What if the NFL hit the reset button and held a redraft? Who would teams choose to build around? How much will age and positional value influence their selections? Here’s how it will play out:
With that, the NFL redraft is underway:
Many would argue that this should be Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, but Mahomes’ resume is too impressive to pass on. He is 89-23 throughout his NFL career and has led the Chiefs to seven consecutive conference championships, five Super Bowl appearances, and three Super Bowl wins.
This would be the nightmare scenario for Ravens fans—watching their two-time league MVP go to a division rival. The only question he has yet to answer is, “Can he win big games?” In his five postseason trips, he has never gotten to the Super Bowl and only to the AFC Conference Championship once. The Browns hope he can get over that hump and lead them to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
It seems like Mahomes is the only thing standing between Allen and a Super Bowl. In his six postseason trips, his Bills have lost to the Chiefs four times. Now that Allen is headed to the NFC, the only way he has a postseason matchup against Mahomes is in the Super Bowl.
Parsons is only the sixth player in NFL history to get to 50+ sacks in their first four seasons. Of the other five players to accomplish that, four are Hall-of-Famers, and the fifth (J.J. Watt) is likely a first ballot in 2028. There’s no reason to believe Parsons isn’t destined for a similar fate.
The Jaguars lament passing on Hutchinson in the 2022 NFL draft. He had 9.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, and three interceptions as a rookie. Then, in 2023, he had a ridiculous 101 pressures despite being the most double-teamed edge in the league. In 2024, Hutchinson was the odds-on favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year before a broken leg cut his season short. Oddsmakers believe he will win the award in 2025.
Burrow is the last of the tier-one QBs. He’s had some bad luck with injuries, missing extended time with an ACL in his rookie season and a wrist in 2023. He returned to win the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year award. If his team had finished with a better record, he also would have had a strong case for NFL MVP.
It’s always impressive when a non-edge rusher wins the Defensive Player of the Year award, but Surtain deserved it in 2024. Teams are frightened to throw his way. He was only targeted on 10.9% of pass snaps. He allowed only 306 yards all season, all while going up against number-one receivers. To top it all off, Surtain didn’t miss a single tackle all season.
Jefferson is virtually unguardable, and trying to cover him usually lands defenders on Sports Center—and not in a good way. He has had at least 1400 yards every year—aside from 2023, when he missed seven games due to injury. In 2022, he won Offensive Player of the Year when he became only the sixth player in NFL history to have 1800+ receiving yards in a season.
The Saints have plenty of first-hand experience with former Buccaneer Tristan Wirfs. He has been a sensational pass blocker since entering the league, but his 2024 was historic. Out of 638 pass-blocking reps, he allowed zero sacks and only 12 pressures.
Bears HC Ben Johnson would be banging the table for this pick. Sewell is one of the best athletes to play the position and is often called an offensive weapon because he can move, shift, and pull to get into open space and ahead of ball carriers. He’s made two first-team All-Pro teams and hasn’t even turned 25 yet. No NFL offensive lineman has accomplished that in the past 40 years.
Bosa stays in San Francisco. He hasn’t put up elite sack numbers the past two seasons, but has still been disruptive. He was arguably the best defender in the league during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, accruing 34 sacks and 40 tackles for loss, and winning the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. The 49ers will hope he can provide that level of sack production in 2025 and beyond.
A legitimate argument could be made that Chase should be the first wide receiver taken. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, and despite a down year in 2023, when he had poor and inconsistent QB play, he’s gotten better each year. In 2024, he became only the second receiver in the past 20 years to win the NFL receiving triple crown—most receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Elite quarterbacks are hard to come by in the NFL, and Daniels has a legitimate chance to become one of them. As a rookie in 2024, Daniels took over a Commanders team that finished 4-13 in 2023 and led them to the 2024 NFC Conference Championship Game. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year looks to build on that with his new team, Miami.
Crosby endured a rough 2024, missing five games with injury and finishing with just 7.5 sacks. He’ll bounce back, and even if he doesn’t match his 2023 sack total (14.5), he is an absolute force in the backfield. He led the league in tackles for loss in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He even finished sixth in that category in 2024 despite only playing 12 games.
The Cowboys entered 2024 with high expectations, but dysfunction and disappointment defined the year—nobody lived up to those expectations, Lamb included. Still, he had over 100 receptions and nearly 1200 yards, ranking comfortably in the top 10 in both categories. Lamb showed his full potential in 2023—he finished just 50 yards and one TD away from completing the coveted triple-crown. His 135 receptions that year were the sixth most by any receiver in NFL history.
In just two seasons, Carter has proven to be one of the biggest mismatches along the defensive interior. In 2024, he finished 4th in pressures, 2nd in batted balls, and 3rd in tackles for loss, all while facing one of the highest double-team rates of any player in the NFL. It doesn’t show up on Carter’s stat sheet, but all those double-teams create one-on-one opportunities for teammates along the defensive front.
