One day more.
I would include the video from Les Misérables but it’s probably already in your head now, so mission accomplished.
Despite the proximity to the 2025 NFL Draft, the rumors have not slowed down at all. If anything, they have picked up as the draft approaches. So let’s get to the latest spin around the rumor carousel.
Trade talk heating up?
One of the interesting elements of the 2025 NFL Draft — so far — has been the lack of trades.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter noted over the weekend that in the “Common Draft Era,” this is the closest we have come to the start of the draft without a trade for first-round picks, surpassing the 1993 NFL Draft. That year the San Francisco 49ers traded legendary quarterback Joe Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs just five days before the draft began:
Now that the NFL draft is four days away, this is the closest to the start of it that there have been no trades for first-round picks in the Common Draft Era, per ESPN’s @EpKap.
The Joe Montana trade in 1993 came five days before the draft; this year now has surpassed that. pic.twitter.com/ARb2qEWzTF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 20, 2025
But that might be about to change.
Multiple insiders have reported in the last 24 hours that trade talks are heating up. Peter Schrager on Tuesday noted that both the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants were fielding calls from teams looking to move up, and most interestingly, “neither team is outwardly rejecting those overtures.”
Then on Wednesday morning Dianna Russini of The Athletic dropped her big pre-draft column, reporting that “[t]he Browns, Giants and Patriots are fielding calls for the Nos. 2, 3, and 4 picks, per league sources. The majority of teams looking to move up see Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter as their target should they be able to entice one of those teams, particularly Cleveland, with a suitable package. All three teams are listening.”
Trades have not been a big part of the story yet, but it seems that is about to change.
A Kirk Cousins Saturday Special?
Among the many interesting tidbits from Russini’s column on Wednesday morning involved current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. According to Russini three teams — Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota — could be involved in a potential trade for the quarterback:
The Browns, Steelers and possibly Vikings could be involved in a Cousins trade. Minnesota is looked at as the least likely scenario, given its preference for J.J. McCarthy and that Cousins would need to sign off on any trade he is involved in. It’s believed that Cousins would be against any trade that involves sending him to a situation involving a young QB, similar to the situation he faced in Atlanta last year. If a trade were to happen, I’d expect it to go down on Saturday.
Of course, there is still the lingering Aaron Rodgers situation, but Russini notes that the Steelers are in a “holding pattern” regarding the veteran quarterback, and have not received any updates from Rodgers since his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week.
Peter Schrager’s only mock draft has some surprises
Returning to the new ESPN insider, Schrager released his one and only mock draft of the season on Wednesday morning, a predictive mock based on “how I’d sort through the top 32 picks based on what I’m hearing from my sources around the league.”
It contained a few surprises.
The first was Ashton Jeanty to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 5. There has been some buzz about Jeanty coming off the board in that spot recently, but perhaps via a team trading up to get ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6, who have been linked to the Boise State running back throughout the pre-draft process.
Instead, Schrager thinks that new general manager James Gladstone “won’t be timid in his debut draft.”
Another surprise? The New Orleans Saints drafting Georgia pass rusher Mykel Williams at No. 9. The news of Derek Carr’s shoulder injury had many thinking quarterback in that spot — Shedeur Sanders perhaps? — while recent reporting out of New Orleans linked the Saints with an offensive lineman at No. 9.
Instead, Schrager believes the Saints are going to deliver “one of the early “wow” picks of Round 1, grabbing an elite defender who’ll carry the torch from Cameron Jordan for the next decade.”
Schrager’s entire mock draft is worth the read, as it is every year.
The Steelers are adding two more quarterbacks
You can put this into the “fact” category, and not the “rumor” category, given the source.
During his pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, Steelers general manager Omar Khan made it clear that the team is not done adding quarterbacks:
Steelers GM Omar Khan told reporters today at a pre-draft press conference: “We go to camp with four quarterbacks. Right now, we have two on the roster. All options are on the table on how we acquire those last two.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 22, 2025
Of course, the bigger question is how they add the other two. Cousins? Rodgers? Sanders? Some combination thereof?
New England to double up on OL?
The closer the draft gets, the more it seems like the New England Patriots are locked into LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell at No. 4. Campbell was a standout at left tackle for the Tigers but has faced questions about moving inside to guard given his arm length.
But with protecting Drake Maye a priority, adding offensive linemen should be at the top of the to-do list in Foxborough. This is why one ESPN draft analyst believes that the Patriots should not stop with Campbell at No. 4. Jordan Reid outlines a plan for New England to add another offensive lineman at the top of the second round, one that could be an interesting pairing with Campbell.
Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson.
“The Patriots should entertain the idea of doubling up on offensive linemen with their first two picks,” Reid wrote. “Jackson is a scheme-versatile blocker who subbed in for Josh Simmons at left tackle last season after playing only guard before that. He projects as a guard, but Jackson’s versatility combined with Will Campbell would give the Patriots’ O-line a significant makeover.”
Some first-round sleepers
On Tuesday our own JP Acosta identified five potential first-round sleepers: North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel, Mississippi cornerback Trey Amos, Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel, Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams, and Texas A&M pass rusher Nic Scourton.
In the latest ESPN Insider pre-draft notebook (subscription required), Jeremy Fowler shared his list of potential first-round sleepers:
It’s always fun to ask teams for their sleeper first-rounders — names that would be a mild surprise to the common fan but not necessarily to those in the draft rooms. Here are a few I’ve heard: South Carolina defensive lineman T.J. Sanders, Minnesota offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery, Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson and East Carolina corner Shavon Revel Jr. (Kansas State corner Jacob Parrish and Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner are deeper sleepers mentioned for Day 2.)
Ersery is a name that continues to rise closer to the draft.
The Giants’ path to a quarterback
The New York Giants, sitting with the third-overall selection in the draft, need a quarterback. Yes the organization added Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston this offseason, but with both quarterbacks on one-year deals, the need to secure the QB of the future remains near the top of general manager Joe Schoen’s to-do list.
But with the opportunity to draft either Travis Hunter Jr. or Abdul Carter staring them in the face, QB at No. 3 does not seem like the move.
So how can the Giants add a quarterback, and who might that be? According to Todd McShay of The Ringer, that likely comes through a trade back into the first round, and the draft analyst believes he knows who Brian Daboll prefers.
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Speaking on the latest installment of “The McShay Show,” the insider noted that Daboll has his preference for Dart, and is pushing inside the building for the Giants to simply draft him at No. 3. “Daboll is not a Shedeur guy, and Daboll prefers Jaxson Dart,” McShay said. “I don’t know to what level. There’s speculation in league circles that there’s a push from Daboll to use the Giants’ first pick on the quarterback.”
However, taking Dart at No. 3 means passing up on Carter, which McShay does not believe is a wise course of action.
“I love Brian and I just told you how much I appreciate and respect him. I don’t let the coach make the decision on when we’re going to take him [Dart, if he is the target],” McShay said. “This is why the GM has to make this decision because you don’t take Jaxson Dart at three and why don’t you take Dart at three even if you love him [is] because Abdul Carter’s sitting there.”
As McShay sees it, the Giants can take Carter at No. 3, and then start calling teams about moving back into the first round to draft Dart, using Kayvon Thibodeaux as part of the package.
“I’ve got Kayvon Thibodeaux, by the way, who we’re not sure we want to we want to sign, we haven’t done the the fifth-year deal,” McShay said. “I’ve actually heard one potential scenario is you take Abdul Carter 3 you use Kayvon Thibodeaux as part of a package to then move back into the first round to get Jaxson Dart.”
We’ll see if the Giants follow this path.