The Biggest Regrets From The 2025 NFL Draft (So Far)

The Biggest Regrets From The 2025 NFL Draft (So Far)

The 2025 NFL draft class is about midway through their rookie years, and some players are off to very promising starts. Some guys like Amecha Ibuka and Tyler Warren have had tremendous starts to their careers and have been great draft picks for their franchises. And while those two players, along with plenty of others, have been draft hits through the first half season of their careers, others have not. And in today’s video, we’re going to discuss the biggest regrets from the 2025 NFL draft so far. Now, for clarity, this video is discussing regrets from a team building standpoint or a usage standpoint from the franchise that selected the player. What this video is not is saying a player or players are draft busts midway through their rookie year that have zero chance of succeeding consistently in the NFL. And in today’s video, we’re going to break down a couple of selections that franchises may be second-guessing midway through the 2025 season. And there is a lot to break down in today’s video. And without further ado, let’s begin. And we are starting today’s video by discussing the Raiders selecting Ashton Genty over Arman Membu with the sixth overall pick. Now, one thing I want to emphasize with the Genty selection is I think he is a really good player and will be a multiple time back. And if any semblance of an offensive line in year two and year three, probably a multiple time Pro Bowler, too. But at the time of this video release, and I don’t expect this to change because of how bad the Raiders offensive line is, the Raiders are 32nd in rushing EPA per play offensively. And the difference between them and the 31st ranked team in this metric is the same difference as the 31st ranked team and the 25th ranked team in rushing EPA per play offensively. And whenever you think about prospects going to situations where they’re destined to fail, you may think of David Carr all the way back in 2002 with the Texans or even Trevor Lawrence in 2021 with Urban Meyer or plenty of others. But this is the same situation for Genty. The big difference, of course, is he is a running back. And one of the most frustrating things about watching Ashton Genty play this year is how much the Raiders offensive line gets controlled in the run game. You turn on the tape with Genty and a lot of his runs are two yards or less and it’s because guys are playing fundamentally gap sound football and there’s nowhere to go. And what I mean by this is opposing defensive linemen will lock Raiders offensive lineman out at the point of attack and more or less have control of where they’re going. Meaning there’s no consistent push from the Raiders offensive line and whichever direction Genty goes, they’ll immediately disengage and make the play or have the cavalry come and there will be four or five guys ready to tackle him. And there was a play against the Titans in week six that perfectly demonstrates this. The Raiders are running a play to the left side and Stone Foresight helps Michael Mayer with a block to try to wall off Jihad Ward, but doesn’t get enough of him. And because of this, Jiad Ward has control of the front side C gap. And in the meantime, Cedric Gray steps up and fills the B gap. And because Jiad Ward had control of his gap, he steps up and makes the play with nowhere for Genty to go. And Ashton Genty is only 21 years old, but he plays a position that historically falls off faster than others. And you can’t help but think how much of a lost year this is for Genty due to circumstances that are out of his control. And I really think if the Raiders could do it over, given how their year has gone, I think they would choose Missouri offensive tackle Armanu if they could do it over. And why I don’t think this is crazy is look what the Chargers did last year in the first and second round of the 2024 draft. They selected Joe Alt and Lad Makanki and they easily could have selected Malik Neighbors and Jackson Powers Johnson or Patrick Paul. And there’s a reason good offensive linemen don’t get traded. And what’s really frustrating for Genty at the time of this video releases, he’s had one good game in the first seven weeks of the season, which was against the Bears. And if you take that game away, he’s averaging just 3.4 yards per carry in what has been an absolute nightmare of a season for the Raiders. Now again, the one thing I do want to clarify is this is not me saying that Ashton Genty is going to be a draft bust or that he’s destined for failure because he’s not. But Arman Meu has been a really good player for the Jets despite how their season has gone. And given that John Spycch is a firstear GM for the Raiders, I really do think if he could do it over, he would play it safe and take the best player available in the trenches. And at the time, it was Arman Membu. I personally had Genty as my third best prospect in the 2025 class and Meu as my fourth best player. And having a tackle duo of Colton Miller and Meu would be a good duo for a team that desperately needs trench help. And today’s video is sponsored by Prize Picks and my code GFB. We went 0 of3 last week and we’ve went 0 of three and two of the past three weeks. And I would argue that going 0 of3 is as impressive as going three for three. But with that being said, if you want to completely fade my play this week for week eight, I understand. And this is through today’s sponsor, Prize Picks, and my code, GFB. And for week eight, we are keeping it simple. Jamar Chase had 23 targets in week seven. Joe Flaka was force-feeding him the football. And we’re taking Jamar Chase more than 79 and a half receiving yards. I think the Falcons will beat the Dolphins in week eight. And because of this, I think they’re going to run the football quite a bit. So, we’re taking Bejian Robinson to score against