There are still many, many months, and many, many football games to be played until the 2025 NFL draft. College players will break out, NFL teams’ needs will emerge and solidify, and what we thought we knew about who will go where when will surely be upended.
Still, it’s fun to think about and gives an idea of what the stakes for the upcoming college football season may be. ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller’s 2025 first-round predictions were published Tuesday, and several players from Texas schools made the cut.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers, fresh off a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals, was projected to go 10th overall to the New Orleans Saints. He was the third signal caller taken after No. 1 Carson Beck from Georgia and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 2.
“The 2024 season will be crucial for the future of starting quarterback Derek Carr in New Orleans and perhaps provide a window into what the team has in rookie fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler. At this time, it doesn’t appear that either quarterback is the future here,” Miller wrote of the Southlake Carroll product. “Ewers has talent worthy of a first-overall pick heading into his third season as a starter at Texas. At 21 years old, he has to cut down on poor decisions during games, but his accuracy, mobility and arm strength are that of a future NFL starter. Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdown passes last season.”
Miller also contends that the son of Dallas Cowboys legend and Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, “is a legitimate Heisman contender if Colorado can string together some wins.”
Ewers was only the second Longhorn to crack the top ten, with offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., getting taken fifth-overall by the Washington Commanders.
“If the draft were tomorrow, we’d be talking about left tackle and edge rusher as massive needs for the Commanders … after allowing 65 sacks last season (tied for second most). Banks is a prototypical left tackle with a powerful 324-pound frame, and the junior has allowed just two sacks over his two full seasons starting for the Longhorns,” Miller wrote.
One of the mock draft’s bolder predictions? The Los Angeles Rams will find their Matthew Stafford successor in Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman.
“In the leadup to the 2024 draft, sources around the NFL told me often that the Rams were a sneaky team to keep an eye on with the quarterbacks. That didn’t ultimately play out, but I’m watching them closely in 2025 with Matthew Stafford now 36 years old,” Miller said. “Weigman started just four games for A&M last year before a season-ending foot injury, but he flashed with eight touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground. He is more of a projection at this stage, but the talent is there for him to push into the Round 1 conversation — and potentially be L.A.’s quarterback of the future.”
As for the Cowboys, much was made of the fact that Dallas didn’t take a running back in the 2024 draft, instead opting to apparently rely on the recently re-signed Ezekiel Elliott and 2023 Tony Pollard backup Rico Dowdle. Miller projects that the Cowboys will right the ship in that respect and take Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State with the 27th pick.
“Judkins has elite talent, and Dallas ignored the position throughout this offseason beyond a reunion with 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott. Judkins rushed for 2,725 yards and scored 31 rushing touchdowns over two seasons with Ole Miss before transferring to Ohio State. He will share carries with TreVeyon Henderson there, but the new Buckeye has Heisman-level talent and the burst and balance to be a great NFL running back,” Miller wrote.
Read the full mock draft here.
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