5 frontrunners for Patriots to select with 1st overall pick in 2025 NFL Draft

If there’s one positive to think about with the Patriots residing in the AFC East cellar - along with the development of rookie quarterback Drake Maye, that is - it’s that if the season ended today, the team would have the first pick in the 2025 draft.

Yes, we’re accustomed to winning championships around here. However, the days of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hoisting Lombardi Trophies are distant memories at this point. And the Patriots clearly have to start thinking about their future. 

That being said, here are five potential blue-chippers the organization could take with the first overall pick, assuming they get it and do not trade it. 

5 players the Patriots could take with the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft

Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

The Patriots’ wide receiver room is young, no question about it, but Hunter is a bonafide talent at both the wide receiver and cornerback position.  Second-year receivers Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas are talented and developing a great rapport with Maye, but the Patriots don’t have a difference maker on the perimeter that makes a defensive coordinator say, “We’ve got to make sure this guy is covered at all times.”

Hunter, who has 51 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns for Colorado so far this season, could give the Patriots the playmaker on the outside they haven’t had since Randy Moss was here. 

Will Campbell, OT, LSU

There’s no doubt the offensive line needs help, and the LSU left tackle appears to be the best at that position in next year’s draft.  Campbell has started all 33 games he’s played in over his two-and-a-half-year career in Baton Rouge and was the chief protector for Jayden Daniels last year. 

At 6-foot-6 and 323 pounds, Campbell is athletic and good on his feet and would give the Patriots a franchise left tackle.

Mykell Williams, DE/Edge, Georgia

Remember when the Patriots tapped into the Athens pipeline with Richard Seymour in 2001? That turned out to be a pretty successful decision, and Williams could be another. Williams is an anchor for one of college football’s best defenses and is very athletic and quick at 6-5 and 265 pounds. 

The Patriots have been struggling along the line of scrimmage this season, especially on defense, where injuries have beset them. Williams would give the team a potential game-wrecker up front. 

Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas

Another potential franchise left tackle to keep Maye upright. 
Banks is the best offensive tackle for a Longhorns’ team that was ranked No. 1 in the country up until last week’s loss to Georgia. 

Banks is currently the second-ranked offensive lineman in the projected draft behind Campbell. 

James Pearce, Jr., DE/Edge, Tennessee 

Pearce is an absolute game-wrecker, featuring a blend of speed and size to be an immediate difference-maker. The Patriots lack that on the defensive front, in particular after they traded Matthew Judon to the Falcons during the preseason. 
Like Williams, Pearce could play immediately and give the Patriots’ pass rush a needed boost.

Like Williams, Pearce is a guy who could play immediately and give the Patriots’ pass rush a needed boost.

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