Full seven-round NFL mock draft, plus five AFC teams that need to ace draft and schedule release is coming

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

It doesn’t seem believable, but as of today, we are now exactly just two weeks away from the start of the 2025 NFL Draft and we’re going to help you pass the time by unveiling our first seven-round mock draft of the year. If you read one round per day in this mock draft and you read the entire thing twice, then BOOM, it will take you two weeks to read it all and that will get you all the way to the start of the draft. 

To keep up with our seven-round theme, we’ll also be doing a Bears mock draft where we make every pick for Chicago. Also, the NFL just dropped a major hint on when the schedule will be released and we’ll also have that today. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

1. Seven-round mock draft: Predicting all 257 picks 

The start of the 2025 NFL Draft is exactly two weeks away and we’re celebrating that fact today by unveiling our first SEVEN-ROUND mock draft. There are 257 picks in this year’s draft and CBSSports.com draft analyst Chris Trapasso went through and made picks for every team. I’m guessing it took him roughly 91 hours to write. 

Whenever we go over a mock draft here, I usually give you the top-10 picks for that mock, but this time, we’re going to look at the final 10 picks in the draft, because I feel like that’s the only way we can fully appreciate the monstrous job that Chris pulled off here. 

• 248.  Saints: Joshua Simon, TE, South Carolina
• 249. 49ers: Taylor Morin, WR, Wake Forest
• 250. Packers: Eli Cox, IOL, Kentucky
• 251. Chiefs: Benjamin Yurosek, TE, Georgia
• 252. 49ers: Brandon George, LB, Pittsburgh
• 253. Dolphins: Dominic Lovett, WR, Georgia
• 254. Saints: Chris Tyree, WR, Virginia
• 255. Browns: Dean Clark, S, Fresno State
• 256. Chargers: Wyett Ekeler, S, Wyoming
• 257. Chiefs: Isas Waxter, CB, Villanova

Here are a few other key notes about the mock draft: 

• Trapasso has Shedeur Sanders going seventh overall to the Jets.
• He has two tight ends — Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland — going in the top 20, which has only happened one time over the past 30 years and that came back in 2019. 
• The Browns open up the second round by grabbing a QB with the 33rd overall pick (Jaxson Dart). That gives them Dart and Travis Hunter with their first two picks. 
• Ashton Jeanty ends up going in the top five after the Jaguars select him with the fifth overall pick. 

If you want to know how all 257 picks end up shaking out, then be sure to click here. 

2. Bears seven-round mock draft: Chicago continues offensive overhaul

When it comes to the offseason, the Bears are definitely one of the biggest winners so far. They’ve made several big moves over the past month, including the addition of three new offensive linemen in Drew Dalman, Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. 

If the Bears want to continue their offseason success, they’re going to need to ace the draft. 

The Bears have a total of seven picks this year, including three of the first 41 picks. We put Bryan DeArdo in charge of making all of Chicago’s picks and here’s what he came up with for their first five: 

• Round 1 (10th overall): RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
• Round 2 (39th overall): EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College)
• Round 2 (41st overall): OL Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon) 
• Round 3 (72nd overall): WR Isaiah Bond (Texas)
• Round 5 (148th overall): LB Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss)

If you want a full explanation for the picks or if you’re wondering how the other two picks turned out, then be sure to check out Bryan’s full mock draft here. 

3. Who should the Seahawks select in first round of the NFL Draft? Ranking their best options 

In Wednesday’s newsletter, we did a full seven-round mock draft for the Seahawks, which involved Cody Benjamin making all 10 of their picks for them in the 2025 NFL Draft. For today, we had Cody come back and focus on what the Seahawks should do with their first-round pick at 18th overall. 

The Seahawks have a lot of a needs on their roster: From the offensive line to the secondary to wide receiver, there are a lot of ways they could go with this pick. 

So what should they do? Glad you asked. Cody ranked Seattle’s top three options in the first round: 

1. WR Matthew Golden (Texas): “Nothing is more important than solidifying the trenches for Darnold, but shedding both Metcalf and Lockett this offseason means Seattle has to prioritize the pass catchers as well. Kupp and Smith-Njibga may be a dynamic tandem for 2025, but the former is also aging and injury prone, which makes a potential total package like Golden all the more attractive.”

2. S Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina): “Built like a linebacker but rangy enough to patrol sideline to sideline, he’s got some shades of former Seattle star Kam Chancellor. Paired with the re-signed Ernest Jones IV, he could become an instant tone-setting Swiss Army knife for Macdonald’s unit.”

3. OG Tyler Booker (Alabama): “If there’s one thing the Seahawks have desperately needed in recent years, it’s sturdier blocking. And Booker may well be the sturdiest offensive lineman within reach of Seattle’s No. 18 overall pick. His athletic traits aren’t necessarily the most tantalizing of the class, but the 6-foot-5 Crimson Tide product registers as a potential plug-and-play starter on the interior.”

