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The AFC made waves in the 2025 NFL Draft. Of course, the Tennessee Titans got things started with the selection of Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, but there was bedlam right after that with the Jacksonville Jaguars pulling off a blockbuster trade to land Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall. And that was just the start of the madness.
While that was certainly an eye-popping one-two punch to begin the three-day spectacle, the biggest story of the 2025 NFL Draft surrounded Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Once thought to be a possible top-five pick, Sanders endured one of the steepest falls in recent memory, but still found his way into the league and in the AFC. At long last, the Cleveland Browns stopped Sanders’ fall with the 144th pick in the fifth round. Now, he heads to northeast Ohio to prove his naysayers wrong and claw his way to a possible starting job.
It was a seismic few days for the entire NFL, but especially the AFC, which seemed to be at the center of some of the biggest moves of the weekend. Below, we’re going to dive into the conference and identify each team’s best, worst and most interesting draft selection.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills
Best pick: Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky. Buffalo’s first pick of the draft was stellar, bringing in Hairston to help bolster the secondary. The Bills were in the bottom half of the league in yards per attempt allowed in 2024, and were abysmal on third down, allowing opponents to convert 44.5% of the time on the key down (third worst in the NFL). Hairston is billed as a speedy piece who should be able to come in right away and make an impact.
Worst pick: Jackson Hawes, TE, Georgia Tech. Hawes was the Bills’ final pick of the fifth round, but doesn’t fill a massive need with Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox on the depth chart. The Georgia Tech product didn’t put up eye-popping receiving numbers and should primarily be looked at as a blocking tight end at the moment.
Most interesting pick: Landon Jackson, EDGE, Arkansas. Jackson, Buffalo’s third-round pick, is extremely athletic and is coming into the NFL after a productive career at Arkansas. He posted back-to-back seasons with 6.5 sacks and has upside to be a key figure off the edge with the right development.
Miami Dolphins
Best pick: Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan. Using the 13th overall pick on a nose tackle is a little expensive, but Grant is a force on the interior, which fills a much-needed hole along Miami’s defense.
Worst pick: Jonah Savaiinaea, OG, Arizona. This is more about the cost it took for Miami to climb up to No. 37 overall to select Savaiinaea. The Dolphins gave up their own second, a third and a fourth in order to move up. He fills a need, but now has loftier expectations considering the price it took to get him.
Most interesting pick: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas. The Dolphins need high-caliber quarterbacks behind Tua Tagovailoa, given his injury history. Last season, they whistled past the graveyard and left the backup QB roles barren. Now, they bring in a former five-star recruit in the seventh round who has intriguing upside as a developmental project.
New York Jets
Best pick: Armand Membou, OT, Missouri. Membou fits exactly what the Jets needed along the offensive line. The Missouri product can remain at his right tackle position, and New York now has its bookend tackles with Membou and Olu Fashanu for the foreseeable future.
Worst pick: Arian Smith, WR, Georgia. New York needed to add another wide receiver, but it should’ve happened earlier in the draft. Smith is extremely athletic and may see time, but could be asked to bite off a little more than he can chew out of the gate. He dealt with some drops last season.
Most interesting pick: Mason Taylor, TE, LSU. Taylor, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame pass rusher Jason Taylor, has a fascinating opportunity in front of him. He’s one of the youngest prospects in this draft and is a big target for quarterbacks. He’ll help fill the shoes of Tyler Conklin, who left in free agency. Conklin averaged 82 targets over the last three years, which are now up for grabs for Taylor.
New England Patriots
Best pick: Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State. New England has struggled drafting wide receivers, but credit to the team for continuing to take at-bats. This year, the Patriots plucked Williams, who is a great route-runner and has serious speed. His ability to separate after the catch is something this team has been lacking for quite a while.
Worst pick: Craig Woodson, S, Cal. The fourth round felt a touch too early for Woodson, but he has ideal size and speed to play the position at the NFL level.
Most interesting pick: Will Campbell, OT, LSU. All the pre-daft talk was surrounding Campbell’s arm length and whether or not that’d force him to kick inside. The Patriots see him as their left tackle of the future, and we’ll soon find out if they are right.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Best pick: Teddye Buchanan, LB, Cal. Fills a need at linebacker and comes to Baltimore with great instincts and high energy.
