HEADLINES

2025 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Raiders Sign Ashton Jeanty, Seven Other Draft Choices

May 8th, 2025 at 7:15pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Raiders have signed No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty to a fully guaranteed four-year rookie contract worth $35.9MM, per a team announcement.

The former Boise State Bronco will receive a $22.75MM signing bonus as part of the deal, which includes a fifth-year option in 2029. He will immediately take over as the Raiders’ lead back and hope to continue his stellar performance in the NFL.

Jeanty’s contract shows how taking a running back in the top 10 isn’t as cost-effective as targeting other positions. His $8.97MM APY is the 11th-highest at the position, while No. 7 pick Armand Membou‘s $7.98M APY ranks 40th among offensive tackles.

By no means does that mean that Jeanty was a bad pick or won’t live up to his rookie contract. All indicators – his production, durability, and leadership – point to the opposite. He’s a true three-down back who can shoulder a large load as a rusher while contributing in the passing game as a blocker and receiver. After leading the Mountain West with 1,347 yards in 2023, he set his sights higher in 2024 and led the FBS with 2,601 yards, plus 30 total touchdowns and 6.95 yards per carry.

Las Vegas is also a favorable landing spot for Jeanty. The Raiders stabilized their quarterback situation by trading for Geno Smith this offseason, but new head coach Pete Carroll still has an affinity for running the football. Jeanty will have minimal competition for touches in a backfield with Raheem Mostert, Zamir White, and Dylan Laube.

The Raiders signed seven other members of their rookie class: third-rounders Caleb Rogers (No. 98) and Charles Grant (No. 99), fourth-rounder Tonka Hemingway (No. 135), sixth-rounders J.J. Pegues (No. 180), Tommy Mellott (No. 213), Cam Miller (No. 215), and seventh-rounder Cody Lindenberg (No. 222).

Rogers played both guard and tackle at Texas Tech, but his length will likely restrict him to the interior in the NFL where he could compete for a starting job right away. Grant is a physically-impressive left tackle prospect who could be a long-term replacement for Kolton Miller.

Hemingway and Pegues will both look to carve out rotational roles behind the Raiders’ veteran defensive linemen. Both players offer intriguing versatility; Hemingway’s undersized, athletic frame could see him take some snaps from wider alignments, while Pegues excelled as a short-yardage weapon on offense at Ole Miss.

Mellott played quarterback at Montana State but will play receiver in the NFL. His athleticism and playmaking instincts could help him get some designed touches early on as he grows as a route-runner and pass-catcher. Miller will stay under center in Las Vegas, likely as the third-string quarterback behind Smith and Aidan O’Connell. The North Dakota State product earned the endorsement of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady during the draft, according to The Athletic’s Dan Pompei.

Lindenberg will compete for a roster spot in a Raiders linebacker room that lacks a clear leader after the departure of Robert Spillane. Lindenberg is a solid athlete with good size who can contribute on special teams right away as he works his processing up to NFL speed.

The Raiders have yet to sign three draft picks to rookie contracts: second-rounder Jack Bech, third-rounder Darien Porter, and fourth-rounder Dont’e Thornton Jr. Here’s a full list of their draft class:

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Round 1, No. 6: Ashton Jeanty (RB, Boise State) (signed)
  • Round 2, No. 58 (from Texans): Jack Bech (WR, TCU)
  • Round 3, No. 68: Darien Porter (CB, Iowa State)
  • Round 3, No. 98 (from Dolphins)*: Caleb Rogers (G, Texas Tech) (signed)
  • Round 3, No. 99 (from Giants through Texans)*: Charles Grant (T, William & Mary) (signed)
  • Round 4, No. 108: Dont’e Thornton (WR, Tennessee)
  • Round 4, No. 135 (from Dolphins)*: Tonka Hemingway ((DT, South Carolina) (signed)
  • Round 6, No. 180: J.J. Pegues (DT, Ole Miss) (signed)
  • Round 6, No. 213*: Tommy Mellott (QB, Montana State) (signed)
  • Round 6, No. 215*: Cam Miller (QB, North Dakota State) (signed)
  • Round 7, No. 222: Cody Lindenberg (LB, Minnesota) (signed)

Bears TE Colston Loveland Drew Extensive First-Round Trade Interest

May 7th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

In much of the leadup to the 2025 NFL Draft, there were two teams in the first round who were consistently connected to the class’s two clear-cut first-round prospects: the Bears and the Colts. The majority of pre-draft predictions saw each team landing one of either Penn State’s Tyler Warren or Michigan’s Colston Loveland, and while that did happen, there was a high likelihood that it could have turned out differently.