Cody actually ranked a total of five options, and you can check out his full list here. 

4. Five AFC teams that need to ace the NFL Draft

Earlier this week, we took a look at the five NFC teams that need to ace the draft, so today, we’re going to flip things around and cover the five AFC teams that need to ace the draft. 

Every team will be facing pressure to improve their roster during the draft, but according to Jeff Kerr, the five AFC teams below will be under more pressure than other teams in the conference. 

1. Bengals. “The Bengals need significant help on defense at edge rusher (even with Hendrickson), cornerback and linebacker as new defensive coordinator Al Golden needs to revamp the unit. They also need to improve an offensive line that allowed a sack rate of 6.9% last season (19th in NFL). If the Bengals can ace the draft with their top selections (they have No. 17 and No. 49), they’ll be AFC contenders once again.”

2. Patriots. “The Patriots added Stefon Diggs at wide receiver, but need to find another pass catcher who can immediately boost this offense at No. 38 overall or No. 69 overall. They also need to improve an offensive line that was 29th in sack rate (9.0%) last season, even with free agent signings Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury. New England just needs to take the best player available at No. 4, and fill out the roster from there.”

3. Titans. “The Titans appear to be locked in on Cam Ward at No. 1 overall, but have to make sure they have the quarterback right and the offensive line to protect him in Year 1 (27th in sack rate allowed last season at 8.9%). What if Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter become generational players? Does that mean Tennessee made a mistake if Ward is just a “good” quarterback? This is the dilemma with a team that needs a franchise quarterback in a winnable division like the AFC South.”

4. Chiefs. “Kansas City has to address the left tackle position. … The Chiefs also could use depth at defensive tackle and could also use a long-term replacement for Travis Kelce.”

5. Bills. “Finding a wide receiver to complement Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman is paramount, as Josh Allen could use all the skill-position players he can get. Buffalo will also have to address the departures of Rasul Douglas and Kaiir Elam, finding a starting cornerback in this draft.”

If you want Kerr’s full explanation for his rankings, we’ve got that here. 

5. Three unexpected scenarios we could see in the NFL Draft

The most exciting part of the NFL Draft is when something unexpected happens. Last year, one of the biggest surprises came in the top 10 when the Falcons decided to take Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. I still haven’t mentally recovered from the shock of that pick and I don’t think Kirk Cousins has, either. 

With that in mind, Josh Edwards decided to take a look at a few unexpected scenarios that we might see in this year’s draft: 

1. Jets and Raiders both take a quarterback. “There has also been little discussion about the Jets or the Raiders adding competition at the position after making moves over the past month. The Jets signed 26-year-old former first-round pick Justin Fields in free agency shortly after Las Vegas acquired veteran Geno Smith. Would it surprise anyone if either team was looking for a new quarterback in the next two or three years?”

2. Shedeur Sanders falls OUT of the first round. “There are some teams with legitimate interest in him but, if those teams go in a different direction, then a slide down the board could take place. … The Seahawks, Steelers and Rams would be three teams to monitor if Sanders makes it beyond the Saints at No. 9 overall.”

3. Veteran player gets traded on draft night. “In 2022, the Eagles acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Titans in a Thursday night trade. Could we see something similar this year? If the Browns do not take a quarterback, would Kirk Cousins be willing to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a trade from Atlanta? Do the Bengals finally give in to Trey Hendrickson’s trade request?”

We’ve got more unexpected scenarios and you can check those out here. 

6. Extra points: NFL targeting one of three dates for release of 2025 schedule

It was a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• NFL schedule release coming in mid-May. The 2025 NFL schedule is coming next month and we now have an idea of when it will be released. The league’s VP of broadcast planning said that the NFL is targeting “May 13, 14, or 15” for the release. You can check out his full comments on the schedule release here. 
• Police called to incident involving Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins receiver was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife, Keeta Hill, on Monday. Although no charges were filed, Keeta did end up filing for divorce just one day later. We’ve got the details of the alleged altercation here. 
• Jalen Milroe has several visits lined up. The Alabama QB is one of the most polarizing prospects in the draft. There’s been some speculation that he could sneak into the first round, but it also wouldn’t be shocking if he were to fall all the way to the third round. Milroe has already visited with the Browns and is planning to visit with the Giants, Rams and Seahawks, according to Fox Sports. Milroe is athletic, but still kind of a raw talent, so it will certainly be interesting to see where he goes in the draft (In our seven-round mock, Trapasso had him going in Round 3 to the Giants). 
• Jets receiver takes giant pay cut. Allen Lazard was scheduled to make $11 million this season, but that number is now down to just $1.75 million in guaranteed money, according to Over the Cap. The receiver took a pay cut, but the trade off for Lazard is that the reworked deal will allow him to hit free agency following the 2025 season.