Miami. Aaron Rogers Steelers are playing against his former team, the Green Bay Packers. And we’re also taking Aaron Rogers more than one and a half passing touchdowns. And when you download the Prize Pix app using code GFB and make your first $5 deposit, Prize Pix will give you $50 in lineups instantly. We are closing in on 200 signups for the year. So again, when you download the Prize Pix app using code GFB and make your first $5 deposit, Prize Pix will give you $50 in lineups instantly. So we’re rooting for Jamar Chase, Bejian Robinson, and Aaron Rogers in week eight. And a big thank you to Prize Picks for sponsoring today’s video. Next up is the NFL letting Josh Simmons fall to the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of the first round. Now, Josh Simmons to me was a really good prospect coming out of Ohio State. And I am a firm believer that if he plays a healthy 2024 season, not only does Ohio State still win the national championship, of course, but I am a firm believer that Josh Simmons gets drafted by the New England Patriots and that Will Campbell is not a Patriot today. And that’s not Will Campbell slander. I just think that Josh Simmons was on a higher trajectory than where he eventually was drafted. And what I will say about Josh Simmons as a prospect was I thought this was a pretty clean evaluation. During his final season at Ohio State prior to the knee injury, he had one pressure allowed on over 150 pass blocking snaps. Now, what I would say regarding the knee injury, because I know there will be some comments about, well, you don’t know how other NFL teams evaluated him and this and that, and I completely understand and acknowledge that, but what I would say about Josh Simmons knee injury was if it were truly that bad to begin with, the Chiefs would not have drafted him in the first round. Nobody would have drafted him in the first round. He would have fell to day three due to that big of an injury risk. So, the fact that one NFL team took him in the first round kind of signals that the injury could not have been that bad, at least from a long-term perspective. Now, one player that unfortunately will be linked to Josh Simmons for quite a long time is the Commander offensive tackle Josh Connorly that was also selected in the first round. Now, I thought Josh Connorly was a fine prospect coming out of Oregon and he was a player that I really liked and a player that I think will grow over the course of his career as he transitions to the NFL. But I’d also be lying if I thought that Connor Lee would have this tough of a transition period to the NFL because Connor Lee’s strengths during his time at Oregon unfortunately haven’t shown up as much as you would have liked during his first couple of games in the NFL. He’s already allowed five sacks in the first handful of games and he allowed three in one game alone against Green Bay back in week two. But there’s also been several miscommunications and there’s also times where he’s straight up missing his assignment and pass protection and it’s been a very frustrating year so far for Connor Lee. Now, the reason that Connor Lee will be connected to Simmons is because he was drafted right before him and Simmons was a player that fell due to injury. But again, like I said, if a team was going to take him in the first round, I kind of question other teams that could have needed that could have drafted a franchise tackle to begin with and not selecting Simmons in the first place. And even within Josh Simmons pre-draft process, I thought that a good comparison for him was either Christian Darasaw or a very light version of Trent Williams. Now, with wide receivers, you can pretty clearly see that guys do not have the same playing style or that they compare very differently. Somebody like DK Metaf versus somebody like Wes Welker or Julian Edelman, you know, those quicker than fast lunch pale good route running guys are a lot different than somebody like DK Metaf, for example. And the same also applies to offensive linemen. Just because they’re typically all 6’4, 6’5 and weigh north of 300 lb does not mean they all play the game of football the same way. And I really thought that, you know, Josh Simmons was kind of like a Pokemon evolution chart where he was kind of the first gen and then Christian Darasol was the second gen and then Trent Williams was kind of the final evolution, if you will. And that we’re starting to see the development of Josh Simmons in a big way. and that I firmly believe the Chiefs have their franchise left tackle of the future and that he’s only going to get better as time goes on. And unfortunately, Josh Connorly was the tackle that was selected closest to Josh Simmons. So, like I said, I do think he will be compared to him kind of unfairly throughout his career. But Josh Connorly has also struggled and that is another unfortunate part. But it’s not just the commanders taking Josh Connorly over Josh Simmons. It should also be noted that the Commanders traded for Laramie Tonsel before the season started and then that, you know, would you want Josh Simmons to go to right tackle and it’s a whole different conversation. Now, Josh Simmons did play right tackle in 2022 with San Diego State, but that’s a whole different conversation. But the point is, it’s not just the Commanders taking Josh Connorly over Josh Simmons. It’s the NFL letting what I thought was a top 10 talent in the 2025 draft class, falling all the way to the end of the first round so that the Chiefs could pick him up and have Patrick Mahomes franchise left tackle for probably the next 5 to 6 years, if not longer. Next up is the Bears decision to draft Coulson Lovelin over Tyler Warren. In the first seven games of Tyler Warren’s career, he has 439 receiving yards and three touchdowns and also has an additional rushing touchdown, too. And at the moment, Coulson Lovelin has only