Interestingly, Warren spent most of the pre-draft process clearly ranked as TE1. A massive redshirt senior year saw Warren nab 104 receptions for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games. This was enough to overcome Loveland, who entered the 2024 season as the favorite to be the top tight end off the board following a promising, championship-winning 2023 campaign but only managed a pedestrian 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games last year.

This made it a bit of a surprise when the Bears, who had long been projected to select Warren and leave Loveland for the Colts, selected Loveland over Warren. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Loveland took back his TE1 status with some “week-of-draft buzz.” The Bears weren’t alone in their pursuit of Loveland, either. Per Fowler, multiple teams would have attempted to trade up for Loveland had he made it into the teens.

It turns out, if Chicago had taken Warren instead of Loveland, the Colts might not have gotten their tight end. Loveland’s traits and upside reportedly made him the top tight end in the eyes of many teams, and knowing the likelihood that Indianapolis was going to draft a tight end, teams who really wanted Loveland likely would have looked to trade up in front of the 14th overall pick in order to jump in front of the Colts.

Instead, the Bears walked away with their TE1. The lack of a trade up when Warren was left on the board seems to indicate that those who were interested in a first-round tight end agreed that Warren wasn’t worth the move up that they considered Loveland to be worthy of.

49ers Almost Used First-Round Pick On Offense

May 7th, 2025 at 8:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Each of the 49ers’ first five picks of the 2025 NFL Draft were on the defensive side of the ball, starting with Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams at No. 11 overall. General manager John Lynch recently discussed the decision in an appearance on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast, claiming that, had Williams not been around, offense would’ve been the focus in the first round.

Now, the first few offensive picks to immediately follow the selection of Williams were Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel, and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. While Warren was certainly a highly talented prospect with good value at that point of the draft, the team’s plans for the tight end position were made clear when they extended George Kittle days after the draft.

While Egbuka could’ve helped to make up for the departure of Deebo Samuel, the team signed Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year extension and used a first-round pick on Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall just last year. Combine that with the fact that Jauan Jennings, the team’s leading wide receiver from 2024, is returning to the fold, and drafting Egbuka eight spots before he ended up being selected doesn’t seem very reasonable.

In an early draft of the Pro Football Rumors’ first-round mock draft, I initially had Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou finding his way to the Bay Area. As it became clear that Membou was being valued with a higher draft stock, I reevaluated and sent him to New York. My reasoning for targeting an offensive tackle with the 11th overall pick still stands, though.

Historically, the 49ers haven’t drafted a guard in the first round since making Mike Iupati their second first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft. So, though they do have a need at guard, it’s more likely that they would look past an obvious projected guard like Booker in favor of someone with potential to play at tackle. In the interview, Lynch explained that they were shocked to see Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. still around when he was selected at ninth overall, and Banks was linked to San Francisco plenty in the pre-draft process, likely due to both his projection as a guard in the NFL and his experience as a tackle in college, giving him potential at both positions.

With Banks already off the board in the hypothetical, the focus now turns to Zabel. Though Zabel was projected to be a center at the NFL level, it was the only position he didn’t play for the Bison. He started 33 games at tackle (17 at right, 16 at left) and seven games at guard (four at left, three at right). This could’ve made Zabel a strong fit for the 49ers, who have an immediate need to replace former starting guard Aaron Banks and a not-so-distant need to eventually replace Trent Williams (age) or Colton McKivitz (contract) at tackle.

Instead, Williams fell into the 49ers’ lap, and they’ll hope to set him up across from Nick Bosa on the defensive line. Additionally, they spent their next four picks on defense and didn’t address the guard spot until their second-to-last pick in the seventh round. They’ll either need to make another offseason addition to the offensive line or depend on Ben Bartch to be a reliable starter in 2025 after only logging 10 starts in the last three years.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/7/25

May 7th, 2025 at 7:18pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Today’s 2025 NFL Draft pick signings as we begin to get into rookie minicamps. Here is another group of mid- to late-rounders who signed their four-year rookie contracts today:

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

The Broncos followed up yesterday’s signing of tight end Caleb Lohner (seventh round, Utah) with rookie contracts for two more of their 2025 draft picks.

