2025 NFL Mock Draft: The Defensive Domination Draft

What if teams prioritize the trenches? We explore a draft where defensive stars and offensive linemen dominate the early picks.

Watching Super Bowl LIX, you had to wonder what the fallout would be after the Philadelphia Eagles dominated both lines of scrimmage in a beat down of the Kansas City Chiefs.

This mock draft explores that.

In a copycat league, which teams will look at a bad quarterback and bad wide receiver draft and think it’s best to load up on trench players? With the 2025 draft’s strengths at defensive end and defensive tackle—plus a sneaky good tight end and center class—we could see a run on trench players unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

And by doing this, the top quarterbacks Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart are drafted closer to where they are actually ranked. That’s something to keep in mind as you read below.

So let’s value the trenches and draft some beef.

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1. Tennessee Titans — Abdul Carter, DE, Penn State

Easy decision even if we’re not focusing on beefing up the trenches. Carter is the best player in this draft class. Done deal.

2. Cleveland Browns — Will Campbell, T, LSU

The Browns need a quarterback, but they might get one in free agency (Kirk Cousins). If we’re building the trenches, they’ll replace Jedrick Wills who is set to be a free agent this offseason.

3. New York Giants — Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

If the Giants make a splash for Sam Darnold, they can then attack the trenches. Mason Graham is one of the most solid players in the draft and is a Christian Wilkins-level 3-technique. He’ll be a damn good rookie starter.