As expected, the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft was chock full of surprises.
It started early, when the Cleveland Browns traded out of the No. 2 pick and handed reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The new regime in Jacksonville appears to have the right perspective on things. Widely proclaimed as the best prospect in a weak draft, Hunter brings rare two-way star potential to a team in desperate need.
Hunter, in the words of Jags GM James Gladstone, is worthy of a first-round pick as a wide receiver and worthy of a first-round pick as a cornerback. He is expected to play more WR early as he gets up to speed with Liam Coen's playbook, but Hunter's greatest strength is his coverage skills at corner, so expect him to gradually earn a heftier workload on defense.
The 2025 NFL Draft was considered short on top-end talent, but uniquely deep — or at least balanced — once the first handful of prospects were off the board. Cam Ward, Miami quarterback, was graced with the No. 1 overall pick. Adbul Carter to New York at No. 3 and Will Campbell to New England at No. 4 were the last strong consensus selections. From there, all hell broke lose.
We are only a couple months out from the 2025 NBA Draft. It's hard to compare athletes across sports, but we will try our damnedest to find those parallels between elite football athletes and elite basketball athletes on this fine Friday.
Here are a few important NFL Draft picks and their NBA Draft counterparts.
Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Jaguars → Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
This is a softball answer, but Travis Hunter has been the runaway No. 1 prospect on boards all season. So has Cooper Flagg at Duke. The NFL Draft is a different beast, and it's no shock that a "lesser" quarterback prospect eclipsed Hunter on Thursday night, but the similarities here stretch beyond Hunter's and Flagg's shared place atop draft boards.
Hunter is the first two-way star to enter the NFL in decades. Every player is a two-way player in the NBA, but Flagg is one of the unique prospects who profiles as truly elite on both ends. He elevated his stature considerably at Duke, emerging as the Blue Devils' primary playmaking fulcrum while also finding ways to score on spot-up 3s, lobs and transition finishes.
Flagg isn't quite as slender and quick as Hunter, but he's going to touch every area of the game for his NBA team. He's a ballhawk on defense, enveloping shot attempts as a weak-side rim protector and constantly lurking in passing lanes. He's going to throw plenty of passes in the NBA, but he'll also receive them, using his athleticism to compromise a defense as a cutter and play-finisher.
Peas in a pod!
Cam Ward, QB, Titans → Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma
In what was largely considered a weak quarterback class, Miami's Cam Ward still emerged as the No. 1 overall pick as Tennessee moves on from the Will Levis experience (RIP memes). Ward's college football journey was long and winding. He spent two years at Incarnate World and two years at Washington State before arriving in South Beach for a season, where he turned the Miami offense into a buzzsaw.
Jeremiah Fears was a true freshman, one-and-done at Oklahoma, so their paths were different. But there are similarities in terms of athletic profile and skill set. There isn't an easier one-to-one comparison between football and basketball positions than quarterback to point guard.
Fears, like Ward, boasts impressive live-wire athleticism and an intriguing package of physical tools. He was not the most efficient at Oklahoma, which is typical of 18-year-old point guards. Ward was known to make the occasional errant pass. He loves to get outside the pocket and improvise. He creates opportunities with his legs and boasts incredible arm talent, but is still catching up in terms of processing speed and accuracy.
The game needs to slow down for Fears at the next level, but once he's able to harness his elite first step and fearless physicality, there is All-Star upside as a lead guard and primary weapon. He breaks out one or two plays a game that just leave you sitting in awe. Ward has a similar quality about him.
Abdul Carter, EDGE, Giants → Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina
Beyond Travis Hunter to Jacksonville, Abdul Carter to the Giants at No. 3 was probably the easiest pick of the night. New York poked around quarterback prospects (and eventually traded back into the first round for Jaxson Dart at No. 25), but Carter is an athletic anomaly who figures to render an immediate impact on the Giants' defensive line.
There isn't really a direct basketball comp for NFL linebackers, but South Carolina's 19-year-old sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles shares a few clear parallels with Carter. One could argue he's probably a deserving top-3 pick candidate too, although it seems like Murray-Boyles' talents are less appreciated in NBA circles than Carter's were in NFL circles, despite his robust output at South Carolina.
Like Carter, Murray-Boyles is built in the mold of a tank. He's 6-foot-7 and 231 pounds, earning physical comps to the Round Mound of Rebound, Sir Charles Barkley. There's a nonzero chance Murray-Boyles ends up as the runaway best defender from this class. He can guard all five positions in bursts, offering the strength to battle in the post and the lateral quickness to contain ball-handlers on the perimeter. He's a menace in passing lanes, an aggressive weak-side shot blocker and a voracious rebounder. Murray-Boyles is everywhere as a defender, with bull-like power and agility. That's Carter.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders → Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers
Look, Christopher, Ace Bailey is 6-foot-10. Asthon Jeanty is 5-foot-9. What are we doing here?
