Best 2025 NFL Draft options for teams competing for the No. 1 overall pick

The NFL’s annual race to the bottom has several contenders this season, with 11 teams posting three or fewer wins heading into Week 11.

Unlike last year, there is no consensus pot of gold on the other side of the failure rainbow. There are certainly elite players in the 2025 NFL Draft class, but none of them play the positions we typically see ranked No. 1. There’s no question about QB; the OT class is thin; the fringe group is very raw.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the teams leading the race for the No. 1 overall pick and see what makes the most sense for each of them. To use The Athletics NFL projection model, here are the eight teams likely to land at the top of the draft:

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Projected record: 5-12

Don’t rule out Georgia’s Mykel Williams pushing himself past Carter and into the top spot before this season is over – The Athletics Dane Brugler has Carter ranked as the No. 3 prospect and Williams No. 8 on his updated 2025 Big Board. But as it stands now, I’d probably go for Micah Parsons’ understudy in Happy Valley.

The Panthers don’t need to select another quarterback with that top pick — if that’s what they claim — because they just did that in 2023. Carolina needs to work on developing Bryce Young and its offensive line while also finding ways to add serviceable skill talent.

Defensively, Carolina needs to find a culture. That’s hard to do without impact players. Outside of Travis Hunter, there aren’t too many defensive doubters this year, but Carter is a total freak, very young (20 years old) and could be a mainstay here.

Projected record: 5-12

You have no idea how much I wanted to write Malaki Stark’s name here. New England needs safety, and Starks is one of the best prospects we’ve seen at that position in a long time. He can also play corner and is without a doubt the smartest defender in this class. He would change New England’s defense overnight. That said, the Patriots should also explain how they drafted a No. 1 overall safety.

Campbell, as the best OT in this class, should need less justification. (He could also be a capable guard at the next level, depending on his suitability and situation.) This isn’t an elite tackle class, but New England could use help in Drake Maye’s presence.

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Projected record: 5-12

It’s still a back-and-forth between Cam Ward and Sanders as QB1 for me at this point (the Brugler board has Ward, Jalen Milroe and Sanders ranked). In such an uncertain QB class, there’s no telling how things will ultimately play out, but Ward and Sanders have been steadily better than the rest of the crop this year. Ward has a better physical frame, but Sanders is now closer to being ready for action – as long as your team can help him.

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A current pro comp for Sanders could be a more athletic version of Bo Nix. Nix certainly made his fortune in Denver, but he is a very smart processor with good quarterback instincts. Sanders is very much in that arena, just with a better arm and more impressive movement skills.

It would be ideal to have a bridge QB on the roster with Sanders. But if the Raiders can surround him with a decent infrastructure, he could surprise everyone as a rookie.

Projected record: 5-12

I’m not even going to give the Browns another option, because they would have to move this pick – even if they can’t haul in an all-time catch and only fall down a few spots. The Browns have too many needs in too many areas, and on top of that, they are in an absolutely hellish situation with Deshaun Watson. They can’t add a QB at No. 1 in April, and Campbell is the only OT in this class worth thinking that highly.

Cleveland is back in the first round for the first time since the disastrous Watson trade. Rather than immediately putting themselves back behind the eight ball, the Browns should find a way to cash in on a (hypothetical) No. 1 pick for more capital.

Projected record: 5-12

It doesn’t seem like Will Levis is the answer to anyone’s prayers, but he is still only 25 years old and on a cheap contract. However, the Titans are in a strange place and things could get worse before they get better.

A preferable option to QB at No. 1: finding a decent veteran to compete with Levis while Tennessee builds out the rest of its roster. I’d love to say “draft Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan,” but Tennessee probably needs more than just a WR from a potential top spot.

However, Hunter is “more than just a wide receiver.”

The Titans are one of the worst teams in football. They also started the year with an older roster on average than the Lions, Eagles, Packers and Chiefs. Tackle could also be a choice here, but – again – this may not be the right class to tackle that spot.

Projected record: 5-12

I’m only going to do this under the condition that the Giants sign a bridge quarterback and let Ward sit and learn for a year. I’d say the same thing if Sanders was the match here. (Could Daniel Jones serve that purpose?)

Frankly, the Giants are a quarterback away from being saved. I’m afraid if they select Ward or Sanders in the top five, they’ll end up in two years where the Panthers and Colts are now: cold sweats in panic over why their rookie didn’t save them himself. No quarterback in this class is capable of putting a team on his back and carrying it into next year. If anyone hopes for that outcome, they will deserve what they get.

That being said, Ward has improved every year he has played, moving up the league level several times.

There’s no way I would draft a No. 1 QB this year, but I’m not in charge of a QB-desperate franchise that’s running out of options.

Projected record: 5-12

We’ll see how it goes (and obviously this job is still filled for now), but the Jaguars get my vote for the best opening of the impending 2025 NFL coaching cycle. That’s not just because the new coach would get Trevor Lawrence. There is also a fair amount of young talent to work with in this squad, And the Jaguars currently have the most 2025 draft capital in the league.

While the 2025 draft class doesn’t look elite by any means, for the Jaguars — an aimless group better than its record — it’s more than enough to turn their fortunes around.

Hunter, the best college player in America, could help finally give Lawrence a real weapon and/or establish the Jaguars’ defensive culture. It’s a win-win situation. Easy fit.

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Projected record: 6-11

Speaking of a team with no culture – what are the Saints anyway? Right now, they’re a team with an overpriced, low-to-mid-level starting quarterback surrounded by older players from a bygone era. They are also about to start over. Regardless of the direction this franchise takes with its coach (and perhaps its GM), New Orleans needs to get better at passing the ball on both sides of the line.

Graham’s ability to control the center of a defensive front in different ways from different spots is somewhat reminiscent of a younger (albeit better) Ndamukong Suh.

Graham’s motor is brutal, his grip strength could crush an apple, and his agility numbers at 320 pounds will be elite when it comes time to evaluate. Graham easily could have been the guy in high school voted “Most Likely to Wrestle a Real Bear.”

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(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The athletic; Photos of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Abdul Carter: Doug Murray, Julio Aguilar, Randy Litzinger / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)