Field Yates, ESPN Insider August 21, 2024, 6:35 p.m.
CloseField Yates is an ESPN fantasy football expert and NFL Draft analyst. He appears on Fantasy Football Now on Sunday mornings and regularly throughout the week on NFL Live. He also appears on the Fantasy Focus and First Draft podcasts. A graduate of Wesleyan University (Connecticut) and a native of Weston, Massachusetts, Yates has previously worked as an intern for the New England Patriots on both their coaching and scouting staffs.
Football is back. The 2024 college season kicks off on Saturday Week 0, with the NFL season following two weeks later. For us, that means the countdown to next year's NFL Draft has begun! And I'm not going to wait any longer for the first release of my 2025 mock draft.
The usual caveats apply. It's still early. Consider what our 2024 mock drafts looked like before the start of last year's college football season. Eventual No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels was nowhere to be found in the first round. A lot can change this season and during the pre-draft process next spring. This is a very preliminary look at the first round.
The draft order is determined by ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), a simulation-based projection of the season and which team will have the top pick in the first round. No first-round picks have been traded yet, so all 32 teams will enter the draft with their own picks. We're selfishly hoping for some fun trades over the next 10 months, but it's a bit premature. This scenario includes one projected trade.
Finally, this mock generally emphasizes talent over team needs, as those needs could change dramatically over the course of the season and in free agency next year. Again, it's still early days. We'll start with the big moves at the top of the board. (Note: underclassmen are marked with an asterisk.)