While there are vast physical differences between new Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty and Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, the general thought process behind them as prospects bears some resemblance.
We almost never see running backs picked as early as Jeanty at No. 6, but he was too much of an outlier at Boise State for NFL scouts to care. From his statuesque demeanor in the backfield to his electric quick-twitch athleticism weaving through traffic, Jeanty is undeniably great in a position the NFL historically devalues. He might not impact the game as broadly as someone like Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, but when Jeanty touches the football, he is going to deliver results — often of the explosive variety.
That's sort of how Bailey ought to be viewed. He's one of the most gifted shot-making wings to enter the NBA in ages. He doesn't do much else, and it's fair to wonder how a low-feel, passing-averse, high-volume scorer holds up in the modern game. Bailey's next team will struggle to care about his perceived limitations, however, when he's scorching the net from any-freakin'-where on the court.
Some will call Bailey outmoded, and rightfully so, but he's so good at the one thing he's good at, that he'll probably end up a top-five pick anyway.
Jihaad Campbell, LB, Eagles → Johni Broome, C, Auburn
Howie Roseman has made his reputation on running circles around his GM peers in the draft. Year in and year out, the Eagles find ways to add talent well above their means. Philadelphia won the Super Bowl, and somehow, it feels like the team has an incoming star at linebacker with the No. 31 pick.
Smart teams often deploy a simple strategy: pick the prospect who is falling further than he should. The draft often rewards 'best talent' over 'best fit,' and there's often plenty of overlap. The Eagles need linebacker help after an offseason talent purge. Jihaad Campbell fits their scheme beautifully and plays with an appreciable competitive fire.
This past season, Auburn's Johni Broome was the best player in college basketball not named Cooper Flagg. He was absurdly productive as the heart and soul of a No. 1 seed, and he checks every analytic box an NBA team could ask for. Some of the athletic concerns, not to mention his advanced age, are fair game. But Broome is going to contribute to winning from day one, so naturally, he's mocked in the second round by most plugged-in experts.
My bet is that Broome sneaks into the back end of the first round, probably courtesy of a smart, clear-minded front office like Boston or OKC, and renders a profound impact out of the gate. He's a versatile scorer, a high-feel connective playmaker and a sharp defensive backbone, even if he's probably not a true anchor in the paint. The team that stops Broome's slide will be richly rewarded.
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NBA news roundup:
- Ja Morant was on crutches in the tunnel during Game 3's fourth quarter after he took a nasty spill on what some deemed a dirty undercut by OKC's Lu Dort. His status for the rest of the series is uncertain, per Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo. Morant is scheduled for further imaging and testing on Friday.
- Alijah Arenas, a five-star USC commit and potential 2026 NBA Draft pick, was hospitalized and put into a medically induced coma on Thursday morning after a car crash in Los Angeles. The son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Alijah did not suffer broken bones and is now out of the hospital in stable condition.
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently said he spoke about the "dumba** Luka Dončić trade" in the oval office with President Donald Trump. So, do with that information what you will, Mavs fans. I'm sorry.
OKC is a postseason juggernaut hiding in plain sight
The Oklahoma City Thunder became the seventh team in NBA history to win 68 games in the regular season. OKC's average point differential of 12.9 surpassed the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the widest margin ever. And yet, the predominant narrative around this team at the onset of the playoffs was "they have to prove it."
Everyone is picking Boston to win the East. Cleveland won 64 games and claimed the No. 1 seed, but we've seen what this Celtics buzzsaw is capable of on the postseason stage. It helps that their first two matchups are probably an offensively-challenged Magic squad and a defensively-challenged Knicks team. Boston is going to cruise into the conference finals.
The most popular NBA Finals pick is also Boston, as folks tend to go with what they know works. OKC is one of the youngest teams in the league, and young teams don't have a great track record in the playoffs. The regular season is one thing, but the postseason is a different beast. There is a certain burden of proof on the spirtely Thunder. Can this team can withstand the bright lights of the postseason pressure-cooker?
We can only take so much away from a first round series, but OKC walloped the 48-win Memphis Grizzlies by 51 points in Game 1. Then by 19 in Game 2. Game 3 in Memphis saw the Grizzlies take a commanding 26-point lead into halftime, only for OKC to flip the script and walk out with a six-point victory and an insurmountable 3-0 series lead. How's that for handling adversity?
OKC's Game 3 turnaround was sparked, in part, by an unfortunate Ja Morant injury, but the Grizzlies are a deep, talented group with one of the best offenses in the NBA. Thursday night was their first game eclipsing 100 points in this series, and it ended with an 18-point third quarter and a 13-point fourth quarter.
The Thunder are the best defensive team in modern NBA history, led by the presumptive MVP winner in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. OKC has star-power, depth, and a smothering defense, with all the personnel necessary to take away Boston's core strengths and at least keep those games interesting.
Maybe, just maybe, we should've picked OKC all along. Only time will tell, but the Thunder feel the closest to unbeatable of any team in the playoffs right now.