(NEXSTAR) – The 2025 NFL Draft kicked off Thursday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the Tennessee Titans selecting Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
“I think a lot us prospects had a big dream and we’re accomplishing it right now,” Ward said ahead of the draft. “Not a lot of people get this opportunity and I’m going to make the most of mine.”
The Titans finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record.
With Ward going first overall, it marks the seventh time in eight years that a quarterback has been selected with the top pick, with the only exception being the Jaguars’ 2022 selection of then-Georgia defensive end Travon Walker.
After trading picks with the Cleveland Browns to move up the draft board, the Jacksonville Jaguars used the second pick in the 2025 draft to select Colorado’s two-way phenom and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
The New York Giants, who finished 3-14 in 2024, used the third pick of the draft to take Abdul Carter, a premier edge rusher out of Penn State.
Notable names still available
Another quarterback to watch is Jaxson Dart, of Ole Miss. Dart’s odds to go No. 9 overall have skyrocketed.
Dart opened at plus-650 odds, sat at plus-1,000 this morning, and currently sits at plus-425 with less than an hour until the draft, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Dart is the most-bet player to go in the top 10 at BetMGM (currently plus-310).
Among the running backs garnering attention from NFL teams, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton appear poised to go in the first round.
A party in Green Bay
In Green Bay, festivities started earlier in the week with local Leicht Park hosting a celebration that will include a kids zone, fireworks, and live music from the Riverboat Gamblers and De La Soul, according to Nexstar’s WFRV. Considering the host city, it will likely not surprise anyone that cheese carving will also play a role.
Clay Matthews, one of the former Green Bay Packers who joined Goodell on the stage before the start of the draft, delighted the Packers fans in attendance with a quick message before the start of the draft.
Matthews joked that he got a message from President Donald Trump and that, “It says, ‘My fellow Americans, the Bears still suck!’”
Round 1 of the NFL Draft will start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, with Rounds 2-3 and Rounds 4-7 kicking off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday and 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, respectively.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.