NFL mock draft: Where Miami football players are expected to land in 2025 draft

April 23, 2025 Admin

From the time it was an upstart program rankling the starched college football establishment in the 1980s, Miami has been a pipeline to the NFL.

The Hurricanes were the college home of several of the biggest stars in the NFL over the past 40 years, a list including but not limited to the likes of Ed Reed, Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin and Andre Johnson.

This week, a new batch of Miami players will see their NFL dreams come true.

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The 2025 NFL draft gets started with Thursday night’s first round at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the Hurricanes figuring prominently into the proceedings. Quarterback Cam Ward, a consensus first-team All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist in his first and only season in Coral Gables, is widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, going off the board to the Tennessee Titans. Beyond him, though, coach Mario Cristobal’s program has several other players who are expected to hear their names called.

Which Hurricanes are on their way to the NFL? And where will they end up?

Here’s a look at where Miami players are projected to go in the 2025 NFL draft:

Miami football players in 2025 NFL mock drafts

QB Cam Ward: Round 1, No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans

Like many other projections, the latest 2025 NFL mock draft from USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has Ward going with the first overall pick to the Tennessee Titans, who finished an NFL-worst 3-14 last season due at least in some part to erratic quarterback play from 2023 second-round pick Will Levis.

Of Ward, Middlehurst-Schwartz writes:

“At least the start of the draft seems to have some degree of certainty. With the Titans and Shedeur Sanders canceling their private workout, all signs point to Ward for the No. 1 pick. An electric presence behind center who still occasionally short-circuits when pressing, the 6-2, 219-pounder might seem like an atypical choice for a team looking to pivot from Will Levis’ many miscues. But Ward’s upward trajectory as a composed pocket passer suggests he could help Tennessee achieve some semblance of stability with its aerial attack while still maintaining a big-play flair.”

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Other Miami players eligible for 2025 NFL draft

Though Ward is the only Miami player generally viewed as a first-round pick, several other Hurricanes will be drafted this week. Here’s a look at where those players appear in the seven-round NFL mock draft from Dane Brugler of The Athletic:

QB Cam Ward: Round 1 to the Tennessee Titans (No. 1 overall)
TE Elijah Arroyo: Round 2 to the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 55 overall)
OL Jalen Rivers: Round 4 to the New York Giants (No. 105 overall)
RB Damien Martinez: Round 4 to the San Francisco 49ers (No. 113 overall)
WR Xavier Restrepo: Round 6 to the Denver Broncos (No. 197 overall)
K Andres Borregales: Round 6 to the Baltimore Ravens (No. 212 overall)
Edge Tyler Baron: Round 6 to the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 215 overall)
LB Francisco Mauigoa: Round 7 to the Arizona Cardinals (No. 225 overall)

Highest Miami picks in NFL draft history

If the overwhelming majority of mock drafts prove to be correct and Ward is taken with the No. 1 overall pick, he’d be the third player in Miami history to be the first person off the board in a given draft, joining Vinny Testaverde in 1987 and Russell Maryland in 1991.

Ward would be the first Miami player to be among the top five picks in the draft in 21 years, going all the way back to the late Sean Taylor in 2004.

With Ward likely set to join the group Thursday, here’s a look at all the top-five draft picks in Miami history: