by Matthew Robley
The 2025 NFL draft was a highly anticipated event. Locally, The New York Giants and the New York Jets both had solid drafts. First, the Giants – The Giants started with the 3rd overall pick of the draft, drafting Edge rusher Abdul Carter, who was named the best edge rusher in the entire draft class because of his unstoppable defense in his college career totaling 172 tackles in 3 years. Carter’s exceptional defensive talents give the Giants a brighter future with other young talented players on the roster also blooming. Later in the first round, the Giants traded up to pick a quarterback from Ole Miss, Jaxon Dart. Picking Jaxon Dart with the 25th pick was a huge deal for the Giants because they have many needs on offense; especially a need for a franchise quarterback.
On the other side of Metlife, the Jets also had a decent draft, starting with the 7th pick in the first round. The Jets started off by picking Armand Membou, an offensive Lineman from the University of Missouri. This pick was vital for the Jets, solidifying the offensive line in front of the Jets new quarterback, Justin Fields. The Jets then picked Tight End Mason Taylor from LSU and Cornerback Azareye’h Thomas from Florida State adding more depth to the Jet’s young core.

In addition to the locals, the first round of the draft also had many surprises. One real shocker of the draft was Shedeur Sanders going undrafted until the 5th round of the draft. Shedeur was ranked as one of the top picks of the draft, and he was predicted to be potentially drafted 1st overall as a quarterback. Sanders dropped 5 rounds and was picked by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick, shocking the entire league and many fans across the country.
The first pick of the draft, made by Tennessee, was quarterback Cam Ward from Miami University, who had been hyped by many fans and executives across the league. Originally, the Cleveland Browns had the 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft, later trading it to the Jacksonville Jaguars for many other picks in return: the 5th pick of the first round of the draft, a second round pick (36), a fourth round pick (126th), and a 2026 first-round pick. Many people across the country thought it was a steal for the Browns, gaining many new opportunities for players but some also saying they traded away a franchise player; the franchise player being Travis Hunter. After the Browns traded away their second pick to Jacksonville, the Jaguars drafted Cornerback Travis Hunter from University of Colorado Boulder. Travis Hunter also won the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding player in college football, giving him a solid reputation entering the draft. The 2025 NFL Draft had many twists and turns, and this bodes well for an exciting NFL season coming up in the fall.