NFL draft rumors are heating up with the big weekend less than a month away.
With the Titans anticipated to take Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, it remains to be seen if the Browns will also go QB at No. 2 or take a premier talent such as Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, a move ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes is quite “likely.”
“Abdul Carter is going to go before the New England Patriots pick at four. It would be an upset right now if Abdul Carter made his way to number four,” Schefter said on Wednesday’s episode of “NFL Live.”
“I would handicap Abdul Carter right now as the likely pick at number two today. We reserve the right to change our mind.”
Schefter added the Browns do like the idea of taking a quarterback at No. 2 overall, but the signal caller they would like to pick is Ward.
Should Cleveland or the Giants — who hold the No. 3 overall pick — want to move up, the teams would have to present Tennessee brass with an “offer the Titans can’t refuse.”
“You also heard the Titans’ general manager, Mike Borgonzi, say that he’s open to anything. So he’s going to be listening to phone calls. It doesn’t mean that the Giants will be able to make it up to one. But I expect the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants both to make calls and let’s see if there’s a team that can come up with an offer that the Titans can’t pass up. Yes, the Titans absolutely do like Cam Ward. Yes, they are ready to take him. But these teams have one month to try and change Tennessee’s mind and make it compelling enough to move Tennessee, who has a ton of holes on its roster, off the number one pick,” Schefter said.
Schefter projects Ward going “likely to Tennessee,” but called the Giants “the most intriguing question,” as they’re expected to take a QB even after signing Russell Wilson to a one-year deal earlier this week.
“[The Giants] are the most intriguing question. Now, I really don’t know whether they like [Colorado quarterback] Shedeur [Sanders] enough to pick him at number three or go take a guy like [Buffaloes two-way star] Travis Hunter at that spot,” he said.
Schefter added the Patriots would love to snag Hunter with the fourth overall pick, although that will depend on two quarterbacks going in the top three.
“If Cleveland can’t get up to number one, and I think Cleveland will call to try and get up to number one, then I think Cleveland would sit there, and I don’t think it would be a quarterback at number two. And then the Giants would be on the clock with a franchise-altering decision to make,” Schefter said.
Sanders’ name has been linked to the Giants, even as the franchise added stopgap quarterback options in Wilson and Jameis Winston.
The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, April 24.
