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Now that the dust has settled from the 2025 NFL Draft, it’s time to analyze all that we digested over the past week. The Tennessee Titans have a new franchise quarterback, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to score Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall, the Las Vegas Raiders have a new star running back in Ashton Jeanty and the Atlanta Falcons were aggressive in picking up two pass rushers on opening night.

The draft experts were correct about Abdul Carter going No. 3 overall to the New York Giants and Will Campbell going No. 4 to the New England Patriots. They were correct about the rising stock of Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams, who went No. 11 overall to the San Francisco 49ers, and the love for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was real, too. Analysts saw cornerback Will Johnson falling out of the first round, and knew that quarterback Tyler Shough was going to be drafted higher than anticipated as well. 

So what did draft experts get wrong? Let’s look at five of the biggest surprises from the 2025 NFL Draft — starting with the obvious one. 

1. Shedeur Sanders

It will go down as one of the most infamous draft slides of all time. Shedeur Sanders, who was CBS Sports’ No. 28 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback, fell to No. 144 overall in the fifth round. He was the SIXTH quarterback drafted, going behind Dillon Gabriel — who was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns. It marked the first time since 1971 that two straight quarterbacks were drafted by the same team in the first five rounds. 

It’s fair to have questions about Sanders’ ceiling as a prospect, but no one saw him going as late as he did in the draft. It’s pretty evident that the reason Sanders fell was due to off-field “stuff,” which includes bad interviews. Sanders’ slide, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, was a reflection of how he carried himself through the pre-draft process. Now, he finds himself in the weirdest quarterback room in the NFL.

2. The Browns being sold on Travis Hunter

As we inched closer to the first night of the draft, it appeared the Browns selecting Hunter No. 2 overall was as sure of a thing as Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to the Titans. However, we all started to see reports about the Jaguars new front office looking to do something “bold.” Some hypothesized that James Gladstone was after Hunter, but would he be able to swing a trade package enticing enough to move Cleveland off No. 2 and off the best player in this draft? Yes. The answer was yes.

So what did Jacksonville give up? The first-round swap (No. 2 for No. 5), a second-round pick this year, a first-round pick next year and a fourth-round pick swap with a sixth-rounder going back to Jacksonville. When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound like a blockbuster trade, right? Personally, I thought the Browns would need more than that to pass on the best player in this draft. It was surprising in more ways than one. 

• Jaguars get: Travis Hunter, 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 104), 2025 sixth-round pick (No. 200)
• Browns get: Mason Graham, 2025 second-round pick (No. 36), 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 126), 2026 first-round pick

3. Jalen Milroe’s rising stock

With Milroe being invited to the 2025 draft and multiple coaches and scouts declaring him as the best running quarterback they’ve ever seen, some believed Milroe could be a first-round pick. At the very least, it looked like he was going to be a second-round pick. Instead, Milroe fell all the way to No. 92 overall in the third round, and he was the fourth quarterback selected. The Seattle Seahawks are a solid landing spot for Milroe, as Sam Darnold wasn’t given some long, lucrative contract following his career year with the Minnesota Vikings. We’ll see if Milroe can develop into more of an accurate passer, but he fell a bit further than anticipated. 

Prisco’s NFL Draft 2025 grades for every team, including best and worst picks for all 32 franchises

4. Donovan Ezeiruaku being a first-round pick

We could talk about Mike Green here, but it was pretty clear his off-field issues caused his drop. Why did Ezeiruaku fall? The Boston College product was a -500 favorite to be a first-round pick on Thursday night, which is a shocking number. However, he lasted until No. 44 overall, where he was scooped up by the Dallas Cowboys. I’m not sure many people saw linebacker Carson Schwesinger and quarterback Tyler Shough going before Ezeiruaku. 

Ezeiruaku may be a total steal for the Cowboys, as he tied a program record with 16.5 sacks last season en route to ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. In his final collegiate game, Ezeiruaku recorded 3.5 sacks and a whopping 17 pressures! The Cowboys found some great value on Day 2, as they also selected ECU cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. — who was thought to be a potential first-round pick as well. 

5. Tyler Warren being the first TE off the board

This comes in at No. 5 because there were people out there who had Colston Loveland being drafted over John Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren. Loveland was the first tight end selected in the top 10 since Kyle Pitts back in 2021! Last season at Michigan, Loveland caught 56 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns in just 10 games played. He accounted for 34.7% of the Wolverines’ receiving yards, which was the second-highest rate by any FBS tight end last season. He’s an intriguing weapon for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, and it will be fun to keep track of who has the better career between he and Warren, who landed with the Indianapolis Colts four picks later.