An NFL draft class isn’t quite the same as a high school or college graduating class, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have some of the same traditions.
With the 2025 NFL Draft just over one week away, USA TODAY Sports created a list of superlatives ahead of draft night. Which players are most likely to rise or fall? Which teams are most likely to trade up or down? Who’s the best prospect on offense? On defense?
All of these questions (and more) get answers in the 2025 NFL draft superlatives. Here’s how they shake out:
2025 NFL draft superlatives
Best overall prospect: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
There was no question about this one. The Heisman Trophy winner has the ability to be an immediate starter – and a quality starter – at either (or both) of his positions. Some teams have viewed Hunter as a bigger contributor on offense, while others have said they view him primarily as a defender. The fact that such a debate can even exist means there’s no debate about which player is the top overall prospect.
Best quarterback prospect: Cam Ward, Miami (FL)
Ward has been the consensus top quarterback prospect since the end of the 2024 college season. His excellent year included a 67.2% completion rate (12th in FBS), 4,313 passing yards (second) and 39 passing touchdowns (first).
In addition to his statistical output, Ward showed off his strong ability to read defenses, anticipate throwing windows, improvise and scramble. The Miami Hurricanes quarterback has some dual-threat potential as well, rushing 60 times for 204 yards and four touchdowns last year.
Best offensive prospect: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
As great as Hunter is as a two-way player, and despite all of the excitement a quarterback prospect like Ward brings, no player was a more pure difference-maker on offense in 2024 than Ashton Jeanty.
The Boise State product rushed more than 370 times last year and still managed to average nearly seven yards per carry. That was thanks to his FBS-leading 2,601 rushing yards, a mark that was just 27 yards short of breaking Barry Sanders’ record for most rushing yards in a single season.
That’s all without mentioning Jeanty’s 29 rushing touchdowns in 14 games, which also led all FBS running backs. Of the top 40 players in the NCAA’s ranking of ‘points responsible for,’ 39 of them are quarterbacks. Jeanty was the lone exception, and he was tied with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar for 27th on the list with 180.
Best defensive prospect: Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
Carter is the best prospect in the 2025 draft class not named Hunter, despite some of the injury concerns that have popped up during the pre-draft process. His pass-rush tape includes wins using a plethora of methods: speed, hand fighting, spin moves, dips and more.
Once he’s past opposing tackles, the players still in the backfield – quarterbacks or running backs – are in trouble. He’ll hit a second gear, catch up and finish the tackle for a loss.
Carter finished the 2024 season as the FBS leader in tackles for loss with 23.5 of them, according to the NCAA. His 12.0 sacks ranked seventh in FBS, as well.
Player most likely to be a bust: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
Wait, what? Hunter led this list as the best overall prospect, how could he also be the most likely to be a bust?
Well, with the high expectations Hunter enters this year’s draft with, there’s also plenty of opportunity for a letdown. The threshold for being a bust is lower with the inherent expectations and potential a two-way player comes with. If Hunter fails to live up to his projections as a starter on either side of the ball, or even remains limited to one position, there are those out there who will label him a ‘bust.’
Team most likely to trade back: Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have the fewest picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, with four of them. That means they’re a prime candidate to trade back in the first round to get some additional draft picks in later rounds.
Minnesota is also in a good position with the No. 24 overall pick, since there are still eight other playoff teams picking behind it, several of which could be looking to jump up a few picks. It also means the Vikings aren’t so far back that a trade down would necessarily hamper them from taking one of the top players on their draft board.
Team most likely to trade up: Houston Texans
Since he took over as the Texans’ general manager in 2021, Nick Caserio has not shied away from trading up for the players he believes will improve the roster.
In his first year in charge, Caserio traded three future selections to Carolina to acquire an additional third-round pick, which he used to select wide receiver Nico Collins. Two years later, Caserio traded four picks to Arizona to move up to the No. 3 overall pick – in a draft in which the Texans already had the No. 2 pick. He used the second pick on quarterback C.J. Stroud and the third pick on edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. The two went on to sweep the NFL’s Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards for 2023.
If Caserio and the Texans are in a position to move up to ‘get their guy,’ the general manager won’t be afraid to pull the trigger.
Player most likely to rise above expected draft position: Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi
Dart has been one of the biggest pre-draft risers in this year’s class. From his time at the Senior Bowl to his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Mississippi gunslinger has put in the work to push himself into Round 1 consideration.
Some analysts have predicted that Dart may be the second quarterback off the board – behind Ward and ahead of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. That would doubtless qualify him for this superlative, but even if he just hears his name called at all on the first night of the draft, Dart would have risen above previous expectations.
Player most likely to fall: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Sanders could be drafted as early as the No. 2 pick – by a quarterback-needy team like the Cleveland Browns – or the No. 3 pick – by the quarterback-needy Giants. But he could also fall much further down the board.
The Saints – who hold the No. 9 overall pick – are currently the betting favorite to draft Sanders after news broke that veteran Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury. But if they like another quarterback prospect more – perhaps the aforementioned Dart – Sanders could slide much further down the board.
Team most likely to trade back into first round: New York Giants
The biggest benefit a team gets by trading back up into the first round is the fifth-year team option exclusive to first-round picks. As a team without a franchise quarterback, New York could benefit from that extra year of flexibility, especially if it selected a younger quarterback in need of more development – a likely scenario given which prospects would be available late in the first round.
That would allow the Giants to sit their rookie quarterback behind their two veterans before he takes over as a starter in Year 2. One could envision a situation similar to the one the Ravens found themselves in, in 2018, when they traded back into Round 1 and took Lamar Jackson.
Player most likely to be traded during the draft: Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Just one year into his four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons, Cousins appears to be the odd man out in Atlanta. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. took over the starting job late in 2024 as the veteran struggled, and Penix played well enough to hold onto that job in his second season.
Cousins isn’t likely to permit a trade before the draft given how he was blindsided by the Penix pick last year, but he may be willing to waive his no-trade clause if he joins a team that’s already picked a non-quarterback. The Cleveland Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick, could be a nice fit in that scenario, even after signing veteran Joe Flacco.
All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter. Check out the latest edition: Mock draft shakeup after Saints QB Derek Carr news.