2025 NFL Mock Draft 9.0: Steelers Take Unexpected QB at No. 21 – Sports Illustrated
2025-04-22T11:00:04Z
The MMQB’s Conor Orr predicts the Raiders will make a pair of trades, the Saints grab Ashton Jeanty and Pittsburgh takes a big swing. Plus, projections for the whole first round.
SI’s previous predictions: Mock draft 1.0 | Mock draft 2.0 | Mock draft 3.0 | Mock draft 4.0 | Mock draft 5.0 | Mock draft 6.0 | Mock draft 7.0 | Mock draft 8.0 | On SI Mock draft 1.0 | On SI Mock draft 2.0 | On SI Mock draft 3.0 The one and only Conor Orr NFL Mock Draft™ has arrived. As with anything I write, this is a mixture of both opinion and what I’ve heard—but in a mock draft in particular, it’s also an exercise in predicting organizational behavior based on circumstance. That, and having fun. We are creating our own worlds, after all, and creating the one that everyone else is living in bores me to tears. Before we get deeply into it, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to the extremely talented group of draft reporters who have been working on this class since September. As someone who covers the NFL, I feel like January is when we inherit information on the college class that has been well underway for months. We can then sharpen our focus based on what people are telling us and also what the creators of great draft guides shepherd for us. I look at this a bit like the Olympics where, every four years, the lot of us arrive in a space where avid fans of swimming, table tennis or track and field have been living the entire time. Then, their own reporting or fandom gets appropriated to some degree by the masses without a lot of appreciation. SI NFL Draft. NFL Draft News, Mocks, Betting and Analysis. dark. MORE This class, to me, is so much fun because it is so team specific. There are going to be prospects here that one team is salivating over while another couldn’t care less. That’s especially true at the quarterback position. You’ll notice one massive swing on my part, which I hope isn’t taken as a shot at Shedeur Sanders—you can read my thoughts on Sanders here—but more about where the NFL might be headed. Anyway, enjoy. Don’t take this—or anything else in life—too seriously. Cam Ward, QB, Miami To me, this is a move that feels like a team in a difficult spot falling in love with a prospect because it benefits them beyond the immediate need for a quarterback. The Titans need to call someone a franchise quarterback just as much as they actually need a franchise quarterback. Ward fits both needs, though his selection is also the after effect of the organization trying to get too cute at the position for too long after the decline of Ryan Tannehill. Travis Hunter, WR/DB, Colorado We’ve now heard Browns GM Andrew Berry use the Shohei Ohtani comp on Hunter, and while I hate to immediately assume that Cleveland’s baseball influence will warm that front office to Hunter and the breadth of possibilities more than another team, the Browns need something to clear the taste of Deshaun Watson out of the mouths of its fan base. Abdul Carter may take more immediate pressure off the team and help lengthen Myles Garrett’s prime, but I wonder if Cleveland sees him as a little too slender to hang in the AFC North. Ultimately, Hunter allows Kevin Stefanski the chance to diversify his game-day personnel and bring an additional package or two into each game plan because of his defensive flexibility (which opens up a roster spot for another tight end, fullback, etc.). Abdul Carter, edge, Penn State The Giants have to be thrilled about this development, though it puts an incredible amount of pressure on the coaching staff to immediately utilize a three-edge system that gets the most out of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Carter. This iteration of the coaching staff knows it does not have the luxury of easing in Carter like a supplemental player. Now, the question becomes how the Giants use their remaining picks on a secondary that can assist the pass rush and an offensive line that can help the team sustain drives. Will Campbell, OT, LSU Mike Vrabel took Nicholas Petit-Frere and Peter Skoronski in his final seasons in Tennessee, both of whom were on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of tackle arm length (Skoronski was in the third percentile). Campbell, who also faces questions about his length, is so incredibly explosive and such a versatile athlete that I don’t think this will be a time for Mike Vrabel to start caring about the measurements of his offensive linemen. Foot quickness is the antidote to smaller arm length and Campbell is talented enough in that area to excel at guard or tackle. Mason Graham, DT, Michigan One of the chief issues with the Jaguars during the Trevor Lawrence era has been the lack of an interior difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball. Ignoring what has been the team’s biggest need since the Urban Meyer regime would instantly put new head coach Liam Coen behind the 8 ball. Graham would be step one of a more common sense look at this roster that the franchise has been sorely deprived of. *Projected trade (via Las Vegas Raiders) Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State