played in five games and has just eight receptions for 78 receiving yards. Now, with Ben Johnson being the Bears head coach, and with how much the Lions place an emphasis on running backs in Jir Gibbs and David Montgomery, there is a conversation worth wondering about how good Ashton Genty would be in the Windy City at the moment, especially with the emphasis the Bears placed on the offensive line this off season. Unfortunately, the draft didn’t fall that way for the Chicago Bears, and they ended up taking a tight end at number 10 overall. And tight ends, like running backs, can be a bit controversial in the first round. And I liked both Coloulston Lovelin and Tyler Warren as prospects a lot. In fact, I thought Coulson Lovelin was a borderline underrated player coming out of Michigan due in large part to how bad his quarterback play was in 2024. But if you are going to select a tight end in the first round, and I’m not talking at pick 28 or 30 or even pick 32, but specifically in the upper half of the first round, I think you have to have a plan right from the start of how much this player is going to be involved in the offense. The Colts clearly have that with Warren as at the moment he is on pace to go for over a,000 receiving yards in 2025, which would have him be just the fourth rookie tight end to do that in the last 65 years as he would join Mike Ditka in 1961. Kyle Pittz in 2021 and of course Brock Bowers last year. And while the Bears have improved to 4-2 and have four straight games of putting up 25 or more points, imagine Tyler Warren in this offense. And imagine him with how many trick plays Ben Johnson has up his sleeves at any point in time. Tyler Warren was such a unique prospect last year as he lined up all over the field for Penn State and more than held his own as a blocker, too. And another frustration I have with the Bears from the 2025 draft was selecting Luther Burton in the second round and not using him nearly as much as he should be in the early parts of the year. I mean, this is a franchise that spent their first two picks on a tight end and a receiver. And in the first six games of the year, they have a combined 27 targets and are sixth and seventh on the team in targets. And for what it’s worth, I absolutely love the process from the Bears in the 2025 draft to select both Lovelin and Luther Burden at the time because I simply thought they were drafting good football players. But I also think you should play those said good football players and prioritizing getting each player the ball due in large part to how much you have invested in each player from a franchise standpoint. And Luther Burton, when called upon has delivered for the Bears, as he has 12 receptions on 14 targets on the season, including a 100yard game against the Cowboys back in week three. Ultimately, I do think both players will receive significantly more targets as the year goes on. But what I do think will be frustrating for Bears fans to hear about, not just for a year or two, but probably the next several years, is how they could have had Tyler Warren with their 2025 first round pick. And I like Coloulston Lovelin, but giving him just 13 targets in his first five games is not great. And him only having eight receptions for 78 yards in the first third of his rookie year is also not going to cut it. And Ryan Ples, for as many draft picks as he’s had, has not drafted a Pro Bowler. And nearly midway through their rookie years, it looks like there was a Pro Bowl tight end staring him right in the face. Next up is Travis Hunter of the Jags. And I want to preface this with this is a very complex conversation. This is not me saying that Travis Hunter because he was the number two overall pick, he should immediately come in and do what Brian Thomas Jr. did last year, which was over,200 yards and double-digit touchdowns. And then on the defensive side of the ball, he should also have four or five interceptions. I am not saying that. But I have been frustrated with the Jags game plan with Travis Hunter offensively outside of the Rams game. And I was very very excited to see Travis Hunter more into the game plan against the Rams. And I really hope that that is a step in the right direction. But for the first five games with Travis Hunter, it felt that every touch that he had offensively was very forced. And what also frustrated me was there would be a glimpse here or a glimpse there where you would see against the 49ers where he had that big catch down the middle. And what frustrated me was the lack of continuity with Travis Hunter in the offense. you know, is he going to be an offensive player? Is he going to be a defensive player? Because there were a couple of games where he played 40 defensive snaps or 40 plus defensive snaps and then the next game he’d have two targets offensively. So, the lack of just clarity within the Travis Hunter role has been pretty frustrating through the first couple of games of his NFL career. And prior to the game against the Rams in which Travis Hunter had over a 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. Again, major credit where it is due. He was on pace for just a 550 yard receiving season, which is undoubtedly frustrating compared to the expectations that Travis Hunter had entering the year. But what I will say positively moving forward about Travis Hunter is whenever he steps on the field, whether he’s on offense, whether he’s on defense, he is at the absolute worst the third best athlete on the field at all times. And I would probably say second best athlete, but maybe there’s one really good team with a lot of great athletes. But he’s a really I mean he’s a tremendous football player and I can’t wait to see how this continues. But the lack of clarity within the Travis Hunter role early on I think has been frustrating at times because the glimpses have been there. I have absolutely zero doubt