2025 NFL Draft winners and losers: Shedeur Sanders falls into both categories, Tom Brady makes the list

After 257 picks, the 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books. 

The draft started on Thursday with the Browns doing something crazy, and it ended on Saturday with the Browns also doing something crazy, so in a way, the draft truly came full circle. The first round started with a blockbuster trade between Cleveland and Jacksonville that saw the Jaguars move up from the fifth pick to the second overall spot so they could take Travis Hunter. 

Although Hunter went second overall, one player who had to wait longer than expected to get drafted was Hunter’s college teammate at Colorado, Shedeur Sanders. Not only did he fall out of the first round, but he ended up falling all the way to the fifth round before the Browns took him with the 144th overall pick. 

For this draft, Sanders was both a winner and a loser. How’s that possible? Let’s get to our full list of winners and losers to find out. 

Winners

Shedeur Sanders. Although Sanders had to wait five rounds before getting drafted, it might actually end up working out because he ended what is arguably the best possible situation for him. Sanders could have a realistic chance to win the Browns starting quarterback job because he’ll be joining a QB room that includes Joe Flacco (old), Kenny Pickett (still trying to figure things out) and Deshaun Watson (injured), along with another rookie in Dillon Gabriel. In the best-case scenario, Sanders beats everyone out for the starting job. In the worst-case scenario, he starts the season on the bench and gets to learn from a veteran like Flacco. However, the 40-year-old Flacco probably isn’t going to make it through an entire season as the starter, so Sanders should certainly get a chance to play at some point in 2025, but he’ll have to earn it.

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, Jaguars ticket office, Jaguars mascot, everyone in Jacksonville. In his first draft ever as an NFL general manager, the 34-year-old pulled off the most stunning move of the night when he made a deal with the Browns that gave Jacksonville the second overall pick. 

The Jaguars then turned around and used that pick on Travis Hunter. The Jags had to pay a hefty price to make the deal happen, but Hunter is a generational player, and when you have the chance to land a generational player, you have to do it. Also, two of Jacksonville’s biggest needs going into the draft were at receiver and corner, and they filled both needs with one player. It was a classic two birds, one stone move that makes Gladstone a winner in my book.

Not only did the Jags nail the pick with Hunter, but we actually gave them an “A” grade for their first FOUR picks. After taking Hunter, they got CB Caleb Ransaw and OT Wyatt Milum in the third round. We also gave them an ‘A’ for their selection of Virginia Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round. Guys, this might sound crazy, but I think the Jags might be good in 2025. This is a high-flying team that should be fun to watch. 

Cam Ward. After taking Ward with the first overall pick, the Titans did their best to surround him with a few weapons. In the fourth round alone, the Titans selected two receivers (Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor) and a tight end (Gunnar Helm). With those three picks, the Titans became the first team in 17 years to draft three pass catchers in a single round. Ward was also granted permission by Warren Moon to wear his retired No. 1 in Tennessee. 

Oh, and the Titans also went out and signed Ward’s college WR1 Xavier Restrepo as an undrafted free agent after the draft. After getting drafted by Tennessee, Ward hinted at the fact that he’d like to play with Restrepo, and the Titans clearly got the message.  

Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a total of 14 players taken in the draft, which is tied for the second most by any school during the first seven rounds of a draft. Emeka Egbuka was the first Buckeye to go off the board when he went 19th overall to the Buccaneers. Then, 166 picks later, Will Howard became the final Buckeye to go off the board when the Steelers selected the Ohio State QB at 186th overall. The Cardinals and Steelers both drafted two Ohio State players each. 

Robert Saleh. After five years away, the former Jets coach is back in San Francisco as the defensive coordinator and the 49ers did their best to help him in the draft. The 49ers used their first five picks in the draft on defensive players, marking just the second time in franchise history that they’ve done that. 

Saleh is probably licking his chops at the idea of pairing Mykel Williams and Nick Bosa together. The 49ers lost several key defensive players this offseason, including DT Javon Hargrave, DT Maliek Collins, LB Leonard Floyd, LB Dre Greenlaw, CB Charvarius Ward and S Talanoa Hufanga, so they were almost in a spot where they had to load up on defensive players. 

Tom Brady. In his first draft with the Raiders, the seven-time Super Bowl winner seems to be looking for the next Tom Brady. Of course, Brady was famously taken in the sixth round of the draft, and in what may or may not be a coincidence, the Raiders took TWO quarterbacks in the sixth round on Saturday with Montana State’s Tommy Mellott and North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. At NDSU, Miller put up some huge numbers, so it will be interesting to see what he does in Las Vegas. 

As for Mellott, he might be the next Julian Edelman, because he’s expected to make the switch to receiver. It’s also worth noting that Brady, along with Raiders GM John Spytek, had a solid draft. We gave them a B+ or better on each of their first eight picks. 

The Bears offense. The Bears might be the best team in the NFC North. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but this team is starting to look scary, especially on offense. After drafting Colston Loveland in the first round, the Bears followed that up by selecting receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. New coach Ben Johnson has a creative mind and he’s probably going to have fun calling plays in Chicago with these two new weapons. The Bears also continued the total overhaul of their offensive line by taking offensive tackle in Ozzy Trapilo with the 59th overall pick. They also added two more offensive players at the back end of the draft with offensive tackle Luke Newman in the sixth round and running back Kyle Monangai. The Bears got high grades from CBS Sports for both of those picks. Johnson and Caleb Williams are probably thrilled with how this draft turned out. 

