AL.com NFL first-round mock draft: Trades and Jalen Milroe

The 90th NFL Draft is two weeks away, and every team has its original first-round pick. That unusual situation still could be in place when the NFL arrives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the first round on April 24. But the first round will not go off as strictly stick-and-pick selections.

Once the picks start, the deals will, too.

With that mind, here’s a set of first-round predictions that also projects the possible trades that will shape this year’s draft as well as the NFL in the seasons to come:

No. 1: Miami (Fla.) quarterback Cam Ward by the Tennessee Titans.

No. 2: Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter by the Cleveland Browns.

No. 3: Penn State outside linebacker Abdul Carter by the New York Giants.

No. 4: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty by the New England Patriots.

No. 5: Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

No. 6: Michigan cornerback Will Johnson by the Las Vegas Raiders.

No. 7: Penn State tight end Tyler Warren by the New York Jets.

No. 8: LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell by the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle will need to trade with Carolina to make this pick, which the Seahawks could do by giving the Panthers the 18th, 50th and 82nd selections. Seattle cannot wait until No. 18 to address its offense line because Campell, Missouri’s Armand Membou and Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. will be gone by then. With the trade, the Seahawks get to make the first offensive-line pick and get a player with position versatility. Meanwhile, the Panthers still can get a top edge-rusher at No. 18 and now own five of the first 82 picks.

No. 9: Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou by the New Orleans Saints.

No. 10: Michigan tight end Colston Loveland by the Los Angeles Chargers. Los Angeles will need to trade with Chicago to make this pick, which the Chargers could do by giving the Bears the 22nd, 55th and 86th selections. Los Angeles coach Jim Harbaugh gets one of his former college players from his days with the Wolverines while providing a boost for quarterback Justin Herbert. Chicago now owns six of the first 86 picks.

No. 11: Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams by the San Francisco 49ers.

No. 12: Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan by the Dallas Cowboys.

No. 13: Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. by the Miami Dolphins.

No. 14: Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron by the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay will need to trade with Indianapolis to make this pick, which the Packers could do by giving the Colts the 23rd and 54th selections. Green Bay won’t get Barron at No. 23. Indianapolis could get Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell or Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons there, though, and now has an extra second-round selection to spend on a tight end.

No. 15: Georgia outside linebacker Jalon Walker by the Atlanta Falcons.

No. 16: Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons by the Arizona Cardinals.

No. 17: Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. by the Cincinnati Bengals.

No. 18: Marshall outside linebacker Mike Green by the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers make this pick after swapping No. 8 to the Seattle Seahawks.

No. 19: Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

No. 20: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders by the New York Giants. The Giants will need to trade with Denver to make this pick, which New York could do by giving the Bronocs the 34th, 65th and 154th selections. The quarterback panic starts here, with the Giants figuring they need to get ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have the next choice. After signing tight end Evan Engram in free agency, Denver will work on its depth at positions with deeper talent pools in the draft.

No. 21: Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No. 22: Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III by the Chicago Bears. The Bears make this pick after swapping No. 10 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

No. 23: Ole Miss defensive lineman Walter Nolen by the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia will need to trade with Indianapolis to make this pick, which the Eagles could do by giving the 32nd, 96th, 134th and 164th selections to the Colts. This pick belonged to the Green Bay Packers when the draft started. Hoping to get Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell or Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons and an extra second-round selection by trading back, Indianapolis has seen part of the plan thwarted by picks by the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Colts pivot to a volume plan for the draft while the Eagles get another SEC defensive lineman after the QB panic pushed Nolen into their range.

No. 24: Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe to the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland will need to trade with Minnesota to make this pick, which the Browns could do by giving the Vikings the 33rd, 94th, 179th, 192nd and 255th selections. It’s almost mandatory that Minnesota trade down because the Vikings have only four choices in the 2025 draft. Cleveland started the night with 10. The Browns get a quarterback after not reaching for one at No. 2.

No. 25: Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden by the Houston Texans.

No. 26: Georgia safety Maliki Starks by the Los Angeles Rams.

No. 27: South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori by the Baltimore Ravens.

No. 28: Boston College defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku by the Detroit Lions.

No. 29: Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka by the Washington Commanders.

No. 30: Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Stewart by the Buffalo Bills.

No. 31: Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon by the Kansas City Chiefs.

No. 32: Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. by the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts make this pick after swapping No. 14 to the Green Bay Packers, then trading No. 23 (obtained in that deal) to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.