ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. projected two quarterbacks to come off the board in the first three picks as part of his first 2025 NFL mock draft, which was released Wednesday.

Kiper predicted Miami quarterback Cam Ward to go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans, followed by Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter to the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders to the New York Giants at No. 3.

The top 10 selections in Kiper’s first mock are as follows:

1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami

2. Cleveland Browns: Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

3. New York Giants, Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

4. New England Patriots: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

6. Las Vegas Raiders: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

7. New York Jets: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia

8. Carolina Panthers: Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia

9. New Orleans Saints: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

10. Chicago Bears: Will Campbell, OT, LSU

While the quarterbacks are far from slam dunks to be stars at the next level, this year’s draft appears to have plenty of depth and talent at other positions, particularly on defense with three edge rushers, one defensive tackle and one pure cornerback coming off the board in the first 10 picks.

In last year’s draft, quarterbacks came off the board in each of the first three picks, and six quarterbacks were picked in total over the first 12 selections.

This year’s quarterback class does not appear strong enough for a repeat performance, but it won’t be surprising if a couple of quarterback-needy teams near the top of the draft grab who they hope is their franchise signal-caller of the future.

At No. 1 overall, the Tennessee Titans are a prime candidate to take a quarterback after Will Levis and Mason Rudolph combined to threw 22 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions for a team that went 3-14.

There is plenty of debate over who the top quarterback in the draft is between Ward and Sanders, but Kiper has Tennessee going with Ward after his one highly productive season at Miami.

After starring at FCS Incarnate Word and then Washington State, Ward took his game to the next level at Miami this past season, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions en route to finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.

At No. 2 overall, the Browns are another team that could consider a quarterback despite restructuring the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson, which will almost certainly keep him on the roster in 2025.

However, while recovering from Achilles surgery, Watson tore his Achilles again, requiring another surgery and leaving his status for next season up in the air.

Despite Cleveland’s need for a QB, Kiper has the Browns taking arguably the draft’s best overall player in Hunter.

Hunter starred as both a wideout and corner at Colorado, and he won the Heisman Trophy in 2024, thanks to his 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, and 36 tackles, 11 passes defended and four interception.

Although he could perhaps play both sides of the ball on occasion at the next level, it seems likely that he will pick one position to stick with primarily, and he has a chance to be a superstar at either of them.

The Browns have a strong wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy and cornerback in Denzel Ward, and Hunter could slot in across from either of them. Receiver would perhaps be the best fit since a duo of Hunter and Jeudy would be a huge help for whoever starts at quarterback for the Browns in 2025.

Cleveland’s decision in Kiper’s mock leaves Sanders on the board for the Giants at No. 3, and it is hard to envision them passing on one of the top two quarterbacks if they are available.

New York released Daniel Jones during the 2024 season and got uneven play out of Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito down the stretch, resulting in a 3-14 record.

The son of Colorado head football coach and legendary NFL cornerback Deion Sanders, Shedeur put up his second consecutive excellent season at the FBS level in 2024.

Sanders was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was eighth in Heisman Trophy voting thanks to his 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 picks on a completion percentage of 74.0 percent.

The Sanders family is no stranger to the spotlight, so it stands to reason that Shedeur would perhaps be able to handle the pressure of playing in New York than most rookies fresh out of college typically would.

The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is set to run from Feb. 27 through March 2 in Indianapolis, followed by the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay April 24-26.