Omarion Hampton To The Bears, And More NFL Draft 2025 Predictions For NFC Teams
In today's Betting Life Newsletter:
Draft Day Wish List: With the 2025 NFL Draft just a fortnight away, it was high time I threw my oversized hat in the speculative ring. What’s the worst that could happen?
While I don’t claim to be the world’s foremost expert on NFL Draft prospects, I do know one thing—no one gets the entire puzzle right.
NFC Landing Spot Predictions In NFL Draft
Every year, picks get made that shock the NFL landscape—oftentimes to resounding boos, before they even have a chance to mature. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago all of social media torched the Lions’ front office for drafting Jahmyr Gibbs at number 12 overall—and now he’s one of the premier offensive players in the game.
Bottom line is this: None of us knows exactly what’s going on in these team meetings, so I did what I do best—dig through my handy-dandy spreadsheets to identify each team’s most glaring need before attempting to address it.
Using as many resources as humanly possible, I give you my NFC Draft Day Wish List …
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ A Few Notes! 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️
📈 I like what Sam Wallace did here on the fantasy football side with his series on “what’s my dynasty pick worth?” He has some ideas if you want to trade away the 1.02.
🏈 For the latest in our NFL Draft coverage (we’re in APRIL!! It’s this month!!), we have you covered. Thor and Freedman are taking turns with mock draftx … 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
What’s going on the NFL and more with our merry band of sports nerds!
🏈 Time to get back in on these quarterbacks.
🔥 There are some hot takes in here that will leave you crying. 😭
🙉 Remember these NFL Draft rumors so you can forget this year’s rumors.
👀 Rate these NFL Draft RB landing spots.
👑 Can King James rein supreme?
🫡 Today baseball pays tribute to a legend.
🏈🙏🏼 Stat-Based NFC Draft Day Wish List: Top Half Round 1 🙏🏼🏈
New York Giants, Pick 3: Big Blue all but squashed any chances of taking a QB they didn’t want at No. 3 overall by signing not one, but two experienced shotcallers this offseason. Aside from Malik Nabers, NYG struggled mightily in the receiving room (9.6 yards per completion, 4.7 yards after contact per catch), but that’s not all. The Giants also stumbled in the secondary (-0.15 EPA/dropback, 103.1 passer rating allowed). Assuming the Browns draft Abdul Carter, why not kill two birds with one stone and select Colorado’s standout two-way player, CB/WR Travis Hunter?
Carolina Panthers, Pick 8: Now that the football world has come around on Bryce Young, it’s time to get this young man some weapons to boost those putrid receiving stats. With only 10 yards per completion in 2024 and not a single pass catcher eclipsing 618 receiving yards, the Cats need to make a splash with Arizona’s star WR Tetairoa McMillan.
New Orleans Saints, Pick 9: NOLA’s passing attack lacked any semblance of excitement with Carr under center, and that was before we found his shoulder injury threatened his status for 2025. Maybe that’s why he posted a pathetic 39.1% of attempts beyond the sticks last season, dead last among all starting QBs. While some think he could wind up with Big Blue, I believe it’s Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders heading to The Big Easy.
Chicago Bears, Pick 10: No offense flattened our preseason expectations faster than the Monsters of the Midway on the back of some horrific run-game production in 2024 (4.0 yards per carry, 2.5 yards after contact per rush, 36.9% success, 7 +20-yard attempts)—nothing drafting North Carolina’s RB Omarion Hampton won’t fix.
San Francisco 49ers, Pick 11: Once a foundation of the Niners narrative, the red and gold finished bottom-10 in EPA/rush (-0.02), defensive success rate (58.1%), snaps per splash play (3.2), and rushing TD allowed (24). Desperately in need of play-making beef on the interior defensive line, I wish Michigan’s Mason Graham falls to pick 11.
Dallas Cowboys, Pick 12: The Cowboys know they’re behind the 8 ball in a tough division, relying on CeeDee Lamb to do the lion’s share of damage on offense. Considering no other Dallas pass catcher racked up 50+ catches or 610+ yards, I’ll trust a franchise’s front office just this once to do the right thing and select Texas’ speedster WR Matthew Golden.
