Trying to evaluate an NFL Draft is always a tricky proposition no matter when you do it. And to measure it the day after players are selected is a crap shoot at best. Sometimes it takes a few years to evaluate if a prospect has reached their potential. They might stumble out of the block and endure a couple of rough initial seasons, or they might begin their careers like a house afire and then fall short of their goals due to injuries, trades, or off the field transgressions.

The same goes with NFL teams themselves. One minute they might claim to have selected the “steal of the draft” and the next they have a potential star that simply flameouts. But, because us football fans love to speculate, predict, and over analyze such things, I took a stab at determining the biggest haves and have-nots of the 2025 NFL Draft first round. Time will tell how correct my observations have been but let’s have a little fun in the meantime. First, we started with the have-nots. Now I present the haves.

2025 NFL Draft First Round Haves

1. New York Giants

Finally, kudos to the New York Giants for not going the “flash and dash” route in the year’s draft. It’s not often that we compliment the Giants for an astute draft pick but with Abdul Carter from Penn State, they picked by far the best lineman and edge rusher in the draft. This first-team All-American and Big Ten defensive player of the year. finished with 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss in 2024 for the Nittany Lions.

It would have been so easy for them to go the Shedeur Sanders or Ashton Jeanty route, but they stayed disciplined, and this pick will pay off for years to come. Carter joins the talented Brians Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in the lethal New York front seven. He will be a dominant pass rusher or a swarming outside linebacker depending on the defensive formation.

2. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

The holidays came early in the Drake Maye household this year as the Patriots drafted his blindside protector for the next decade. After being sacked 34 times last season, LSU tackle Will Campbell will be a welcome addition to the Pat’s offense. He is a difference maker who only gave up two sacks in his last 30 collegiate starts.

He also fits the new hard-nose Mike Vrabel culture in New England. His footwork is excellent, and he comes to the Patriots with a spotless work ethic and lofty character traits. Campbell when asked about his new teammates after hearing his name called Thursday: “I’m gonna fight and die to protect them with everything I got.”

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

This comes with a bit of an asterisk. While they did swing a deal with the Browns to draft the generational talent, Travis Hunter, they paid a steep price for this move. Don’t give me wrong, with Hunter, the Jags not only acquired the best football player in the draft but also the best athlete. At wide receiver, he will pair up nicely with the up-and-coming Brian Thomas.

And on defense, he will help shore up a leaky Jacksonville secondary. Time will tell if Hunter was worth the acquisition price. Along with Travis, the Jaguars received the Browns’ fourth- and sixth rounder in this draft. In return, Cleveland received the No. 5, and a second- and fourth-round pick in this draft plus a 2026 first rounder. However, this acquisition does move the Jags significantly closer to contention status.

4. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love must have been born under a lucky star. For the first time since 2002, the Green Bay Packers drafted a wide receiver in the first round. The Packers never drafted a quarterback during Aaron Rodgers reign, nor in the last third of Brett Favre’s tenure in “Titletown.” And the answer to the question is: Javon Walker was taken with the 20th overall pick in that year’s draft. Kind of surprised me also.

And with the speedy Matt Golden, Green Bay will get a burner receiver who will replace Christian Walker who is out with a torn ACL. He’ll stretch the field making life a lot easier for Romeo Doubs, Jaden Reed, and the rest of the Packers receivers. And as a bonus, he has strong hands and makes the tough plays in traffic.

5. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers were in desperate need to find an edge rusher to complement Nick Bosa. And with Carter off the board, they took the next best thing in Mykel Williams from Georgia. Despite battling ankle issues that forced him to miss considerable time in 2024, he still finished the season with a productive five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, five passes defended and a pair of forced fumbles for the Bulldogs.

He brings excellent leadership qualities to the NFL as he was Georgia’s captain last year. He plays very physical and is a force as a bull rusher. And he will fit nicely into new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s 4-3 defensive scheme that relies heavily on their pass rush up front, with minimal blitzing, with a premium on having superb talent on the edge.

Next

We’ll see how all this turns out. Thanks for coming along for the ride.