Insider Notes on 2025 NFL Draft: Browns' dilemma between Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, buzz around Omarion Hampton, and more
Little more than a week remains before the NFL draft kicks off and the Tennessee Titans are officially called to the clock. Most believe we know the first three players who will be selected, but is the order set in stone? It also seems to be a lock that two running backs will end up in the first round.
Sources presently put the over/under on trades in the first round at three, a little more than a week away from the event. I’ve mentioned several times that I believe the Arizona Cardinals, who hold pick No. 16, could be a flashpoint for a team that wants to jump in front of the Cincinnati Bengals and draft an edge rusher.
Yet people believe the Atlanta Falcons, the team selecting just ahead of the Cardinals, could be the spot teams jump up to. They point to the fact that the Falcons would be open to moving down, as they own just five draft picks this year, including a pair in the final round, and they could still get a good frontline defensive player late in the first. The other team I’m told could be on the move downwards is the Minnesota Vikings.
It seems like mostly an afterthought in the media that multi-purpose player Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, will be the second pick of the draft. Almost everyone, including yours truly, has regularly mocked Hunter to the Cleveland Browns over the past month. Yet I’m told that is not the feeling inside the Browns facility.
Multiple sources informed me that Abdul Carter, the edge rusher/linebacker from Penn State, is neck and neck with Hunter to end up as the Browns’ selection. One source was adamant that the team is leaning toward Carter. Much of their decision depends on getting medical clearance on his foot injury.
Likewise, just about everyone has mocked running back Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders at pick No. 6. Yet I’m told the team will seriously consider Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou with that choice.
With John Spytek being the team’s new general manager and a need to upgrade the offensive line, sources tell me Spytek would lean toward Membou, considering the success he had with Tristan Wirfs in Tampa Bay. Many I’ve spoken with feel Membou will be the first offensive lineman selected in the draft, ahead of Will Campbell of LSU.
Moving back to the pass-rusher front, sources believe that if the Patriots pull a shocker and move away from selecting one of the offensive tackles with the fourth selection, it will be for a pass rusher. They point to offseason desires to trade for Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett.
As we get closer to the draft, it’s looking more like running back Omarion Hampton will be a first-round lock. I recently had the junior from North Carolina selected in the first round by the Washington Commanders in the latest Sportskeeda Mock Draft. Sources point to three teams that could take Hampton before the Commanders are called to the clock: the Denver Broncos, LA Chargers and Houston Texans.
While the Chargers did sign running back Najee Harris in free agency, it was only a one-year deal for $5.25 million, and Hampton is the type of back Jim Harbaugh desires for his offense. The Texans can opt out of Joe Mixon’s contract after this season, as the veteran ball carrier will be 30 years old heading into the 2026 season.
After the pro day of Carson Schwesinger, the linebacker from UCLA, I mentioned that a lot of people feel he could slide into the late part of Round 1, and that remains true. Two teams I mentioned that could select Schwesinger as the first round closes out include the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills; that also remains true. The Ravens are believed to be in the market for an edge rusher in the first round.
If they don’t find any player at that position appealing when they are called to the clock with the 27th pick and go the Schwesinger route, I’m told Ashton Gillotte of Louisville will be one of their targets on Day 2.
Gillotte fits the mold the team likes as a pass rusher, as he has the ability to stand over the tackle and out of a three-point stance. And despite a slightly disappointing season in 2024 when he totaled 10 TFLs and 4.5 sacks (versus 14.5 TFLs and 11 sacks the prior season), teams are still high on Gillotte.
After not running at the combine, he timed 4.65 seconds in the 40 during pro day (with a super-quick unofficial 10-yard split of 1.59 seconds) and 6.94 seconds in the three-cone. Gillotte hit 36 inches in the vertical jump in Indianapolis.