Worst pick: Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall. Productive player in college, but comes to Baltimore with a lot of off-the-field baggage, which contributed to his fall.
Most interesting pick: Tyler Loop, K, Arizona. Could Loop’s selection in the sixth round signal that Justin Tucker’s time with the team is running out?
Cincinnati Bengals
Best pick: Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson. Carter will be vying for starting reps sooner rather than later. A do-it-all linebacker who can hold his own in coverage and attack the quarterback.
Worst pick: Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M. Stewart was Cincinnati’s top pick, but it comes with some risk. Stewart projects to become a top-tier pass rusher, but is still raw as a prospect. Given the Super Bowl window the Bengals are in, they ideally would’ve liked someone a bit more polished to contribute immediately.
Most interesting pick: Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech. The Bengals have their starting back in Chase Brown, but Brooks was very productive at the collegiate level. He posted back-to-back seasons with at least 1,600 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns. Could be a great complementary piece to Brown going forward.
Cleveland Browns
Best pick: Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA. Cleveland’s top pick in the second round will likely be a fan favorite in short order. Schwesinger will help the Browns improve their run defense after leading the nation in tackles for the Bruins last season.
Worst pick: Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon. Simply do not understand the selection, especially when they later took Shedeur Sanders in the fifth. Gabriel projects to be a career backup, which isn’t the pond Cleveland should be fishing in.
Most interesting pick: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado. Sanders was the most polarizing player in the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite being CBS Sports’ No. 2-ranked quarterback and once thought to be a lock to be a top-10 pick, he fell all the way to the fifth round at No. 144 overall. Let’s see if he can prove those detractors wrong.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Best pick: Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon. Pittsburgh decided against selecting a quarterback and instead bolstered its defensive line with Harmon. The Oregon defender will help pressure division-rival quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson immediately, and also serve as the heir apparent to Cam Heyward.
Worst pick: Yahya Black, DL, Iowa. Black adds size on the interior, but won’t exactly be applying pressure on the quarterback to any prolific degree.
Most interesting pick: Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State. Sawyer was dinged for his lack of athleticism, but he produced at Ohio State. Last season, he posted nine sacks for the national champions while earning his second consecutive second-team All-Big Ten nod. Pittsburgh has a knack for developing pass rushers, and Sawyer could be the latest beneficiary.
AFC South
Houston Texans
Best pick: Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota. The Texans desperately needed to come out of the draft with a talented offensive lineman, and they did just that with Ersery, who many had coming off the board in the first round. The second-round pick could compete to start at right tackle.
Worst pick: Woody Marks, RB, USC. In a draft that was filled with quality running backs, I didn’t love that Houston gave up a 2026 third-round pick to move up for Marks here.
Most interesting pick: Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State. Houston double-dipped with both Iowa receivers. When they took Noel in the third, it raised my antenna to think that Tank Dell could miss the entire 2025 season. After all, they have Nico Collins, Christian Kirk, and John Metchie III on the roster already, so adding multiple high-profile pass catchers may be telling us more about Dell than anything else.
Indianapolis Colts
Best pick: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State. It was a borderline miracle that Warren was still on the board for Indy at No. 14, especially with the Chicago Bears opting for a tight end, but they decided to go with Colston Loveland. Warren is a baller and fills a dramatic hole on the depth chart. Last season, Indy’s most productive tight end was Kylen Granson, who finished with 182 yards receiving in 2024. It won’t be like that anymore with Warren aboard.
Worst pick: Riley Leonard, QB, Notre Dame. If you’re going to take a quarterback at 189, Indy might have been better off just targeting Sanders earlier on Day 3. It’s hard to imagine Leonard factoring into the upcoming position battle between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, making this a snoozer of a selection.
Most interesting pick: Jalen Travis, OT, Iowa State. Mirroring his 6-foot-8, 339-pound frame, Travis has tremendous upside and allowed just four pressures and zero sacks last season. Even if he moves into play guard, Travis has good athleticism and has a high IQ (initially began his collegiate career at Princeton).
