In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by FantasyLife+:
The 2025 NFL Draft was expected to provide some surprises in the first round, and it certainly did.
From a fantasy football perspective, it didn’t provide the fireworks needed to instill excitement for 2025 production.
Four trades were made, including the Giants trading into the first round with the Texans to take quarterback Jaxson Dart at pick No. 25. Here are the biggest draft shockers and what they mean for fantasy.
- It didn’t take long for the first surprise. The Browns traded the No. 2 overall pick, a fourth-round pick (No. 104), and a sixth-round pick (No. 200) to the Jaguars for the No. 5 overall pick, a second-round pick (No. 36), a fourth-round pick (No. 126), and their 2026 first-round pick. The second overall pick was WR/CB Travis Hunter. Hunter has stated he wanted to play both sides of the ball, and even with Brian Thomas the clear top receiver for the Jaguars, there isn’t anyone else who will prevent Hunter from getting targets when he’s on the field. For now, put Hunter in the WR4 area with the chance for more depending on playing time.
- The Bears were hoping to get running back Ashton Jeanty, but he went to the Raiders at six. Many had Tyler Warren as the top tight end, but the Bears took Colston Loveland at pick 10 over Warren, who went 14th to the Colts. Ben Johnson ran a lot of two-tight end sets with the Lions and will implement a similar offense with Cole Kmet as the other one. Loveland will help the Bears offense and Caleb Williams, but DJ Moore and Rome Odunze will be the top targets. Loveland is a TE2 who will produce more in the future rather than in 2025.
- There was excitement for the landing spot of Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka. Going to the Buccaneers at pick 19 isn’t the ideal spot for his first season, as the Buccaneers have Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan. Godwin dislocated his ankle in Week 7 last season and was on pace for one of the best seasons of his career, and is now entering his age-29 season. Unless Godwin misses time to start the season, there aren’t enough targets for Egbuka, who would be relevant if Evans or Godwin is out. This is a big boost for Baker Mayfield, but it hurts Jalen McMillan.
- Most of the mock drafts had the Panthers going defense. Instead, they decided to add wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to give Bryce Young a big target. McMillan immediately becomes the No. 1 target on the team and should be drafted in the WR3 area. The addition of McMillan isn’t good for the hopes of Xavier Legette taking a big step forward, either.
- The Broncos didn’t take a running back at pick 20 as many hoped for fantasy and selected the first cornerback off the board in Jahdae Barron.
- The Steelers passed on a quarterback at 21 and took defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.
- Omarion Hampton lands in a great spot for his future with the Chargers. It might take some time in 2025 with Najee Harris there, but Harris is on a one-year deal for $5.25 million. Hampton has a chance to emerge as the main back at some point during the season.
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A New Franchise QB In Tennessee
As the official 2025 No. 1 pick, Cam Ward will have every chance to grow into his sky-high upside as the Titans' clear-cut franchise QB of the present and future. A Week 1 starting job is inevitable; second-year head coach Brian Callahan needs to show more oomph after a combination of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph yielded just the league's 27th-ranked scoring offense.
Hopefully, handing out big money in free agency to offensive linemen Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler improves PFF's reigning 28th-ranked offensive line considerably, because so far the only real additions to speak of at WR consist of Tyler Lockett (33 in September) and Van Jefferson (on his fourth team since 2023).
Here's to hoping the Titans take a long look at utilizing the 35th pick of the draft on adding another weapon for Ward (perhaps former Washington State teammate Kyle Williams?), as this franchise is absent of a third-round pick at the moment.
Titans fans should feel great about Ward's long-term upside, although it's tough to be too excited about his fantasy potential for 2025 specifically due to his status as a limited rusher inside an offensive environment that doesn't figure to do him a ton of favors as he goes through typical NFL growing pains.
For an even deeper dive into Ward and the Titans’ fantasy football outlook for 2025, Ian Hartitz has you covered. ⬇️
WHERE DOES WARD LAND IN EARLY 2025 RANKINGS?
The Best of the Rest
Day 2 of the NFL Draft gets underway at 7 p.m. ET tonight. While several of the household names are off the board after Round 1, one of the biggest names coming into the draft, Shedeur Sanders, is still awaiting to find out where he’s going to play in the fall.
Since only two RBs were selected in Round 1, expect to see star runners like TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, and Kaleb Johnson to come off the board tonight. Interested in defense? The CB2 and two of the top three pass rushers on the Thor 500 are waiting for that call. See all the Best Players Available right here.👇🏼
FULL LIST OF BEST AVAILABLE PLAYERS
The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:
🚨 Instant reactions to EVERY fantasy-relevant pick from Round 1. We’ve got you covered.
📝 The draft resumes tonight. Track every pick, for every round, in one place.
🎥 Breaking down the film. What the best prospects bring to their new teams.
👀 Fantasy football fallout galore … Matthew Berry reacts to Ashton Jeanty, Travis Hunter, and Tet McMillan.
🚀 Emeka Egbuka jumped how high in the Rookie Super Model? The draft capital boost.
🔮 Someone tell him to buy a lottery ticket. The Jags trade was predicted two months ago?!
📸 Do yourself a favor and check out our Instagram account for photos of all 32 first-round picks.
