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The 2025 NFL Draft order has been set at the top.
The Tennessee Titans have won the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft after a historic season of losing. The Titans (3-14) were the worst team in the NFL this season, setting a new NFL low for the worst record against the spread (2-15 ATS) by any team since 1970. The 14 outright losses tied for the most in franchise history.
After Tennessee, the Cleveland Browns will pick second. The New York Giants will pick third, followed by the New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
A team that goes 2-15 against the spread isn’t a quarterback away from suddenly being in the postseason. Tennessee needs help all over the field. And it remains to be seen if the Titans will commit any more time to Will Levis.
Levis was selected with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft after 2 seasons starting at Kentucky. The results in Tennessee have been mixed.
He was benched ahead of Tennessee’s Week 16 game for Mason Rudolph. At the time, his 12 interceptions and 17 total turnovers were both the most in the NFL. He rotated with Rudolph during Sunday’s 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans, ending the day 9-for-17 for 175 yards, a touchdown, and a fumble.
The Titans are 5-16 in 2 years with Levis as the starter. He threw 13 touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season, took 41 sacks, and averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt. In Sunday’s season finale, Levis finished with a QBR of 1.2. Out of 100. He ends the season with a QBR of 27.5.
Shedeur Sanders is an obvious and attractive option for the Titans. And it’s no surprise that he’s -110 to be the No. 1 overall pick at FanDuel.
The Colorado quarterback can hold the ball too long and take unnecessary sacks, but he is without a doubt the most polished quarterback in this class. He’s accurate, mobile enough, and tough as nails. He was sacked 94 times in 2 seasons behind the Colorado offensive line and still produced more than 7,000 passing yards and 64 passing touchdowns.
Among quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks during the 2024 season, only Mizzou’s Brady Cook and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt had a lower turnover-worthy play rate than Sanders. And those 2 quarterbacks had fewer big-time throws combined (24) than Sanders did (28). In fact, he had as many as Miami’s Cam Ward.
Sanders also ranked in the top 10 among qualified FBS quarterbacks in adjusted completion percentage and NFL passer rating, per PFF.
Ward is +155 to be the No. 1 overall pick (FanDuel), but it’s hard to see him jumping up over Sanders once the pre-draft process starts. Ward has a swagger about him, but he might not have the ceiling Sanders does. And he certainly doesn’t have the pedigree. Sanders will put butts in seats immediately. Casual fans who didn’t care about college football became Colorado fans — Colorado — because of the Sanders name.
Another option for Tennessee to consider is Penn State edge Abdul Carter — +5000 to go No. 1 at FanDuel. The comparisons to Micah Parsons will be in abundant supply as the draft approaches. Carter is No. 2 on Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest big board for ESPN and he’s likely to wow at the NFL Scouting Combine.
An effective pass-rusher off the edge can be one of the single most impactful players on the field. And the Titans haven’t drafted a pass-rusher in the first 3 rounds of a draft since 2018. If Tennessee wants to give Levis 1 more year to cook, Carter becomes an appealing choice.
Of course, there’s a third option, and it’s one the Titans have previously utilized.
When Tennessee secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, it traded that pick to the Rams, who selected Jared Goff.
In return, the Titans got the 15th pick, a pair of second-round picks, a third-round pick, a 2017 first, and a 2017 third. After a subsequent move, the Titans wound up with a haul that included Derrick Henry, Jack Conklin, and Corey Davis.
The Titans had just selected Marcus Mariota at No. 2 overall the previous year. While the quarterback situations aren’t entirely symmetrical, the Titans might be able to find a partner willing to move substantial capital for a quarterback.
After cutting Daniel Jones, priority No. 1 in the New York Giants’ war room is securing a new quarterback for the franchise to build around. The Browns are also desperate for an answer at the position as well.
If the Titans signal their desire to take Sanders at No. 1, what might the Giants do in order to avoid missing out on a quarterback in a 2-quarterback draft?
The quarterback class this season is weak. It is nothing like the 2024 quarterback class, and that’s a major reason for why we saw that run on quarterbacks during the first round of the 2024 draft. Sanders and Ward are the clear-cut top options and there’s a rather significant drop-off behind them. Jaxson Dart, while interesting, probably isn’t a top-2 pick.
New York might also be willing to wait on its quarterback spot if it feels it can obtain Colorado’s Travis Hunter or Michigan’s Mason Graham at No. 3.
For now, Sanders looks like the obvious answer to go No. 1 overall. He’d make sense for the Titans, and if there’s a team willing to move up to draft a quarterback, it won’t be for anyone other than the Colorado passer.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
