Initial feelings on the NFL Draft through the lens of Kansas City’s needs.
With the NFL Scouting Combine approaching next week, it’s time to shift to draft coverage. So far, I’ve mainly studied prospects who are likely top-50 picks, but after watching college football every Saturday, reading from experts and doing some of my own work, I’m ready to talk about this class.
To get you ready for draft coverage and the combine, I thought it’d be a helpful start for me to share some overall takes on the class. We’ll have some more extensive coverage later, but in this post, here are some of my initial thoughts on the 2025 NFL Draft class:
1) The quarterback class isn’t friendly for the Chiefs in the first round, but potentially helpful on Day 2.
I won’t dive deep into the prospects since the Chiefs don’t need a quarterback. What I can say is that this class is the opposite of last year’s. Last year, six quarterbacks went in the top 12, which helped push prospects down the board for the Chiefs in the first round. On the flip side, no quarterback went on Day 2, so the Day 2 class was hurt for the Chiefs.
This year, it’s the opposite. The only quarterback I’m convinced goes on Day 1 is Miami’s Cam Ward. Everyone else I project for Day 2. This class is full of mid-tier prospects that make more sense to wait. If you want a point of comparison, I would look at 2013, when only EJ Manuel went in the first round, and the other quarterbacks went on Day 2.
2) This is not an impressive Day 2 wide receiver class.
We’ve had a good run of deep wide receiver classes over the past four to five years, but the 2025 class falls short of those standards.
At the top of the class are Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, Texas’s Matthew Golden, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, and Missouri’s Luther Burden III.
I think the class considerably falls off after that. Other names that will be considered are Jayden Higgins, Tre Harris, Elic Ayomanor and Pat Bryant, but they don’t excite me much. I worry about how translatable their games are to the NFL. I worry the floor could fall out for them, and I question if they have the ceiling to justify taking them high.
At best, they all feel like smaller role players than complete receivers. If you need a wide receiver, take one early in this class; otherwise, wait for value.
3) …however, I love the running back and tight end classes.
That being said, I think there is real value in the running back and tight end classes.
To start with running back, I love all the positions throughout all seven rounds. Ashton Jeanty belongs in his tier, but even Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton are first-round picks to me.
On Day 2, I was impressed with Ohio State’s pair of running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, as well as Kansas’ Devin Neal. I’m not sure where some of these running backs will go, but Jordan James, Dylan Sampson, Kyle Monangai and Cam Skattebo are good values at the position.
Tight end is an excellent class this year. There are two clear first-round picks in Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland, but it’s deep throughout. Gunnar Helm of Texas and Elijah Arroyo of Miami are my two favorite Day 2 tight ends. Mason Taylor is a project but has elite receiving traits. With the Chiefs now potentially looking for their replacement for Travis Kelce, this would be a good year to find one.
I would much rather take a running back or tight end in this class than any wide receiver after the first round.
4) This is a strong offensive line class, but not as strong as 2024.
It will be hard to ever beat the 2024 offensive line class, but this class doesn’t disappoint in good offensive linemen.
The good news for the Chiefs is that I think there will be tackles that would be good picks in their range. I don’t see the top-end talent of previous classes. Between guys like Will Campbell, Kelvin Banks and Armond Membou, there are enough concerns about their length that teams may push them down the board. My personal favorite — Ohio State’s Josh Simmons — is coming off an ACL injury that could push him down. I don’t think any of those four fall to 31, but if they’re in the 13-19 range, it is way more feasible for Kansas City to move up and not surrender overwhelming draft capital.
5) This is a tremendous defensive line class.
The best position groups in this class are on the defensive line, with an A+ defensive tackle class.
Mason Graham, Walter Nolen, Kenneth Grant, Tyleik Williams, Deone Walker, Derrick Harmon and Shemar Turner are all worthy top 30-50 picks for me. I even love players like Alfred Collins and Nazir Stackhouse as nose tackle options on Day 2.
T.J. Sanders and Toledo’s Darius Alexander are good Day 2 prospects as well. This class is incredibly deep and has top-end talent.
Defensive end is more of a B grade for me, but I do like the class. The top-tier talent in the class ends at Abdul Carter for me, but the depth of the class is impressive. In the Chiefs’ range, I would be happy with James Pearce, Jack Sawyer, Princely Umanmielen, Shemar Stewart or Mike Green as options. I think the value of the class comes on Day 2 or late first round, which is good for the Chiefs.