Jacksonville Jaguars
Best pick: Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virginia Tech. Tuten brings speed to the Jaguars’ offense, logging a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL Scout Combine. He’s coming off a 1,200-yard season at Virginia Tech last season and will rival Travis Etienne for carries.
Worst pick: Jack Kiser, LB, Notre Dame. Not the most athletic linebacker, and will already be 25 by the start of his rookie season.
Most interesting pick: Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado. Hunter was the most interesting prospect in this class, so he’s naturally the most interesting addition for the Jags. Jacksonville spent a pretty penny to move up to No. 2, and now it’s time to see if Hunter can make good on that investment and play both ways in the NFL.
Tennessee Titans
Best pick: Kevin Winston Jr., S, Penn State. Winston would’ve been off the board a lot sooner had it not been for an ACL tear he suffered last season. Once he’s back to full strength, the Titans will add a key cog to their secondary.
Worst pick: Chimere Dike, WR, Florida. Never a good thing when you have more career drops (17) than touchdowns (11).
Most interesting pick: Cam Ward, QB, Miami. Has a quarterback who was just taken No. 1 overall come into the league with less fanfare? Lost in the shuffle of the Jaguars’ trade up for Hunter and Sanders’ fall was that the Titans may have found their franchise quarterback.
AFC West
Denver Broncos
Best pick: RJ Harvey, RB, UCF. If you don’t get excited about Sean Payton identifying a running back in the second round, I don’t know what to tell you. Harvey has home run-hitting ability, and fills a major need now, headlining Denver’s backfield.
Worst pick: Jeremy Crawshaw, P, Florida. I’m just not in the business of drafting punters even late on Day 3 of the draft.
Most interesting pick: Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas. The Broncos’ first first-round pick builds on one of their strengths, joining a secondary that already has Patrick Surtain II lurking at corner. Barron will slot in at nickel and help contribute to a defense that was tied for the second-fewest yards per play allowed last season.
Kansas City Chiefs
Best pick: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco has called Simmons the best lineman in the draft. If he’s right, Kansas City just answered one of its biggest needs with one of the biggest steals of the draft. Simmons just needs to get healthy after tearing his meniscus last year.
Worst pick: Omarr Norman-Lott, DT, Tennessee. Never a bad thing to bolster the trenches, but Norman-Lott could prove to be a rotational piece along the defensive line. In the second round, you’re probably looking for a little bit more.
Most interesting pick: Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State. Whenever Patrick Mahomes gets a new weapon, we take notice. Royals was projected as a second- or third-round prospect, but was still available to Kansas City by the end of the fourth. During his final collegiate season, Royals was second-team All-Mountain West after posting 834 yards and six touchdowns in just seven games played.
Las Vegas Raiders
Best pick: Jack Bech, WR, TCU. On top of being one of the more inspiring picks of the entire draft, Bech fills a big need on the Raiders’ depth chart. He has good size, is a strong route-runner and was extremely productive for the Horned Frogs last season. He should translate well.
Worst pick: Tommy Mellott, QB, Montana State, AND Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State. Don’t get the approach with back-to-back sixth-round picks on quarterbacks who likely won’t do anything for the franchise. Why not just roll the dice with Sanders a round earlier?
Most interesting pick: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. This wasn’t a shocking pick given how the board fell, but now that Jeanty is heading to Las Vegas, it’ll be exciting to see how quickly he turns the backfield around. Remember, the Raiders were dead last in rushing a season ago. If Jeanty is who we all think he is, this could be a night-and-day turnaround for the running game.
Los Angeles Chargers
Best pick: Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss. Los Angeles needed another pass catcher who can win deep to allow Ladd McConkey to carve up secondaries over the middle. They get just the guy in Harris, who averaged 17.2 yards per reception last season.
Worst pick: Jamaree Caldwell, DT, Oregon. Caldwell certainly brings size to the L.A. defensive line at 6-foot-2, 332 pounds. However, he’s not someone who’ll rush the passer and should be looked at more as a run-stuffing nose tackle.
Most interesting pick: Omarion Hampton, RB, UNC. Taking a running back in the first round is a luxury move, but Jim Harbaugh clearly likes what he sees in Hampton. If Harbaugh could get J.K. Dobbins to top 1,000 scrimmage yards, there’s no telling what Hampton will be capable of on Day 1.
