NFL Draft winners and losers: Jaguars, Giants make splashes, Shedeur Sanders waits

The Tennessee Titans have their franchise quarterback. The New York Giants might.

And Shedeur Sanders is still waiting to hear his name called.

The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books. Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Thursday night:

Winners

The Jaguars’ watchability

James Gladstone, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 34-year-old, fresh-faced general manager, has been on the job just 62 days. It took him all of one pick to make a seismic move that could reshape the future of a long-beleaguered franchise. In Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, Jacksonville landed one of the most intriguing talents to enter the league in decades. To move up three spots and grab Hunter at No. 2, it cost the Jaguars a bundle — a second- and fourth-rounder this year, plus a first next year — but, remember, Gladstone arrived in Jacksonville via Los Angeles, where Rams longtime general manager Les Snead’s famous motto was “F— them picks.”

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Snead’s protégé learned well.

Imagine Hunter in Liam Coen’s revamped offense alongside Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. At the very least, the Jaguars just became much more watchable. And much more fun.

The pick also made history: not since 1997 has a team moved inside the top two to pick a non-quarterback (the Rams took offensive tackle Orlando Pace first). And not since 2007 has a wide receiver gone that high (when the Lions took Calvin Johnson). Pace and Johnson are in the Hall of Fame. A cornerback has never gone that high, either. Hunter will arrive in Duval County intent on wowing on both sides of the ball.

Drake Maye and the Patriots’ rebuild

Sometimes it’s hard to celebrate sensibility on the draft’s first night. Splash usually wins.

But give credit where credit is due: The New England Patriots badly needed to upgrade the offensive line around their young quarterback, Drake Maye, who was sacked 34 times in just 12 starts in 2024. In LSU tackle Will Campbell, New England landed a stud who, if all goes to plan, will be protecting Maye for a decade or more. Campbell’s a no-nonsense, plug-and-play starter who’ll fit seamlessly in Mike Vrabel’s new culture in Foxboro; he allowed just two sacks across his last 30 starts in college.

He’s not just a guy who changes how a team plays, but how it thinks. Just weigh what Campbell said about his new teammates after hearing his name called Thursday: “I’m gonna fight and die to protect them with everything I got.”

Vrabel’s going to love this kid more than he already does.

And this is how a team that’s won just eight games over the past two seasons starts to turn things around.

Colts GM Chris Ballard

The Indianapolis Colts needed this. More to the point, Chris Ballard needed this.

The pressure on the Colts’ general manager has never been greater — especially after an uninspiring 2024 left the Colts out of the playoffs for the sixth time in Ballard’s eight seasons. Couple that with a less-than-promising quarterback competition coming up in training camp between incumbent Anthony Richardson and newcomer Daniel Jones, and it was paramount that Ballard exited Thursday night with a playmaker, particularly at the team’s most glaring offensive need: tight end.

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Following a defensive spending spree in free agency, Indianapolis needed a tight end badly, and in Tyler Warren, Penn State’s do-everything-anywhere weapon, Ballard delivered to his fan base what it craved. Warren’s a unique talent, and the Colts didn’t have to trade up to get him.

Outside of one terrific season from Eric Ebron in 2018, Indianapolis hasn’t had this versatile a weapon at the position since the days of Dallas Clark (with all due respect to Jack Doyle, he wasn’t a player that scared defenses). Warren, an athletic tight end who doubles as a capable blocker, will give his quarterback a trusty, versatile downfield weapon. Plus, if Richardson wins the job, it’ll give the team a clearer picture of whether he’s the quarterback they want to build around moving forward.

Bryce Young and the Panthers’ offense

Tetairoa McMillian gives Bryce Young a key receiving option entering his third year as Panthers QB. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

For the second straight year, Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan went wide receiver in the first round. The motive is obvious: give third-year quarterback Bryce Young as many weapons as possible while hoping the 2023 No. 1 pick continues to revive his career after an awful rookie season and last year’s benching.

Last April, it was South Carolina’s Xavier Legette at No. 32. This time, it’s Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8, a bit of a surprise considering the Panthers’ defensive needs, but a fascinating choice for an offense that needs playmakers. McMillan’s exceptional catch radius should make life easier for Young, especially when he’s under pressure.

Morgan told reporters that teams were “sniffing around” to see if the Panthers would track back, but he was sold on McMillan. His quarterback should thank him.

Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen

For a while, it looked like the Giants’ top two decision-makers were content with leaving their fates up to a 36-year-old Russell Wilson in 2025. Or, worse yet, Jameis Winston.

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That had a 5-12 season written all over it.

And the Giants still might struggle in 2025, but thanks to a late-night trade, New York now has at least a semblance of hope at the position: By taking a swing at Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, the Giants might’ve found their starter of the future.

