Opposing coaches peg SEC star as the likely No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears landed a potentially generational talent with the No. 1 pick in Caleb Williams. The USC quarterback was pegged as the obvious top pick for years — a singular dual-threat athlete capable of mesmerizing deep throws and explosive runs. The 2025 NFL Draft is, well, less impressive. At least at the top, where there is far less certainty about who the No. 1 pick will be.

There are always prospects who emerge during the season. Jayden Daniels was not the projected No. 2 pick when the 2023 campaign started, but here we are. The college football season holds myriad surprises. Generally, however, there's a pretty good sense of who is in the mix for No. 1 overall before the season. Not so much right now.

Of course, we as a sports-viewing community generally struggle with uncertainty, so there are reported "favorites," such as Colorado signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. For The Athletic, however, various NCAA coaches went to bat for Georgia QB Carson Beck as the real frontrunner. He displayed all the tools for NFL success in his standout junior season with the Bulldogs and he's set up for another successful run in college football's most dominant program.

Coaches pinpoint Georgia QB Carson Beck as 'favorite' to be No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft

To be fair, there were cases made — with varying degrees of conviction — for both Sanders and Texas QB Quinn Ewers in the article from Bruce Feldman. There are also several superior prospects at different positions, but more often than not, the top overall pick is reserved for a team without competent QB play.

Beck was saddled with the burden of replacing Stetson Bennett last season, a local hero with two championships under his belt. UGA ultimately failed to three-peat, but Beck performed beyond expectations in his first extended run as the Dawgs' signal-caller. He completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions across 14 starts. He also managed 116 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, averaging 1.9 yards per scramble.

Ask his opponents, however, and Beck is more of a dual-threat option than those numbers suggest.

"'I think he’ll be the No. 1 overall pick,” said one veteran SEC defensive coordinator. “A few things really stood out to me after playing him. He runs better than you think because he doesn’t do it often and he has such a quick release. He gets rid of it fast as s—. And he’s really intelligent. He’s one of the few quarterbacks who doesn’t look to the sidelines all the time. We were showing 0 (blitz) and he got them into a little quick screen. He’s really impressive.'"

Another top-25 defensive coordinator spoke glowingly about Beck's arm talent, citing both his accuracy and his strength.

"'He played lights out against us,” said a DC of a top 25 team. “He’s got that prototypical first-round QB look to him. His touch on the deep ball was tremendous. I don’t think there is a better quarterback in the country right now in terms of his size, accuracy, accuracy on the deep ball. I think he throws a better deep ball than Jayden Daniels.'"

Beck is the No. 2 overall pick in the first 2025 mock draft from Dane Brugler of The Athletic. His UGA teammate, DL Mykel Williams, is tentatively slotted in the No. 1 spot. Georgia has emerged as the NCAA's top recruitment hotbed, so it's only natural for Kirby Smart to have multiple top pick candidates under his supervision.

If Beck can build on last season's success, showcase more mobility outside the pocket, and convince scouts of his deep-throw ability, he could very well leapfrog Williams as the definitive No. 1 pick. Ultimately, it probably depends on which teams lands in that top spot.