2025 NFL Draft consensus big board: Do any QBs join Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders in the top 50?

By Charles McDonald · Nate Tice

We’ve come to it at last: The first consensus big board of the 2025 NFL Draft cycle from Yahoo Sports draft experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald.

Nate and Charles have each delivered their individual post-combine big boards, and now they’ve put their brains together for a combined ranking of the top 50 draft prospects. Writeups are tagged with the initials of the expert.

Charles McDonald big board | Nate Tice big board

1. Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado

Putting Travis Hunter anywhere but the top spot feels like overthinking, even if he doesn’t ultimately live up to the lofty hype he set for himself after a once-in-a-lifetime college career.

In addition to the Heisman Trophy, Hunter won the Bednarik Award for the best defensive player in college football and won the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best wide receiver in the country. He’s a legitimate first-round prospect at both wide receiver and cornerback, thanks to some otherworldly ball skills and overall athleticism that make him an impact player on both sides of the ball. So far, Hunter is adamant on playing both ways in the NFL, which will prove tough, but it’s hard to doubt someone who has already made it this far on his talents.

Hunter might be a bit more pro-ready at cornerback right now, where his instincts and athleticism can make him a nuisance for passing games, but a play at wide receiver is completely defensible (and exciting) as well.

The term “generational” gets thrown around way too much in draft coverage, but for someone like Hunter, it actually applies. — CM

2. Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State

When a Penn State defender now gets the No. 11 jersey, he is inevitably going to get compared to Micah Parsons, which is unfair for any player and such a high bar. Still, Carter is about as close to that Parsons comparison as a player can get.

He is a twitchy pass rusher who can bend around corners and somehow stay on his feet despite contorting his body like Gumby. Carter is still adding layers to his usage of hands and how to keep blockers off-balance, but he has the package of length, quick-twitch athleticism, bend, play strength and effort level to give him the upside of an elite ace edge defender with double-digit sack upside in the NFL.

He also has prior experience as an off-ball linebacker and interior pass rusher to boot. He still has to work on discipline in the run game, and can rely on knifing inside on his pass rush (which allows QBs to escape the pocket) a bit too much. He also doesn’t have elite bulk, but that’s the trade-off with his ability to move. He plays hard and it’s difficult to find this amount of true pass rushing juice. His medicals are also throwing a wrench in his evaluation, as combine testing revealed a stress fracture in his foot, which must be monitored.

Plus, he also does cool things with tape on his facemask. — NT

3. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

Will Johnson didn’t have the greatest end to his college career as injuries cut his final season at Michigan short, but at his best he can be a true eraser as a cornerback. Johnson was an anchor for the national-title-winning Wolverines defense a couple seasons ago and still should have teams salivating at adding a player who may be able to go toe-to-toe with the toughest wide receivers in the game.

Johnson’s sophomore tape, at times, resembled what Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II has become in the NFL, although Surtain does have a size advantage on him. As long as Johnson can nail the interview portion of the cycle, he should hear his name called early.

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