With Wilson and Winston already on the roster, New York won’t have to rush Dart into the lineup. “Russ will be our starter,” Daboll told reporters Thursday night.

There’s no guarantee it works out, but at the very least, Daboll and Schoen took their shot.

The move at quarterback comes after the Giants grabbed perhaps the best player in the draft in Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3. New York is now flush with talent on the defensive front — Carter will join a line that already includes Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

“It better not take too long, because I’ve just about run out of patience,” owner John Mara told reporters last winter, speaking on Daboll’s and Schoen’s status after just nine combined wins over the past two seasons. By adding Carter and Dart, the Giants have to be thinking the arrow’s finally pointing up.

The Packers’ scary young offense

It was a pick that made the 200,000-plus in attendance outside Lambeau Field roar: For the first time in 23 years, the Green Bay Packers took a wide receiver in the first round.

And one of the league’s deepest — not to mention youngest — receiver groups adds another scary element. Texas’ Matthew Golden is a speedster, sure, but he can do more, and alongside Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Christian Watson, third-year starting quarterback Jordan Love is going to have a bevy of options on any given down. Add tight end Tucker Kraft into the mix as well.

Perhaps the scariest part? Every name listed is under 26 years old.

The Eagles’ affection for SEC defenders

Find something you love as much as Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman loves SEC defenders. Philadelphia, fresh off a trouncing of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl that was spearheaded by a dominant defense, added another weapon late in the first round Thursday night. Philly grabbed Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell at No. 31, a player Roseman told reporters the Eagles had “in our top 10.”

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If the Eagles keep getting top-10 talents late in the first round, the league’s in for even more trouble.

Campbell likely would’ve gone higher if not for some medical concerns (mainly his knee), but the Eagles have rolled the dice in similar situations before. More often than not, it works out.

Losers

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders

Only two QBs — Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart — were drafted Thursday, leaving Shedeur Sanders to wait until Friday’s second round. (Dustin Bradford / Getty Images for ONIT)

Maybe, in time, this night will prove a blessing in disguise for Shedeur Sanders.

Maybe he hears his name called early Friday night, lands with the right organization and eventually blossoms into a star.

Maybe.

But there’s no easy way to spin this for the Colorado quarterback, at least not initially: Sanders entered the draft process as a potential top-five pick and was very much in the running with Miami’s Cam Ward to be the first quarterback off the board. On Thursday, he was shut out of the first round completely, passed over by all 32 teams.

That includes several with massive needs at quarterback, such as the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

And not only did Sanders watch Ward go No. 1 to the Titans, but also he watched the Giants trade back into the first round to take Dart at No. 25.

Pittsburgh passing on Sanders at No. 21 was especially telling considering its depth chart at the moment looks like this: Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, end of list. Maybe Aaron Rodgers changes that, but as is always the case with the mercurial Rodgers, nothing’s ever a guarantee.

The Browns’ quarterback situation (the Steelers, too)

Sure, the Browns traded back from No. 2 and piled up some much-needed later-round picks, including a first next year. And sure, they landed a defensive wrecking ball in Michigan tackle Mason Graham at No. 5.

And sure, they could address their glaring need at quarterback quickly on Friday: Cleveland owns two of the first four picks in the second round, including No. 33.

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But there’s no way around it: The Browns have one of the worst quarterback rooms in football, though their AFC North counterparts in Pittsburgh is giving them competition. One big difference: The Steelers still have a chance at adding Rodgers.

The Browns are staring at a training camp competition between 40-year-old Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, who flamed out as the Steelers’ starter in just two seasons. (There’s a good chance Deshaun Watson, injured again, will never take another snap for the team.) Even if they add Sanders, they remain a long shot to return to the playoffs in 2025. And likely 2026.

Consider if Hunter turns into an All-Pro player in Jacksonville. Thursday’s trade could age horrendously for Cleveland.

The Steelers, meanwhile, have Rudolph slated at QB1.

For a team that traded for wideout DK Metcalf, then signed him to a five-year, $150 million contract, the question of who’ll be throwing him the football still looms.

Will Levis’ future in Tennessee

Let’s be honest: Levis’ days in Tennessee were numbered the minute he was benched for Rudolph late last season, and nothing new general manager Mike Borgonzi revealed to reporters in the week before the draft hinted at any other outcome. “Will Levis is a QB in our room who is still developing,” Borgonzi said. Ouch. The Titans’ selection of Ward atop this year’s draft cements him as the new face of the franchise; it also means Levis’ exit from Tennessee is only a matter of time.

It’s a swift and staggering fall for a quarterback who was the first pick in the second round just 24 months ago, and the latest reminder of how finding a long-term answer at quarterback remains an inexact science.

(Top photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

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