The Colts make a deal with the everything-needy Raiders to cut ahead of the Jets, the next-highest team that conducted a private workout with the versatile Penn State playmaker. While I’ve seen the Colts connected with fill-in-the-blank tight ends, I think Warren’s blocking ability, quarterback flexibility and run-after-the-catch chops offer Shane Steichen and Indianapolis the chance to build an offense that can work for whichever quarterback ends up getting starter’s snaps. The Jets and the Colts were both active in bidding on this pick with Warren as their top priority, in this timeline I’ve concocted. Indianapolis was clearly more desperate. Armand Membou, OT, Missouri While the Jets wanted Warren, they’ll settle for Membou, who (in theory) completes an offensive line rebuild. This is an elemental season for embattled owner Woody Johnson, who brought back a franchise legend in new coach Aaron Glenn to erase the stench of last season and now returns to the foundation of New York’s last good team: highly drafted offensive line talent that can anchor a running game and help develop a quarterback. Are Olu Fashanu and Membou the next D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold? Time will tell. But I do know that it’s an easy sell for a Jets team that needs to establish some common sense principles again. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan Mike Jackson is a great No. 2 cornerback and Chau Smith-Wade got more snaps at nickel as the season ended last year. But Johnson, in drawing Patrick Surtain II comparisons from some analysts, is too enticing to pass up. Because this edge class is a little team specific and could depend on personal preference, the Panthers may feel they can get a comparable edge rusher in the second round but not a comparable cornerback. With San Francisco and Miami lurking, the Panthers take CB2 and bail out an underwhelming pass rush with the ability to at least force QBs to spend more time in the pocket. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State New coach Kellen Moore talked a lot about difference-makers this offseason, and after coming from Philadelphia he sees not specifically the value of a running back but the value of someone he can put on the field who causes the opposing defense to react in a certain way and provide different openings. Let’s not read into it any deeper than that. With massive QB uncertainty, the solution for New Orleans is not to hurl darts at the position in the draft but to take perhaps the class’s second-best offensive prospect and figure out the rest later. Was the Saints’ representation at Jeanty’s pro day bait for the running back-hungry Cowboys or genuine? Here, it’s proved to be the latter. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas Every time I watch this guy I just come away thinking Jesus, Dude. His hits look so excessive and his strength appears almost out of this world. Banks did to some of his opponents this year what Jordan Mailata was doing in Philadelphia. He has a water-like flow to his game but when he gets his hands on defenders in space … watch out. Do I love mocking another offensive lineman to the Bears? No. But Banks is nasty and can thrive at two positions. He’s a no-brainer here. Jalon Walker, edge, Georgia Robert Saleh is at his best with a group of pass rushers who can overwhelm. While it’s always a fallacy to assume that a team is going to return to a comfort zone with certain coaches, and maybe there is less of a need for a speed rusher in a world where more teams are leaning into the running game, Walker has multipositional value and is tough to push around in space. Mike Green, edge, Marshall The Cowboys need a lot, but imagine Green and Micah Parsons next to one another for just one second. Incoming DC Matt Eberflus thrives on a system that is largely blitz averse, allowing his players at the line of scrimmage to stunt, twist and game their way to success. Green and Parsons could form a bash brothers coalition that can make a dent even against the powerful, but possibly a little stiff, Eagles offensive line. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas If the Dolphins end up dealing Tyreek Hill at some point during the draft, Golden is insurance. In the event that they can’t trade Hill, Golden is an epic doubling down by a Dolphins team that needs a lot but says Screw it, let’s just get another 4.2 guy. I’m of the opinion that, when you’re a team like the Dolphins who are stuck in a perilous middle ground, sometimes the only option is to strengthen a strength in hopes that the team becomes such an anomaly that it is impossible to stop. *Projected trade (via Indianapolis Colts) Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama Sure, it’s a very Pete Carroll thing to do, but remember that part of the reason the Buccaneers fared so well during their Super Bowl run with John Spytek, then the team’s vice president of player personnel, was that the Tampa Bay had a pair of rangy off-ball linebackers who weren’t dead in the water against the pass and could also keep the team stout against the run. Patrick Graham, like Brian Flores, thrives on player-run defenses that short-circuit