Bryant’s 6-foot-2, 204-pound frame, jumping ability, and strong hands make him a reliable receiver at the catch point, but his below-average athleticism will limit his separation in the NFL. He posted 984 yards and 10 touchdowns in his senior year at Illinois but will face an uphill battle for playing time as a rookie in a crowded Broncos receiver room.

The Broncos used a sixth-round pick on Crenshaw after moving on from veteran Riley Dixon this offseason. Barring injury or a disastrous training camp, the former Gator will take over as Denver’s punter this season. He was the only punter selected in the 2025 draft.

The Texans surprised many by taking Smith in the third round after he was projected to be a Day 3 pick. His size may restrict him to nickel duties in the NFL, a role he filled in 2022 and 2023 for the Trojans. He played on the outside in 2024 and could still compete for a boundary role in Houston, who just extended safety/nickel defender Jalen Pitre this offseason.

Broncos Considered Trading Up For Ashton Jeanty

May 7th, 2025 at 5:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Broncos explored multiple trades during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, including a blockbuster move into the top-10 for Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

Denver made no secret of their desire to add a running back during the lead-up to the draft, but the price to trade up was ultimately too high. Snagging Jeanty likely would have required the fifth overall pick considering his pre-draft links to the Raiders, who owned the next selection. Moving up 15 slots from the No. 20 pick could have cost multiple future first-rounders, which was likely a non-starter for the Broncos after losing their top picks in 2022 and 2023 to the ill-fated Russell Wilson trade.

Instead, Denver stood pat at No. 20 and selected Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who was widely seen as the best player on the board. Terry Joseph, Barron’s defensive pass game coordinator at Texas and cousin of Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, endorsed the versatile defensive back, per Fowler, giving the team even more confidence in their pick.

The Broncos were also interested in Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who went off the board one pick before they were on the clock. Had neither Egbuka nor Barron been available, the Broncos were prepared to trade back for a running back in the first round, discussing terms with the Texans for their pick at No. 25.

In that case, Denver’s target likely would have been another former Buckeye in TreVeyon Henderson, who went to the Patriots with the 38th pick before the Broncos were back on the board. They pivoted to UCF running back R.J. Harvey with their next pick at the end of the second round, allowing them to come away from the draft with a coveted running back without a costly trade up in the first round.

Browns Did Not Significantly Factor Deion Sanders Into Shedeur Sanders Evaluation; Latest On QB’s Slide

May 6th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

In 2018, Deion Sanders famously criticized the Browns as a poor place for a quarterback prospect to land. This assessment came before Baker Mayfield‘s inconsistent tenure, one that ended soon after the Deshaun Watson trade, but the cornerback legend/future college HC was not exactly off-base when it came to quarterbacks in Cleveland — at least, the second incarnation of the Browns.

Deion, of course, now has a vested interest in Browns QB development after seeing his son’s historic draft slide ended when Cleveland traded up to No. 144. Shedeur Sanders‘ three-day fall overshadowed this year’s draft, and Deion’s presence was viewed as an accelerant to his son’s tumble. Deion Sanders had said well before the draft “certain cities” would not work as his son’s landing spot. When it became clear the NFL had a much lower view of Shedeur’s prospect value, the Sanderses’ pre-draft game plan looks to have been a misplay.

[RELATED: Joe Flacco Could Be Browns’ Odd Man Out In QB Room?]

Regarding Deion’s involvement, however, Browns GM Andrew Berry said it did not play a significant role in the organization’s evaluation of his son.

“I felt like our personal relationship and interactions with Deion, that’s really been all positive from our perspective, and I mean that organizationally, not just me and Kevin (Stefanski),” Berry said, via SI.com’s Charlie Viehl. “But really, all of us who have interacted with Deion and the people out in Colorado. We don’t typically penalize prospects for their parents, so to speak. So I can’t say if that was a factor or not for other teams. But that was not a significant factor for us.”

While Deion Sanders has repeatedly shot down rumors about potentially moving up to the NFL as a coach, he admitted he spoke with Jerry Jones about the Cowboys’ offseason HC vacancy. Rumblings about coaching staffs’ potential leeriness regarding the elder Sanders being a threat to coach his son down the road surfaced as a potential contributor to the draft slide, as some of the teams with QB vacancies feature head coaches on hot seats. Deion signed a Colorado extension this offseason, but the buyout numbers would not impede an NFL team beyond this year. Shedeur’s pre-draft interviews, however, remain the most notable catalyst for his slip from potential top-five pick to fifth-rounder.