Atlanta Falcons, Pick 15: One of only four teams to allow a 100+ passer rating in 2024, the Dirty Birds also finished 30th or worse in completion rate allowed (69.9%) and passing TD (34). They sorely need to shore up the secondary with Georgia safety Malaki Starks.
Arizona Cardinals, Pick 16: Victims to lack of defensive efficiency, the Cards finished last season 30th or worse in average drive distance (34.3 yards) and time of possession (3:07) due to an outright failure to close out ballcarriers. Their tackle success rate (46.9%), QB hits per game (6.1), pressure (30.1%), and sack (4.9%) rates fell outside the top 25, making them the perfect candidate to draft Marshall’s Mike Green.
ODDS FOR NO. 2 PICK IN THE NFL DRAFT
🏈🙏🏼 Stat-Based NFC Draft Day Wish List: Bottom Half Round 1 🙏🏼🏈
Seattle Seahawks, Pick 18: Somebody block, please! The Hawks’ vertical attack took a nosedive (6.9 air yards per attempt) because every protection metric dwelled in the basement (40.6% pressure rate, 41 sacks allowed, 13.5 hurries per game). They better bolster the O-line with an immediate impact lineman like the Longhorns’ Kelvin Banks Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pick 19: Baker Mayfield and the Bucs’ offense shouldered the entire load last season—something they’ll need to correct after allowing opposing passing attacks to run amok in 2024 (243.9 passing yards allowed per game—54 +20-yard completions. With rumors swirling that TB could trade down, I’d stand pat and look to improve a dismal man-coverage unit with Wolverine CB Will Johnson.
Green Bay Packers, Pick 23: If you’re sensitive to gross stats, look away. Somehow, the Packers’ defense mustered just 1.3 sacks and 8.6 QB hits per game in 2024. They’ll be looking for an impact player around the line of scrimmage, where Boston College’s best edge defender Donovan Ezeiruaku is waiting to get scooped up.
Minnesota Vikings, Pick 24: Only Tampa Bay allowed more completions per game (24.4) than the Vikings, and the Purple People Eaters possess a particular deficiency in defending the slot (8.1 catches, 87.4 yards per game). They’d be wise to snatch up the Gamecocks’ versatile safety Nick Emmanwori.
Los Angeles Rams, Pick 26: As much as we love the Rams’ offense, the lack of explosivity in the backfield became more and more apparent as the season wore on. LA finished at or near the bottom of the barrel in yards per rush (3.9), yards after contact per rush (2.53), and explosive rush rate (5.1%)—they had only three +20-yard carries during the regular season! If Omarion Hampton manages to slip past the Broncos, he’s the guy—but if not, give me the perceived reach for Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo.
Detroit Lions, Pick 28: The Lions’ offense looked prime for a championship run but fell short on defense, posting fewer than two sacks per game and finishing bottom-5 in splash plays. We also saw those vulnerabilities manifest after losing Aidan Hutchinson, something immediately addressed by drafting the Aggies’ edge defender, Nic Scourton.
Washington Commanders, Pick 29: The Commanders spent the entire season exceeding expectations but fell short when it counted most in terms of run defense (-0.1 EPA/rush, 4.8 yards per rush, 9.4% explosive rush rate allowed). Expect the Commies to shore up the frontline trenches with Ole Miss’ interior run-stopping specialist Walter Nolen.
Philadelphia Eagles, Pick 32: While it’s probably not fair the Eagles even get a first-round pick, they do—and the way things are going for their talent evaluation team, it’ll be a smashing success. With so few flaws anywhere on the roster, the Eagles could look to cut down their 44.0% pressure rate and 12.9 hurries allowed per game with the Buckeyes’ OT Josh Simmons.
For anyone still interested in daily MLB betting on a more granular level, hit me up anytime on X @JohnLaghezza. I provide my world-famous starting pitching sheets and MLB Moving Averages Algorithm results seven days a week to the betting public.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Betting Life newsletter! Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback. I love hearing back from you!
