengals could benefit from the Saquon Barkley-to-Philadelphia or Derrick Henry-to-Baltimore caliber jump we saw last season.

18. Seattle Seahawks: Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan

Biggest need: Run defense

Seattle’s defensive line is far from a weakness. Linebacker is probably the bigger hole to fill here. But with Jarran Reed due for free agency, the Seahawks could stand to bring in a 340-pounder who coach Mike MacDonald should be familiar with from his time coaching and recruiting at Michigan.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Malaki Starks, SAF, Georgia

Biggest need: Secondary

Antoine Winfield Jr. is as good as any NFL safety playing today. Starks has the skills to reach that same caliber and the versatility to line up deep, in the box or in the slot. The Bucs’ defense gets scary in the back end with this addition.

20. Denver Broncos: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

Biggest need: Receiving game

Egbuka might go down as the best No. 2 receiver in college football history. He never reached the highs of teammates like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. or Jeremiah Smith, but he’s as dependable as they come. Now he gets to translate that dependability servicing star Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Josh Simmons, OL, Ohio State

Biggest need: Offensive line

Whoops, guess this makes it three straight years the Steelers go offensive line in the first round. Simmons’ experience at left and right tackle allows them to be creative with how they use 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu inside and out.

22. Los Angeles Chargers: Shemar Stewart, DL, Texas A&M

Biggest need: Run defense

Stewart is a massive presence (6-foot-5, 281 pounds), one who can just as easily play on the interior on pass downs as he can as a three-down perimeter rusher. The Chargers need more help against the run than the pass, but with edge rusher Khalil Mack headed for free agency, adding Stewart to the rush phase is a double asset.

23. Green Bay Packers: Nic Scourton, DE/OLB, Texas A&M

Biggest need: Pass rush

Few teams draft defensive players in the first round as consistently as the Packers. They go back to the well here and bolster their front seven with Scourton, who is more of a traditional pass rusher than his college teammate who went a pick before, but is definitely one with big upside.

24. Minnesota Vikings: Josh Conerly, OT, Oregon

Biggest need: Offensive line

The Vikings’ pass protection fell apart late in the season, and it wasn’t all that solid to begin with. Conerly helps mold this rebuild, whether he’s protecting Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy in 2025.

25. Houston Texans: Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama

Biggest need: Offensive line

Houston’s offensive line was arguably the league’s worst in 2024. Quarterback C.J. Stroud needs time, and Booker will help clean up the interior to allow Stroud a better view over the middle of the defense.

26. Los Angeles Rams: TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

Biggest need: Run game

Let’s let Sean McVay have some fun with this one. Remember how dynamic McVay’s offenses were when Todd Gurley was his feature back? Now McVay gets to pair Kyren Williams with Henderson, the do-everything dynamo out of Ohio State who can help McVay get back to devising the league’s most dynamic rushing attack.

27. Baltimore Ravens: Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas

Biggest need: Secondary, pass rush

The Ravens keep investing in young, rangy defensive backs by placing Barron in a developing secondary with cornerback Nate Wiggins and safety Kyle Hamilton. The rich keep getting richer — and deeper, too.

28. Detroit Lions: Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama

Biggest need: Run defense

It’s never been a surprise when the Lions draft a non-premium position high. Campbell helps strengthen the front seven further, as well as accentuate a reloaded roster primed for another crack at winning the NFC.

29. Washington Commanders: Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon

Biggest need: Run defense

A Washington defensive line built around Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Harmon becomes a nightmare for opposing offenses. After building around so much speed and firepower on offense, the Commanders tighten up the defense further.

30. Buffalo Bills: Tyleik Williams, DL, Ohio State

Biggest need: Run defense

The further we get into this draft, the more loose the term “need” gets. The Bills are as solid roster-wise as any team in the league, so they draft someone like Williams not because they need him as a Day 1 starter, but because replenishing talent in the trenches is always a good policy.

31. Kansas City Chiefs: Grey Zabel, IOL, North Dakota State

Biggest need: Run game

If the Super Bowl exposed anything, it’s how it was possible to make the Chiefs’ offense one-dimensional. Zabel has the skills to help out in pass protection up the middle but also to clear some holes in the run game to take pressure off Mahomes to make plays downfield every snap.

32. Philadelphia Eagles: J.T. Tuimoloau, DE/OLB, Ohio State

Biggest need: Pass rush

Yes, it’s a little funny to say the Eagles need pass rush help after what they just did to Mahomes in the Super Bowl. But that front seven isn’t as top-tier talented as every other position group on the roster. So they add some poised, professional play-making talent in Tuimoloau and add another dimension to Vic Fangio’s unit.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.