Biggest surprises coming out of the 2025 NFL Draft

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• Shedeur Sanders‘ unexpected fall was the story of the draft: Nobody viewed Sanders as a likely mid-Day 3 pick heading into the draft, and his eventual selection was made even more peculiar by the team that drafted him.

• The Atlanta Falcons put a lot of pressure on themselves: Trading back into the first round and giving up a future first-rounder shows the team has a lot of confidence in James Pearce Jr.

• Subscribe to PFF+: Get access to player grades, PFF Premium Stats, fantasy football rankings, all of the PFF fantasy draft research tools and more!

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Every NFL draft is filled with unexpected twists and turns that leave fans infatuated with the spectacle as a whole new crop of stars take big steps in their football careers.

Between players sliding down the board, trades and more, the 2025 NFL Draft gave us plenty to dissect now that we’re a couple of weeks removed from the excitement.

Shedeur Sanders falls to the fifth round as the Cleveland Browns’ second drafted QB

Sanders represents a double surprise this year. The first was his slide to the fifth round as a consensus first-round pick, according to most NFL draft analysts. Even considering his lower ranking of No. 45 on PFF’s big board, it was a significant fall. The second surprise was that Sanders was eventually drafted by the Cleveland Browns at 144th overall, despite the team having already selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

Several reports have attempted to explain Sanders’ tumble, with most suggesting he failed to meet NFL expectations during the pre-draft process, partly due to not participating in the East-West Shrine Game, to which he accepted an invite, and the NFL Scouting Combine.

Sanders’ slide ended at No. 144 when the Browns traded up with the Seattle Seahawks, after already spending Day 2 capital on a quarterback. While most draft analysts had Sanders ranked ahead of Gabriel, there’s an argument to be made that they’re closer in talent than the consensus rankings suggest, to the point where it wouldn’t be egregious if the Browns had Gabriel ahead of Sanders on their draft board.

And considering the Browns’ history and current quarterback situation, an argument can also be made that they couldn’t afford to further pass up on talent at the position. Still, the order in which these two quarterbacks were selected certainly qualifies as a surprise. It might even be considered less surprising if Sanders gets the first crack at starting duties over Gabriel, as current sportsbooks tend to suggest.

Shedeur Sanders’ and Dillon Gabriel’s Career College Stats

Sanders’ football story feels far from finished at this point, and now the ball is in his court to show the NFL — Browns included — that his slide was unwarranted.

The Atlanta Falcons invest heavily in James Pearce Jr. with a big trade-up

It was no surprise that Atlanta addressed its defensive line early in the 2025 NFL Draft, and it wasn’t even a surprise that Pearce was on their radar in Round 1. But it was a surprise that the team traded a 2026 first-round pick, along with the Nos. 46 and 242 picks in 2025, to select Pearce and get back the No. 101 pick. That was a significant investment to acquire a non-quarterback near the end of the first round, and it represented a double-dip for the Falcons on defense in Round 1 after they selected Jalon Walker just 11 picks earlier.

Pearce is one of the best pure pass rushers in the class, coming out of college with elite pass-rush metrics, including a 92.6 career PFF pass-rush grade, a 22.2% win rate and a 22.2% pressure rate — all of which rank no worse than in the 95th percentile among edge prospects dating back to 2016.

There’s no doubt that Pearce should immediately provide a pass-rush ceiling at the position that the team hasn’t had since Vic Beasley in 2016 — the last Falcons player to reach double-digit sacks. Pearce is more of an immediate fix for Atlanta compared to Walker, who figures to be more of a developmental project and potentially a hybrid off-ball linebacker and edge rusher, similar to Kaden Elliss’ usage with the team last year.

The real surprise was just how much the Falcons gave up to the Rams for the right to select Pearce, specifically the 2026 first-round pick, which essentially means that they spent more to draft Pearce than they did Walker, putting a lot of pressure on Pearce to find success.

Pearce comes with some off-field baggage, including reports about character concerns and a 2023 arrest after speeding and having a suspended license, for which all charges were dropped. There is no guarantee that Pearce will work out at the NFL level, as is true for any NFL prospect, but the Falcons’ investment in him is significantly riskier after they ceded so much surplus value.

The Jacksonville Jaguars trade with the Cleveland Browns for a generational prospect

Travis Hunter was essentially a lock to go second overall in the 2025 NFL Draft by the time the day rolled around, and the Browns seemed destined to get a desperately needed difference-maker on both sides of the ball. However, Cleveland chose to move back from the No. 2 pick after being offered the No. 5 pick, the No. 36 pick and the No. 126 pick, while Jacksonville also acquired the Nos. 104 and 200 picks for the right to select Hunter.

The biggest surprise was that the Browns passed on a truly generational prospect in Hunter, who would play two valuable positions for them as a wide receiver and cornerback and hold the potential to be a legitimate star for years to come. Everything about Hunter’s college profile suggests he’s an elite talent that the NFL hasn’t really seen before, which is why he ranked first overall on PFF’s big board.

As a cornerback, Hunter earned an elite 92.3 PFF coverage grade on 989 coverage snaps in his college career. He also posted a 90.7 PFF receiving grade on 953 routes as a wide receiver. He is as unique a prospect as there’s ever been, and the Browns may have erred by passing on his potential to have that level of impact in the NFL.

The Jaguars were not one of the likely suitors for Hunter coming into the 2025 NFL Draft, so they became a surprise landing spot — but one that should fit like a glove. As a wide receiver, Hunter not only gains a better quarterback situation than expected, but Liam Coen’s offense should also allow him to thrive as a high-value target, even with Brian Thomas Jr. in the mix. There’s room for both players to get fed targets.

On defense, Hunter can fill a need on the outside, as both Montaric Brown and Tyson Campbell — the current projected starters — ranked outside the top 50 in PFF coverage grade last season. 

The Jaguars shooting their shot to select a unicorn proepsect comes with risk, considering the price paid for a non-quarterback, but if Hunter can thrive as both a wide receiver and cornerback at the next level, this move will not just be surprising, but potentially viewed as a steal.

The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have a quarterback by the end of Day 2

Whether the signing of Aaron Rodgers was going to be made official or the Steelers selected a quarterback within the first three rounds, there was a real possibility that the team would come out of the 2025 NFL Draft with a much clearer picture of their Week 1 starter.

But with Rodgers still floating around in free agency and the team not spending a pick on a quarterback (Will Howard) until the sixth round, questions about the team’s plan surprisingly remain unanswered multiple weeks removed from the 2025 NFL Draft.

As things stand, Mason Rudolph is the team’s projected starter. For head coach Mike Tomlin, who has made the playoffs in 12 of his 18 years at the helm, that doesn’t bode well. Rudolph owns a career 61.7 PFF passing grade, which ranks 51st among 66 qualifying quarterbacks with at least 500 dropbacks since 2019. Pittsburgh also recently traded starting wide receiver George Pickens without having a clear second option in the passing game to support the team’s starting at quarterback in 2025.

The Steelers’ wide receiver room has fluctuated a fair bit this offseason, largely via trades involving D.K. Metcalf and Pickens, but the quarterback room is one of the least improved units in the NFL. It wouldn’t be a surprise, based on the current offense, if the Steelers finished in the bottom half of the league this season.

This news was originally published on this post .

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