Not every first-round pick arrives like Jayden Daniels or Malik Nabers.
In fact, most take a year or two (or three) to finally reach their potential. This article aims to select those former first-round picks who have to yet to emerge as stars but will take that step into the spotlight after fantastic 2025 seasons.
And there will probably be a few surprises below.
(I also originally planned to include Vikings offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, as he’s yet to even make a Pro Bowl (although that is far from the best measure of player quality). However, I excluded him because he signed a four-year extension last summer worth up to $113 million that features the fifth-most full guarantees among any offensive tackle in the game today. The Vikings already — and justifiably — view him as a star.)
I can very easily explain why I’ve yet to give up on Anthony Richardson in the NFL. This freaky specimen threw 393 passes at Florida before being drafted by the Colts in the top five of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Since then, he’s thrown 348 passes as a professional. Most quarterback prospects attempt more than 741 passes in college alone before they’re in the shotgun in the NFL.
The former Florida Gator has now had ample time to sharpen his previously raw skills as a thrower, and to learn the intricacies of defenses. Despite the accuracy issues in 2024, Richardson did have a Big-Time Throw rate of 6.8%, which had he qualified, would’ve been the fifth-highest rate in football.
Now in Year 3 of Shane Steichen’s offense and an ascending skill-position group around him, I expect Richardson to beat out Daniel Jones in camp, then drift toward stardom during the regular season.
NFL training camp 2025: Ranking 10 veterans, including Justin Fields, with the most to prove
Cody Benjamin
Drake London is on the verge of becoming a household name. Even last year, with Kirk Cousins then rookie Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, the former top 10 selection with a bruising, old-school game on the outside, caught 100 passes for 1,271 yards with nine touchdowns. There’s plenty of Brandon Marshall to him.
With Penix, London should be able to expand his productivity down the field, where he thrives as a rebounder because of his nearly 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, and exceptionally reliable, sturdy hands.
The Falcons offense as a whole is primed erupt in 2025 with an aggressive younger thrower at the helm — as opposed to an older, weak-armed thrower — and London is going to be the center of that eruption as a uniquely physical receiver.
In 2024, Darnell Wright started to show signs of why the Bears selected him in the top 10 just two years ago out of Tennessee. In fact, he demolished for the run game and flourished in pass protected just like he had in the SEC in the early 2020s.
A hulking tackle at 6-foot-5 and over 330 pounds, Wright is a dancing bear with a ferocious mentality once he latches onto his assignment. Even blocking for a rookie quarterback who took a league-high 68 sacks, Wright routinely did his job on an island.
I can’t imagine Caleb Williams has a sack rate of 10.7% like he did a season ago, which will naturally help the perception of the Bears entire offensive line. And new head coach Ben Johnson has proven to be a brilliant play-designer, which should reduce the amount of time Wright and Co. have to block on individual plays.
By season’s end, we will all recognize Wright as one of the game’s best young blindside protectors.
I still believe in you, Quentin Johnston. Even after what amounted to an embarrassing rookie campaign, when essentially everyone wrote him off for good, the Chargers’ 2023 first-round selection has gobs of uncoachable talent.
And he’s now entering the second season with competent coaching. While Johnston’s 711 yards in his sophomore campaign aren’t incredibly indicative of an impending breakout, he looked significantly more comfortable running routes, reliably catching the football and creating after the catch than he did in his first year as a pro.
He forced five missed tackles on 38 receptions in 2023 then 15 on 55 snags a season ago. He’s grown into his towering frame. With the majority of attention on Ladd McConkey in Justin Herbert’s offense, Johnston will have a sneaky-good Year 3 and approach, if not eclipse, the 1,000-yard mark.
Jim Harbaugh and Co. will manufacture ways to get him the football on high-percentage throws, and his long-striding speed will surprise cornerbacks downfield every once in a while. Yes, Johnston will drop some passes. He’ll also make a handful of spectacular plays at all three levels, particularly against zone, with Herbert firing him the football.
This is the year for Calijah Kancey. He’s hovered right around a 10% pressure rate in his first two seasons with the Buccaneers and has been somewhat of a liability against the run. In 2025, the former University of Pittsburgh star will ascend to stardom as a premier interior rusher on one of the better teams in the NFC.
By now, the smaller-framed Kancey has had enough time to add the necessary power to routinely combat the strength of modern-day centers and guards on the inside.
His first-step quickness, leverage and pass-rushing moves are his trademarks, and they’ll be on full display next to Vita Vea Mountain along the Buccaneers defensive line. I’m expecting 60-plus pressures during Kancey’s monster breakout in Todd Bowles’ defense.
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