Garrett is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, and getting him at this point represents great value. At 29, he likely only has another two or three years of elite-level production, but even if he becomes 90% of the player he is now, he’ll be dominant well into his mid-30s.
Gardner had the worst season of his career in 2024. He gave up over eight yards per target compared to 5.5 during his 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year-winning season. Still, his 11.5% target rate implies that teams are throwing away from him as much as possible, which is exactly what teams want from their top cornerback. There are very few lockdown CBs in the NFL, and he is one of them.
Lawrence is a mammoth at 6’4″ and 340 lbs, and he’s surprisingly quick and agile for someone of that size. He is powerful and has arguably the best bull rush in the NFL. He gets double-teamed on 70% of snaps and still has a pass rush win rate of around 20%. In 2024, he missed five games with a dislocated elbow and he still managed to notch nine sacks, ranking second among all interior defenders.
Stingley was taken third overall in the 2022 NFL draft and had an up-and-down rookie season, but has since lived up to the hype. In 2024, he finished first among all cornerbacks in interceptions (seven) and passes defended (23), and was named first-team All-Pro.
St. Brown has become one of the best receivers in the league despite lacking prototypical size and athleticism. He has some of the most reliable hands in the NFL and is unselfish, grinding every play even if he’s not directly involved. Many have made the apt comparison to Steelers’ great Hines Ward—this feels like a match made in heaven.
Mailata is an excellent story. He was a rugby player who didn’t play a snap of football in high school or college. The Eagles took a flyer on him in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. He has since become one of the best tackles in the NFL. He was the highest-graded tackle in the 2024 season, according to PFF.
Anderson was the third overall pick in 2023 and narrowly won Defensive Rookie of the Year. He followed up his rookie campaign with 11 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in just 14 games. He hasn’t quite reached elite territory, but the tools are there and it seems like it is only a matter of time.
Stroud took the NFL by storm during his 2023 rookie season, passing for over 4000 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. He suffered the dreaded sophomore slump in 2024, but it wasn’t all his fault. He lost his top two receivers to injury, and his offensive line was pitiful, giving up a league-worst 27.2% pressure rate. The Vikings still believe he is a franchise QB and has the potential to be one of the elites.
Slater was a second-team All-Pro during his 2021 rookie season. He had fallen off the radar after missing almost all of 2022 with a torn bicep and struggling to return to form in 2023. Everything came back together in 2024 and he was one of the best pass protectors in the league earning a 90.4 pass-blocking and a 91.1 overall PFF grade.
Herbert had a rough 2023, missing four games due to injury and posting a 5-8 record. He bounced back nicely, leading the Chargers to an 11-6 regular season record in 2024. He didn’t put up the gaudy numbers he did early in his career, but he had a league-best touchdown-to-interception ratio and a career-best 101.7 rating.
Verse won the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year award. While he had a modest 4.5 sacks, he finished fourth in total pressures among edge rushers. He looks like a game-wrecker, and if he improves his tackling, that sack total will rise dramatically.
Lions GM Brad Holmes nearly broke the war-room table when he landed Gibbs in the 2023 NFL draft. There is no reason to believe he wouldn’t invest in him again here. He put up over 1200 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie. Then, in 2024, he had nearly 2000 yards, hit paydirt 20 times, and averaged 6.4 yards per touch—the most by a running back since Marshall Faulk and the Greatest Show on Turf.
McDuffie is one of the most well-rounded cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s excellent in coverage, a sure tackler in the run game, and one of the best at blitzing from the secondary. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2023, a second-teamer in 2024, and one of the most valuable pieces of a Chiefs defense that held opponents to under 19 points per game over the past two seasons.
Nacua set the single-season rookie record for receptions and yards. He suffered an injury early in the first game of the 2024 season that cost him six games. Despite that, he still managed nearly 80 receptions and 1000 yards. He is one of the best yards-after-catch receivers in the NFL—a trait that the Bills covet.
Warner is one of the greatest defensive players of the past decade. He has made first-team All-Pro four of the last five seasons and is a future Hall-of-Famer. He’s 28 and plays an undervalued position, but the Chiefs are thrilled he’s available here and won’t hesitate to make him their defensive signal-caller for the next few years.
Hamilton had sky-high expectations after being selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft—he’s met them easily. He made first-team All-Pro in 2023, and second-team in 2024, and has had an overall PFF grade of 86.4 or higher in each of his first three seasons, including a career-high 90 in 2024. With his physical gifts, it feels like he is only scratching the surface.
End Of My NFL Rant
The first round of this NFL redraft is in the books. As expected, quarterbacks and edge rushers dominated the selections. The Lions were the most represented team, with four players called on Day One, and the Texans close behind with three. With several blue-chip prospects remaining and elite veterans slipping, Round Two should be exciting. Stay tuned!
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