NFL draft rumors on top-10 team pondering trade down, Giants’ Shedeur Sanders interest

Here are the latest 2025 NFL Draft rumors floating around.

The NFL Draft is just over one week away.

Meaning the rumors cannot, and will not, stop.

Let’s take a spin around the latest joyride that is the NFL Draft rumors carousel.

Will Jalen Ramsey be moved in a pre-draft trade?

Jalen Ramsey and the Miami Dolphins are “mutually set to explore trade options,” per multiple reports.

The cornerback signed a three-year extension with Miami before last season, but that deal does not begin until 2026, so he is on the books with Miami through the 2028 season. He started every game for the Dolphins last year and notched a pair of interceptions.

Cornerback is a fascinating position in this season’s draft. After Travis Hunter Jr., widely expected to come off the board within the first three picks, two other cornerbacks likely hear their names called on the first night: Texas CB Jahdae Barron, and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson.

More on him in a moment.

Given this, a team might take a long look at a move for Ramsey ahead of the draft.

Giants taking one last look at Shedeur Sanders

The New York Giants will take one last look at Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

New York sent a large contingent to Boulder for the school’s NFL Showcase event, including head coach Brian Daboll in something of a last-minute audible for the team. However, with rumors in recent days linking Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter Jr. to the Cleveland Browns at No. 2, the Giants have been connected with Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter in recent mock drafts.

Yet, quarterback is seemingly still in play for the Giants at No. 3, and the team is hosting Sanders for a private workout on Thursday, just one week before the draft.

Still, there could be another reason for this workout, given the recent news in New Orleans about the status of Derek Carr. With the veteran quarterback now dealing with a shoulder injury that has put the start of his 2025 season in doubt, Sanders could be an option for the Saints at No. 9.

Or earlier, if New Orleans wants to trade up.

This private workout could also be beneficial if the Giants want to gauge what trading out of No. 3 could provide in return.

Panthers now thinking about trading down?

The Derek Carr injury may be the butterfly effect of the 2025 NFL Draft.

As mentioned above, the Giants could be taking one last look at Shedeur Sanders to gauge what trading out of No. 3 could bring them in return, if the New Orleans Saints were interested in trading up to draft the Colorado passer.

But now with the Saints having a need at the position at No. 9, the Carolina Panthers could hold an interesting pick right in front of their NFC South rivals. Assume for a moment that the Giants pass on a trade, and Sanders, at No. 3 and draft either Travis Hunter Jr. or Abdul Carter. Teams with a need at quarterback might start thinking of getting ahead of New Orleans to draft Sanders.

This could allow Carolina to trade down, as noted by Panthers beat writer Joe Person, who noted that the team is now “open” to trading down, but it depends on “what happens in front of them in the draft.”

EDGE is a position often linked to the Panthers but with some depth at that position — seven pass rushers are currently inside the first round in mock drafts, with Texas A&M product Nic Scourton just outside the top 32 — Carolina could still draft an EDGE in the first, even if they slide down the board a bit.

Chiefs thinking about a Kelce replacement?

One of the best uses of mock drafts, particularly from sourced insiders in the days leading up to the big event, is not what players they link with teams, but what position. Once consensus starts to settle on a given position for a team in the first round, you can start to understand what the people in the building think they need to address in the draft.

Given this, some recent mock drafts might illustrate what the Kansas City Chiefs are thinking about the future of their tight end room.

In the days leading up to Super Bowl LIX rumors ran rampant about the future of Travis Kelce. The Chiefs’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles kicked those rumors into overdrive, but Kelce confirmed in the days after the game that he was coming back for 2025.

Still, recent mock drafts have linked the Chiefs with tight ends, usually on Day Two of the draft. Both Nate Taylor at The Athletic and Mike Renner at CBS Sports, have sent Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo to the Chiefs in the second round of recent mock drafts.

The Chiefs also hosted fascinating tight end prospect Harold Fannin Jr. for a Top-30 visit, and in this writer’s view, Fannin is a very intriguing option as an eventual Kelce replacement.

Buccaneers to double up on CB?

If you scan through mock drafts for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the essential website NFL Mock Draft Database, you will certainly notice a theme.

Defense.

Most mocks have the Buccaneers addressing the defensive side of the ball not just in the first round, but often with their first three selections. For example, this mock draft from Buccaneers.com has Tampa Bay taking linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first round, cornerback Darien Porter out of Iowa State in the second, and Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. in the third.

This mock from Pewter Report has the Buccaneers drafting Georgia safety Malaki Starks in the first, linebacker Demetrius Knight in the second, and UCLA pass rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo in the third.

But beyond addressing defense, could the Buccaneers double up on that side of the ball, and add two cornerbacks? That is the theory posed by ESPN Buccaneers beat writer Jenna Laine.

“The Bucs don’t want to be caught flat-footed again like they were last season with injuries, and not only do they need a starting-caliber player, but depth is also a concern,” Laine wrote in an ESPN Insider column featuring insight from beat writers for all 32 teams. “Keep in mind that they doubled up on the position in the draft in 2019, selecting Sean Murphy-Bunting in the second round and Jamel Dean in the third.”

Is New England settling on Will Campbell?

If the first round starts with Cam Ward-Travis Hunter Jr.-Abdul Carter with the first three picks, as many expect, some New England Patriots fans view that as the worst-case scenario.

However, the Derek Carr news could mean an increased opportunity for the Patriots to trade down, but absent a trade New England might have their mind made up, according to one NFL Draft insider.

Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline believes that despite recent chatter about Missouri offensive lineman Armand Membou, the pick will be Will Campbell. “There’s a lot of love for Armand Membou in the Patriots camp, but in recent weeks, they’ve been telling people Campbell is their guy, as he’s more of a pure left tackle.

Pauline is not the only insider making noise about love for Campbell in Foxborough. Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston had this to say about the LSU lineman’s visit with the Patriots:

Maybe the draft actually begins at five?

Michigan CB Will Johnson’s individual Pro Day

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson may be CB1 based on film.

But those waiting to see his athletic testing numbers might be unsettled at how his pre-draft process has unfolded.

Johnson did not run the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis or at Michigan’s Pro Day as he recovers from both a turf toe injury as well as a hamstring issue. He held an individual Pro Day on Monday, and again did not run the 40-yard dash.

According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler he did participate in position drills — where he looked “smooth” — and posted a short shuttle of 4.33 seconds, and a vertical of 37 inches:

Those are not the strongest numbers for cornerbacks:

ohnson’s draft profile may become the latest example of “trust the tape.”