NFL expert shares surprising solution for befuddling 2025 NFL Draft puzzle

When it comes to the Los Angeles Rams, the team's Round 1 selection is entirely dependent on what 25 other NFL teams choose to do before the team steps up to the podium to announce their rookie choice at the 26th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. In any given draft year, the prospects who are projected to be available late in Round 1 are a mystery.

But the plot thickens after the first 10 or so rookies come off the board in this draft. That is because there is no consensus on when the top-graded quarterbacks will be selected. In a typical draft, the quarterbacks comprise the top two or three rookie selections. In the 2025 NFL Draft, the only quarterback known to come off the board right now in Round 1 is Miami rookie quarterback Cam Ward, who is projected to be selected with the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

After that, it's anybody's guess.

Well, almost anybody. NFL Insider Albert Breer generously opened his mailbag to questions from anyone regarding the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. While the floor was wide open, Breer was physically limited by the number of questions he could respond to and the amount of time that he could spend on responses.

We waded into the fray with a question that would benefit all NFL fans, but would give Rams fans solid insight into Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft. So we sent Breer our question. We are surprised that our question made the cut in his pre-draft article published on April 16, 2025.

Breer answers a tough question about the 2025 NFL Draft

The most puzzling aspect about this draft is who will be selected in Round 1. After all, the early projections of talent available in the draft are that after a small group of rookies come off the board, the players chosen in the second half of Round 1 will offer little more than rookies selected as late as Round 4 in this draft.

With that enigmatic scenario taking shape, we wanted Albert Breer to weigh in on how he sees quarterbacks coming off the board in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

From Ramblin' Fan (@RamblinFan): How many quarterbacks can you envision being selected in Round 1 if all the dominoes fall that way? (realistically and optimistically speaking)

Albert Breer's response offers an interesting perspective. Here's what he had to say:

From Albert Breer: Ramblin’, it’s a moving target. But I’ll say if I had to guess right now, I’d go with one quarterback in the top 20, with things opening up thereafter—and maybe a small cluster going between 21 and 45. Which means it could be two or three guys at the end of the first round, or those guys could go at the top of the second (which was kind of how 2014 went).

Okay. What's so special about this answer? Well, let me point to three areas that could have a significant impact on the Rams on Day 1 of the draft.

Breer reveals several factors in Round 1 options in the 2025 NFL Draft

Of course, any pre-draft assessment is speculation. Whereas many projections are individuals trying to read the tea leaves, Breer has the backing of speaking with agents, GMs, and players when forming his opinions. He may get some things wrong, but his perspective holds a level of authority that many projections simply do not possess. So what should we make of his response?

(1) - No mention of the Saints drafting a QB at 9

Despite the latest report of New Orleans Saints Derek Carr's shoulder injury this close to the 2025 NFL Draft, Breer makes no mention of the Saints as a landing spot for any rookie quarterback in Round 1. If he is correct, the Saints may be forced to trade back into Round 1 after the Steelers' pick at 21.

Why not jump ahead of the Steelers? The cost to get to 19 or earlier is prohibitive, despite the Saints holding picks at 40, 71, and 93. To jump ahead of the Steelers in Round 1, if the Denver Broncos were so inclined, the Saints would likely need to package picks 40, 71, and either 93 or a combination of picks 112 and 131.

Conversely, if the Saints are content to pry the Rams' Round 1 pick at 26, they would only need to spend picks 40, 93, and 112. That is a huge saving in terms of draft picks. And by doing so, they are likely only surrendering one rookie quarterback to another NFL team.

Steelers likely to start the quarterback run at 21

Albert Breer deliberately sets the quarterback span in the 2025 NFL Draft at 21 through 45. There is a logical reason for that, as he is confirming suspicions and reports that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be shopping for a rookie quarterback at 21. And if Breer's take is on target, the Steelers could be choosing the second rookie quarterback prospect in this year's draft. If the Steelers have a full menu of quarterbacks at 21 that only finds Cam Ward absent, who might they take?

Perhaps that is less important than the fact that a second rookie quarterback is coming off the board. Once the second quarterback is selected, the pressure is on all quarterback-needy teams to jump back into Round 1 to get their quarterback as well.

Which is why he predicts:

He cites a QB run from picks 21 through 45

Breer knows how selections at specific positions tend to cluster during the NFL draft. The reason is simple: NFL GMs do not want to be shut out from selecting a position believed to be a need on their roster. So they would rather risk a perception of overpaying for a player than the more immediate conclusion that they failed to address an obvious need.

In many situations, it requires several years to prove that a player was a reach. But the conclusion that an NFL GM failed to address a need is instant. With the Rams sitting at 26th overall, the team is optimally positioned to get several lucrative offers from teams who are eager to get back into Round 1 to select a rookie quarterback who may still be on the board.

And the Rams are one of the NFL teams to be most receptive to trading back for a reasonable offer.

While we cannot know how Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft will go, Albert Breer does offer an indication that is could involve several quite favorable factors that could lead to the Rams being persuaded to trade back, or for a surprising talented rookie to fall to the Rams. While those scernatiors were long suspected, Breer's insight confirms what we have been thinking.

We will know the answer soon. Until the draft plays out, we will continue to pursue the most likely scenarios for the Rams throughout the draft. And as always, thanks for reading.

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