The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft kicked off in Green Bay on Thursday night. RTÉ Sport NFL contributor Michael McQuaid looks at the biggest headlines from an eventful night in Wisconsin.
Travis Hunter is a Jaguar
From early this week, the consensus number one pick was Miami quarterback Cam Ward heading to the Tennessee Titans - and the expectation in Green Bay was very much that the Cleveland Browns were on the clock from the moment the draft started.
That turned out to be correct and within minutes, the Browns - not tempted by any of the top prospects and in need of more picks later in draft - and Jaguars agreed a blockbuster trade, allowing Jacksonville to trade up and make a statement selection in Colorado's dual threat Travis Hunter.
The Heisman Trophy winner played at both cornerback and wide receiver in college football at Colorado and there was a considerable focus on Hunter leading up to Thursday night. With the selection, the Jaguars now have not only a key piece in their arsenal as they look to improve on a disappointing 4-13 season, but they have a potential generational talent who can play in two positions on both sides of the ball.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a new weapon - and the future in Duval County is fascinating to say the least.
A night to forget for Shedeur Sanders
Another Colorado prospect and team-mate of Hunter is the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who went undrafted on Thursday.
Early indications post Super Bowl indicated that Sanders would potentially be drafted as high as third on the night, but the New York Giants opted to draft Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter and bypass Sanders to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, when they traded back into the first round.
Other options in both New Orleans and Pittsburgh also did not materiase when they selected Kelvin Banks Jr. and Derrick Harmon, respectively.
The door closed for the Colorado quarterback, who had his jersey number retired last weekend alongside his former teammate Hunter - that’s the sheer impact they have had on the school in Boulder, Colorado - and Sanders will have to wait until at least Friday night to be selected.
Bold moves by the New York Giants
It’s been noted above, but it’s fair to say that this is a pivotal draft for the New York Giants, who opted to draft two key elements to add to their team. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have been under fire for poor performances in recent years, losing 14 games last season, so it’s pretty clear that this is a draft in which they needed to hit gold.
Abdul Carter is a standout player in his class, earning unanimous All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honours last season, while Jaxson Dart is a quarterback that can come into East Rutherford and take time to develop behind both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.
New York now believes that they have a blueprint for success and rejuvenation - it will be very interesting to see what they do with their selections in the later rounds of the draft.
Atlanta gamble - will it pay off?
The Atlanta Falcons caused the stir of a lifetime last year when they drafted Michael Penix Jr - when Kirk Cousins was just in the door in Georgia. On Thursday night, they ruffled the feathers again when they traded back into the first round to select University of Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
It’s fair to say the selection of Pearce with the 26th pick is a stretch, but more so the compensation that the Falcons gave up to the Los Angeles Rams to acquire the Tennessee man, giving up both the 46th and 242nd selections in this year's draft, as well as their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
That’s a lot of capital to give up, but Falcons fans will be happy with the selection of Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker earlier on in the evening. They will also argue that the selection of both players will help stop the bleeding on the defence and allow the team to progress in an unpredictable NFC South division.
A Golden night for Green Bay
From the moment we entered Green Bay, we knew that this NFL Draft would be special. The city is very like Ireland, where in the majority of towns you can walk around and suddenly walk past a GAA or rugby stadium.
Green Bay has a population of just over 105,000 people. This city arguably is not equipped to hold an event of this size, but the city and it’s team, the Green Bay Packers, have pulled off what can only be described as a remarkable feat.
Within minutes of the draft starting on Thursday night, the Packers announced that the capacity had been reached at their iconic Lambeau FIeld stadium - and the atmosphere was arguably the best an NFL Draft has ever seen.
Over 205,000 fans descended on the city for the first night of the NFL Draft.
Add into the mix the expectation from the thousands of Packer fans. When team president Mark Murphy walked onto the stage to announce the Packers selection, it was a moment to remember, as the Packers selected Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden - their first wide receiver selected in the first round of the process since 2002.
Green Bay has been electric so far - and we still have two days of the draft to go.
