The NFL offseason began in earnest on Monday with the opening of the legal tampering period. NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday, but plenty of players and teams have already been paired together. One NFL insider believes he is ‘certain' of two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft after day one of NFL free agency.
ESPN's Field Yates made a few bold predictions after the start of NFL free agency. Yates is confident that he knows which players the Texans and Falcons will pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Yates sees the Texans using their first-round pick on an offensive tackle who can protect QB CJ Stroud.
“While certain can be a tricky word to associate with anything in the draft, the Texans created a huge void in trading offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders in a package that sent multiple picks back to Houston,” Yates wrote. “Be it Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr., Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr. or another offensive tackle, it sure feels like the No. 25 pick will be someone who helps protect quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud took 52 sacks last season, second most in the NFL.”
Yates is clearly reacting to Houston's divorce with Laremy Tunsil as the focal point of his argument. It is hard to disagree. Houston desperately needs to rebuild its offensive line. Thankfully, the 2025 draft class is packed with talented tackle prospects.
Will Falcons add an edge rusher during the 2025 NFL Draft?
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Yates also made a bold prediction about the Atlanta Falcons after day one of NFL free agency.
“One more that I feel confident about right now: The Falcons look primed to add a pass rusher at No. 15,” Yates concluded.
This prediction feels about as accurate as the previous prediction, if not more so. Atlanta is in dire need of a quality edge rusher. The Falcons currently have Arnold Ebiketie as their most talented pass rusher.
Atlanta does not have a realistic path to add a talented edge rusher outside of the draft. The Falcons currently have roughly $9.5 million in cap space, which is not enough to compete for a top free agent. Their limited salary cap also prevents them from trading for a talented edge rusher with a large cap figure.
If the Falcons do select an edge rusher with the 15th overall pick, they should have their pick of several talented players.