We have heard a few post-draft accounts about teams’ dissatisfaction with Sanders’ interviews. His Brian Daboll Combine meeting is not believed to have gone smoothly, and an encounter with an anonymous team concluded with the QB saying he and that team were not a good match. Sanders is being criticized for overplaying his hand, operating like a top-tier prospect — as his father was 36 years ago — while not having the skillset to justify it.

Sanders only met with teams holding a top-seven draft choice at the Combine, and Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna indicates the Colorado QB turned one of those meetings into his own evaluation of the franchise. Sanders asked team brass about its plan to support him. Had Cam Ward made posed such a question, that would have made a bit more sense due to the momentum the Miami QB had built. But Sanders is believed to have asked it after faring poorly when discussing that team’s playbook, McKenna adds. This may well have been part of a “sandbagging” effort, as CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones noted the accomplished college QB is believed to have attempted to purposely come off as unimpressive to teams he did not view as desirable destinations.

Understandably, that perceived effort did not go over well with teams, Jones adds. Multiple clubs are believed to have removed Sanders from their draft boards, with a report indicating Deion’s involvement “didn’t help” as teams evaluated his son. An unspectacular pro day, and Deion making the decision to retire his son’s Colorado number despite seemingly insufficient qualifications also may have influenced teams’ decisions once the draft wore on, per Jones.

The Browns effectively admitted they were not especially high on the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year by choosing Dillon Gabriel 94th overall. He and Sanders will now coexist on a team that added Kenny Pickett and reacquired Joe Flacco before the draft.

As Deion Sanders assessments of the Browns will undoubtedly surface once his son begins competing for the starting job, the Browns having acquired a first-round pick — via their three-spot trade-down with a Jaguars team that acquired three-year Sanders teammate Travis Hunter — keeps the door open for Cleveland to make a move for a passer in 2026. A year out, that class is viewed as superior to 2025’s crop.

For now, the Browns — as they transition from a still-rostered Watson — will give all four of their passers a chance to win the QB1 gig. PFR readers view Flacco as the runaway lead candidate to make the most QB starts for the team this season, but Sanders’ path will certainly generate the most interest — regardless of what position on the depth chart he secures.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/6/25

May 6th, 2025 at 7:54pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s draft pick signings:

Denver Broncos

The Broncos kicked off their draft pick signings by inking their final draft pick to a rookie contract. Tight end Caleb Lohner was pick No. 241 in the draft, but the team’s relatively deep depth chart at TE means the rookie could ultimately land on the practice squad. After exclusively playing basketball to begin his collegiate career, the six-foot-eight prospect spent the 2024 campaign on Utah’s football team, where he hauled in four catches for four touchdowns.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/25

May 5th, 2025 at 6:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s draft pick signings:

Kansas City Chiefs

After quickly signing OT Josh Simmons to his first-round rookie contract, the Chiefs are now pivoting to the other end of their draft board, agreeing to contracts with their final two selections from the 2025 draft.

Bassa was a four-year starter at Oregon, including a 2023 campaign where he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors after finishing with 71 tackles. His 54 tackles in 2024 represented his lowest total since his freshman year, but that likely didn’t do much to hurt his draft stock.

Smith served as mostly a backup during his three seasons at Miami, but he had a breakout showing after transferring to SMU for the 2024 campaign. The RB finished this past year with 1,659 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns.

Chiefs Sign First-Round T Josh Simmons

May 4th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Following closely on the tails of the Cowboys and offensive guard Tyler Booker, the Chiefs have come to terms with Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons on his first-round rookie contract. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the four-year contract (with a fifth-year option) for the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is worth $14.68MM.

Simmons could end up being a bit of a project in the NFL. After a redshirt season at San Diego State, Simmons started a season at right tackle for the Aztecs before transferring to Columbus and switching to left tackle. As a redshirt junior, Simmons returned to start on the left side for another year before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

In his time with the Buckeyes, the 22-year-old displayed quickness off the line of scrimmage and impressive balance. While he isn’t much of a bulldozer in the run game, his quickness can help him be effective on pulls. What really shines for Simmons is his pass blocking abilities, which were good enough to put him in serious consideration for OT1 honors in the draft class, before he experienced his injury setback.

He won’t be a project because he needs to develop, he’ll potentially be a project because his road back to 100 full health may be a bit of a journey. The injury led him to be the fifth tackle taken in the draft and the eighth offensive lineman taken. If it was poor play that led to his slide, he may have slipped out of the first round altogether. Because of his injury, though, any team that drafted him was likely going to want to use a first-round pick on him so that the fifth-year option would give them a bit of additional time to evaluate his prospects for a second NFL contract.

In Kansas City last year, starting tackles Jawaan Taylor and Wanya Morris were anything but impressive. For competition, the team has last year’s second-round pick, Kingsley Suamataia, and free agent signing Jaylon Moore to work with, as well. Suamataia started the first two games for the Chiefs at right tackle last year before being benched for Morris, while Moore finished the last portion of 2024 filling in for Trent Williams as the 49ers’ starting left tackle.

In an ideal situation, it would be asking a lot of Simmons to jump into a competition that could see any combination of two of Taylor, Morris, Suamataia, and Moore bookending the line. He falls into a perfect situation, though, where, sure, plenty of question marks remain on the depth chart, but there are plenty of options who can man the spots effectively until Simmons is recovered and ready to compete and contribute. His fifth-year option gives him a bit of breathing room to show his worth before his rookie deal expires.

Simmons is just the first Chiefs rookie to sign their contract. The team has six more players from their draft class that still need to ink their deals.

Browns Couldn’t Pass Up Value Of Shedeur Sanders Pick

May 3rd, 2025 at 9:41pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

It wasn’t a surprise that Shedeur Sanders ended up in Cleveland by the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft. After all, the Browns had a glaring need at quarterback and extensively scouted the Colorado product during the pre-draft process.

The real shocker was that the Browns landed Sanders on Day 3 after already picking a quarterback in the third round.

The team arrived at the conclusion that Sanders wasn’t worth the No. 2 pick, per Daniel Oyefusi and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, but he was still considered a potential target late in the first round or early in the second. That especially seemed like the case when the Browns added extra draft capital in their trade with the Jaguars, positioning them to add a quarterback on Day 2.

That theory turned out to be half-right. Cleveland drafted a QB with the 94th overall pick, but it was Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, not Sanders. His slide continued into Day 3, where the Browns decided his value was too good to pass up. They traded up to the 144th pick to select Sanders, ending his fall and landing a potential future starter in the fifth round.

“We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft,” said Berry after the pick (via Oyefusi). “Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot.”

Drafting Gabriel made it seem like they had no intention of bringing Sanders to Cleveland. Browns personnel believed that other teams had a Day 2 grade on the polarizing prospect and were thus surprised when he fell past the third round. When Sanders’ name wasn’t called early on Day 3, general manager Andrew Berry started working the phones to move up, even after selecting Gabriel the day before

Cleveland’s front office didn’t spend time reevaluating Sanders’ talent or reassessing his ranking on their board. Nor were they pushed by team owner Jimmy Haslam to make the pick, at least according to Berry.

Instead, according to Oyefusi, Berry “worked hard to trade up” and eventually delivered the news to Sanders via video call. His father, Hall of Fame cornerback and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, later called Berry as well after getting to know each other during the pre-draft process. Deion also has a good relationship with Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave after playing together for the 49ers in 1994.

Deion’s legacy loomed large during the months leading up to the draft. He famously rejected a written test from the Giants during his own pre-draft interviews in 1989, confidently (and correctly) asserting that he would be drafted long before New York was on the clock.

That attitude seemed to carry over to his son. During and after Shedeur Sanders’ fall, reports emerged that he struggled in his interviews and visits with teams, especially the Giants. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Sanders approached his meetings with prospective future employers as if he was being “recruited” as opposed to being “interviewed.” That caused him to be wiped from several teams’ boards, including the Steelers.

Despite persistent links throughout March and April, Sanders was never a “real option” for Pittsburgh, according to Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. The Steelers were more interested in Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard and Ohio State’s Will Howard, the latter of whom they drafted in the sixth round.

Sanders’ interactions with the Browns were reportedly more positive than with other teams, giving Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski the confidence that adding one of the most talked-about prospects of the year could only help their uncertain quarterback situation. Cleveland has no clear starter for 2025 or beyond, giving Sanders an opportunity he may not have had with another other team.

If the Browns can turn a fifth-round pick into a franchise quarterback, they’ll have cleared a major hurdle in recovering from the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade and bringing the team back to competitive relevancy.

Load More Posts