that if the Jags wanted Travis Hunter to be an 8020 offense defense ratio that he could have 12 or 1300 yards and I wouldn’t bat an eye because again the flashes are there. Whether it was the game against the Rams, whether it was the play against the 49ers, we saw this guy absolutely dominated Colorado. I just want to see a game where everything is put together. And again, he did just have a 100yard game against the Rams, but I was a little underwhelmed with his usage offensively through the first few games because everything felt so forced. Now, Jags fans, positively, again, I think everything is pointing up on both sides of the football and there should be an alternate reality. Jags fans, I will let you use your imagination on this one, where he probably should have had a game-winning pass breakup. that was not a past breakup that Jags fans rightfully so think should have been a past breakup. So again, I do think all things are pointing up for Travis Hunter and the Jags pertaining to his usage. And I think there’s a very strong possibility that he’ll be a pro bowler as early as next year. I was just a little underwhelmed with the first couple of games within his rookie season, mainly because there were months to prepare for ways to get him involved in the offense without it feeling as forced as it was. Next up is the Falcons drafting Xavier Watts all the way at the end of the third round and more specifically the NFL allowing Xavier Watts to fall that far to begin with. Xavier Watts to me was a player that checked a lot of boxes coming out of Notre Dame. He was a high motor guy. He was a high IQ guy and he was a safety that was in the right place far more often than he was in the wrong place and he was also a really good tackler. And I thought Xavier Watts was a second round prospect. I thought he was a really good player and a guy that could come in and raise the floor of any defensive back room. And for the Falcons to draft a guy like that near the start of day three was tremendous value. And I personally had Xavier Watts in my top 60 of the 2025 big board. So to get a near plus40 draft valuation or plus 40 draft value on the big board was tremendous at that point in the draft. And we’re already seeing that just a couple of games into Xavier Watts rookie season. and the Falcons 2025 draft class as a whole with Jaylen Walker with James Pierce. And by the way, I don’t want to act like I love the Falcons trade up to go get James Pierce at the time. Falcons fans probably remember that I was critical of the trade to go get James Pierce. But with Walker, Pierce, Xavier Watts, and Billy Bowman, the Falcons defensive draft class looks really good. And there’s been times where they’ve flashed in a big way. Most notably the Vikings game on Sunday night in week two and the Bills game most recently on Monday Night Football. and they’ve done a really good job. And Xavier Watts looks to be a player that will be in the Big A, not just for a year or two, but probably the next three or four or five years. And I absolutely love the safety duo of him and Jesse Bates. I think there’s times where NFL teams over complicate the NFL draft more than they should. And if they are selecting with the 65th pick in the draft and somehow the 21st best prospect is still there at pick 65, I think at times they’ll take the 110th best prospect just because he’s an offensive lineman and they need to address the offensive line and you miss out on a top 25 player in the class because of things like that. And I was a little lower on Cam Scataboo than the national media. I had him as my 72nd best player in the draft, but he was selected with the 105th pick. So evidently the NFL was a lot lower on Cam Scataboo than I was. And this was a prospect at Arizona State last year who finished fifth in the Heisman voting and he had over 2,300 total yards with 600 yards receiving. Now the reasons that I was a little lower than on Scataboo than national media was I thought that there were some limitations in his game. He’s definitely not the fastest guy and I also thought that there were schemes that wouldn’t want Cam Scataboo due to his not the physical part but just the fact that he’s not the most agile guy. So, you know, teams that want to run outside zone where you really plant that foot in and then cut back. I thought that that was going to kind of eliminate some teams from drafting him. So, I had him a little lower just because I thought he was a scheme specific back. Now, we’ve seen with his time with the Giants that he’s obviously a very good player. And what really frustrates me for Cam Scataboo, the fact that he didn’t go higher was there is absolutely no doubt that he interviewed well. I mean, if you were an NFL head coach interviewing Cam Scaboo, I would imagine it went something like this. Hey, Cam, what can you bring to my team? Coach, I’m going to bring toughness. I’m going to run through a wall for you, and I will do anything for this team to win a Super Bowl. And that was probably the gist of how all of his interviews went. yet he fell to day three of the NFL draft and he’s probably going to finish top five in the offensive rookie of the year voting. Cam Scataboo is a player that I don’t understand how he fell all the way to day three and teams right now are certainly regretting it, especially with how many running backs are unfortunately injured midway through the 2025 season. I hope you enjoyed today’s video and if you did, please like the video and subscribe as we are closing in on 220,000 subscribers and I cannot thank you guys enough for these support. Thank you to Prize Pix for sponsoring today’s video. And if you use code GFB and make your first $5 deposit, you will receive $50 in lineups instantly. Always play responsibly and until next time, please be safe and have a great day. Love you guys.

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