opponents. Campbell’s coverage ability checks a lot of boxes. Mykel Williams, edge, Georgia The Falcons and an edge rusher feels like one of the more obvious pairings of the draft. Atlanta had a predraft visit with Williams, though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything and could be an indicator that Atlanta is interested in one of Williams’s teammates. Either way, if Williams can develop on his frame, Raheem Morris gets himself an incredibly gifted defensive player on a unit that has a threadbare feel to it. *Projected trade (via Arizona Cardinals) Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina Sean Payton gets the player he promised, but has to skip ahead of the running-back needy Bengals, the run-game obsessed Seahawks and the Najee Harris–less Steelers in order to make it work. Hampton is a dynamic player who can reshape Denver’s offense and take a load off Bo Nix. With the receiver talent simply not matching up, this is how the Broncos can weaponize the draft. Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss Teams will let you know where they’re headed and what they’re concerned about with their behavior in free agency. The Bengals are tired of being pushed around in the run game and Nolen would give them an anvil of a human being who never seems to be pushed backward. If he can play assignment-sound football in an Al Golden defense, this is a move that also takes stress off the team’s need to develop Myles Murphy. We’re assuming in this scenario that Trey Hendrickson re-signs. Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State The Seahawks have needs almost everywhere on the offensive line and Zabel, as luck would have it, plays almost everywhere on the offensive line. The North Dakota State product looks incredibly clean from almost anywhere and doesn’t seem fazed when all the action is thrown at him via stunts and games. Donovan Ezeiruaku, edge, Boston College I wonder if, by signing Haason Reddick, the Buccaneers are already letting us know they have a type for this iteration of Todd Bowles’s defense. The BC product is fast and fearless with proven production. General manager Jason Licht talked about the complications of the eye test during the NIL era at his predraft press conference. At that same conference, Todd Bowles professed his desire for pure ball hawks. Ezeiruaku would seem to fit that bill, and brings with him the proven production that doesn’t take guesswork. *Projected trade (via Denver Broncos) Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon With Calais Campbell in house for at least one season, the Cardinals look to add a big body who can be mentored by one of the game’s great people and players. Harmon helps Arizona beef up even more after a torrid offseason that included a high-priced swing at former Jonathan Gannon defensive weapon Josh Sweat. Dalvin Tomlinson is also in the rotation now for an Arizona team striving to become less of a pushover against the ground-heavy NFC West. Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama If I know one thing about the offenses Arthur Smith has tried to build over the years, it’s that the core tenet is toughness and the threat of a face-punching on every down. Smith is a great rhythm play-caller and had something going with Justin Fields before the full-time switch to Russell Wilson last year. I think the Eagles have made it not only O.K. to cut your passing attempts in half from the season before but advisable—even with a big-time receiver on the roster. Pittsburgh has a chance to pivot similar to the way the Eagles did offensively, and Milroe offers a no-excuses, high-end battering ram under center with uncharted upside in the passing game. Mike Tomlin saw what it was like first-hand to be bled for 10-plus minutes at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles. Now he can recreate it. What I love about Milroe is that he doesn’t scramble. He was running an actual QB-centric running game in the toughest collegiate football conference. Who are we to say he can’t do that in the NFL? Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan Before the end of the Brandon Staley regime there was, what I thought, a well-conceived idea about how this offense was supposed to work: Surround Justin Herbert with taller playmakers who could accentuate his one major strength, which is an ability to put the ball where no one else can. Mike Williams is back in the fold as a familiar face and Loveland is another 6′ 5″ jump baller who can give the Chargers a new dimension as a tight end. The Chargers’ current No. 1 at the position is Tyler Conklin, who is more hard-nosed and a perfect stylistic complement to Loveland when the Chargers want to go 12-personnel. Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan I initially had Shemar Stewart here, but took it back. At first, I stuck by the truism that this team loves untapped potential and high-end athleticism. Grant is not necessarily a “freak” with a Raw Athletic Score of 7.18 but if you watch the tape, he’s doing a lot of dirty work in that Michigan defense, he can get super long to bat down passes (his skill on that front is actually kind of supernatural) and he has this silky swim move that gets him into the backfield with regularity to bust up runs. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina I initially had Jahdae Barron from Texas in this spot but decided on Emmanwori. I keep going back to what I was told about Brian Flores’s defense this past year: The most important tenet is exploring the rules of the offense and forcing them into uncomfortable decisions that go against those rules. While players like Emmanwori can sometimes get lost in a defense without imagination, Flores can turn him into an everything player who eventually takes the baton at safety from Harrison Smith. Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama I debated whether to go with Josh Simmons here, but MMQB Podcast co-host Albert Breer changed my mind when he relayed a story about Booker from this season, where Booker said that any teammate insisting on not playing in the bowl game had to explain it to him first. The Texans are seeking a character makeover and, boy, would that seem to fit the bill. You can listen to the entire episode where we live mock the first round (no trades) here. Maxwell Hairston, DB, Kentucky I thought about going inside linebacker here—Carson Schwesinger of UCLA—but I think the Rams, in mirroring some of the Vikings’ defensive tactics against them in the playoffs, saw the benefit of building this defense from the secondary inward. To me, Hairston has some real-deal shutdown traits. He mirrors well and, boy, is he devastating as a delayed rusher from the secondary. He can close a lot of ground in a real hurry. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia Give the Ravens a versatile chess piece in the secondary, sit back and enjoy. Let’s not overthink this, right? It feels like a choice between Starks, one of the remaining project edge rushers and whomever Baltimore’s WR2 would be in this scenario. This helps the Ravens major in what they’re best at. We often get hyperbolic this time of year, but with Starks and Kyle Hamilton together in that backfield, where are quarterbacks going to go with the ball? James Pearce Jr., edge, Tennessee In the case of teams indicating where they’d like to go, the Lions have been piecing together that second edge threat alongside Aidan Hutchinson via free agency and in-season trade. Pearce is available here and gives the Lions insurance against injury and an absolute threat who can be eased in via third-down roles until he becomes a more complete NFL player. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona “But we got Deebo Samuel!” is not really a reason for the Commanders not to take a true WR2 next to Terry McLaurin here. Samuel is hovering around his age-30 season and is on an expiring contract. McMillan has great size and played in an offense where he was forced to be creative thanks to a mobile quarterback in the pocket. His anticipatory skills can add a new flavor to Jayden Daniels’s game. Shemar Stewart, edge, Texas A&M “But we got Joey Bosa!” Again, free agency is supplemental, not a primary source of team building. With Von Miller off the roster, the Texas A&M prospect becomes the next-best option for Buffalo to build that rotational, hockey-style pass rush that can help the Bills knock out the string of AFC QB juggernauts. *Projected trade (via Kansas City Chiefs) Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State The Raiders, armed with draft capital thanks to the trade down from No. 6 to No. 14, get back up into the first round to take a wide receiver. My friend and former coworker Jonathan Jones had a similar mechanism in his mock draft for CBS, but with the Raiders dealing back in at pick No. 32. I like pick No. 31 because Kansas City gives itself some breathing room to assess the big-man market, both offensively and defensively. With the top of Round 2 likely to be a QB feeding frenzy, the Chiefs can use the capital to maneuver how the team sees fit with the best of Round 2 at the club’s feet. Egbuka gives Chip Kelly some familiarity, having coached him at Ohio State, and a weapon upgrade over Jakobi Meyers. Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon A beefy offensive lineman who could slide into the Mekhi Becton spot and eventually take the place of Lane Johnson? If it works out that way, sure. Conerly used to be a running back in high school, which is terrifying to think about. Philadelphia wants to maximize the remainder of the Saquon Barkley era, and layering heft on the offensive line is the best way to do so. Conor Orr is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, where he covers the NFL and cohosts the MMQB Podcast. Orr has been covering the NFL for more than a decade and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. His work has been published in The Best American Sports Writing book series and he previously worked for The Newark Star-Ledger and NFL Media. Orr is an avid runner and youth sports coach who lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children and a loving terrier named Ernie. Follow ConorOrr © 2025 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators’ opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. 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