Long snappers. This is a position that doesn’t usually get drafted, but the Patriots changed that by taking Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby in the seventh round. This marks the first time in four years that a team has selected a long snapper, and now, Ashby will head to New England and compete with Joe Cardona for a roster spot. 

Tyler Shough. The Saints had not taken a QB in the first two rounds of the draft since 1971, but that drought ended on Friday when the New Orleans selected Shough with the 40th overall pick. The reason Shough is a winner is because he’s walking into what might be the most friendly situation for any rookie QB. Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury and likely won’t be available to start the season, which means if Shough wants to win the starting job in New Orleans, he just has to beat out Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and Ben DiNucci. If Shough can’t win that battle, he might not ever make it as a starting QB in the NFL. 

The Falcons pass rush. The Falcons totaled just 31 sacks last season, which was the second fewest in the NFL. To fix that problem, they selected two edge rushers in the first round (James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker). They gave up a 2026 first-round pick to get Pearce — and that was probably too high of a price — but no one in Atlanta will care what the Falcons give up if Pearce turns into a dominant pass rusher. The Falcons haven’t had a player with 10 or more sacks since 2016 (Vic Beasley), which is the longest active drought in the NFL.

Losers

Shedeur Sanders. Yes, we have him listed as a winner, but he’s also a loser and that’s mainly because he lost out on roughly $13 million. If Sanders had been taken in the first round with the 21st overall pick, he would have gotten a rookie contract worth about $18 million. Instead, he was taken in the fifth round, and now, he’ll be getting a four-year deal that’s worth roughly $5 million. Also, he got drafted by a team that passed over him six times before they actually decided to take him.

That wouldn’t be so bad if he had been the only QB the Browns drafted, but they actually took one before him when they selected Dillon Gabriel at 94th overall. 

Browns’ bizarre draft strategy. The Browns added quite a few extra picks after making a first-round trade with the Jaguars, but those picks are only worth something if the Browns can actually hit on them, and fans in Cleveland probably aren’t feeling confident about that after the way the Browns’ draft went this year. The Browns became the first team in the modern draft era to take two quarterbacks and two running backs in the first five rounds. It was one of the most bizarre draft plans in recent NFL history, and if it doesn’t pay off, some people in Cleveland could be out of a job. 

Quinn Ewers. If you thought Shedeur Sanders had a painful fall in the draft, just wait until you hear about Ewers. The former Texas quarterback, who could have stayed in college for one more year, was projected to be a mid-round pick, but that didn’t happen. Instead, he sat on his couch surrounded by deer heads for three straight days before the Dolphins finally selected him in the seventh round with the 231st overall pick. Two kickers and a PUNTER all got taken before Ewers went off the board. 

Ewers will be heading to a QB-friendly system, but he’s going to have to beat out a former first-round pick (Zach Wilson) if he wants to win the backup QB job in Miami. Ewers ended up being the 13th quarterback taken, behind two FCS quarterbacks, including Montana State’s Tommy Mellott, who probably won’t even play quarterback. 

Justin Tucker. The Ravens put Tucker on notice by drafting a kicker for the first time in franchise history with the selection of Arizona’s Tyler Loop. Not only is Tucker coming off the worst season of his career, but he’s also facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. After 13 seasons in Baltimore, Tucker’s time with the Ravens might be finally be coming to an end. Arizona’s Tyler Loop. 

Abdul Carter. The former Penn State star is only here because he won’t be able to wear the number he wants in the NFL. Carter was hoping to wear 56, but that number is retired for Lawrence Taylor, and it sounds like the Giants legend will NOT be letting Carter wear it. “Get another number,” Taylor said this week when asked about the situation. “I don’t care if it’s double zero, and then make it famous.” Carter needs to get Taylor to talk to Warren Moon. 

Bengals, Chargers, Saints and Eagles. These four teams have one thing in common: They were the only teams that didn’t earn a single “A” for any of their picks in the draft from our stable of graders here at CBS Sports (Pete Prisco, Josh Edwards and Chris Trapasso). 

• The Bengals got a raw talent in the first round (Shemar Stewart) and they didn’t bother to try and fill several other defensive needs like corner, safety or defensive tackle. 
• The Chargers did earn a “B+” by taking Tre Harris in the second round, but that was the only pick our graders really loved. 
• The Saints started hot by taking Kelvin Banks Jr. in the first round, a pick that earned a “B+,” but our graders didn’t particularly love anything that came after that. 
• As for the Eagles, Howie Roseman worked his magic early in the draft, especially with the trade up for Jihaad Campbell in the first round, but our stable of graders didn’t really love anything they did after the second round. 

2025 NFL Draft grades for Round 1: Jags earn ‘A+’ for Travis Hunter move, Walter Nolen pick gets a ‘B’

Pete Prisco

Of course, our draft experts could be completely wrong and all four draft classes could turn out to be great, and I will be sure to let them know if that ends up happening.