2025 NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins add insurance for Tua Tagovailoa; teams with veteran QBs plan for the future

Week 3 of the NFL season was full of surprises, none bigger than the Andy Dalton-led Panthers pounding the Raiders in Las Vegas. It was proof the Panthers aren’t totally bereft of talent and, at the same time, an unfortunate indictment on Bryce Young, who may still be a quality NFL QB one day but perhaps not in Carolina.

Even better for the Panthers is the win did nothing to lift it out of whatever we want to call the “tank for 2025’s No. 1 pick” race, as other previously-winless teams like the Broncos and Giants also pulled off road stunners.

Does the top pick guarantee anything? Clearly not, as a Panthers fan will tell you. It’s going to be especially difficult in a 2025 NFL Draft class that is talented but lacks a generational signal-caller or even a generational pass-rushing type like Myles Garrett. In many ways its uncertainty reminds me of the 2022 NFL Draft that saw Travon Walker go first, followed by Aidan Hutchinson — a practical decision at the time that looks bad now for the Jaguars. The 2025 class does have much better quarterbacks than the 2022 draft, and we’ve got two going off the board with the top 10 picks here.

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on “With the First Pick” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Listen below!