Matt Citak

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. releases two-round mock draft

Another day,another mock draft.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., one of the industry's most experienced draft analysts, just released predictions for the firsttwo rounds of this year's draft.

After the Titans select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the first pick and the Browns take Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter next, Kiper has the Giants selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall.

"Even after signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the Giants have been linked to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders," Kiper wrote. "I'm not ruling it out. Neither Wilson nor Winston is a long-term answer. However, the additions mean the Giants can at least toy with passing on the quarterbacks in Round 1 in favor of one of the class's top two prospects. Travis Hunter is off the board, but Carter would take this New York defense to new heights.

"In his first season as a full-time edge rusher (after playing primarily off-ball linebacker in past years), Carter had 12 sacks and 23.5 total tackles for loss. I see elite traits on the tape. And considering the Giants have holes all over their roster, they might opt for the best player on the board. They'd have something with Carter, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeauxand Dexter Lawrence II up front."

As Kiper mentioned, Kiper primarily lined up at off-ball linebacker in his first two seasons at Penn State, totaling 11.0 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, one interception, and three forced fumbles to go with his 104 total tackles (61 solo). He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media both seasons, while being tabbed first-team all-conference by the Big Ten coaches in 2023.

Carter then transitioned to a full-time edge rusher this past season and put together a breakout campaign. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound pass rusher picked up 12.0 sacks and a nation-high 23.5 tackles for loss, as Kiper mentioned, along with two forced fumbles and four passes defensed, on his way to being named Unanimous All-American and first-team all-conference.

He was also selected as the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Carter registered 10 games with two or more tackles for loss out of 42 total contests (35 starts).

Moving to the second round, Kiper has the Giants addressing the quarterback position here with the selection of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.

"After the Giants passed on Shedeur Sanders in Round 1, they could come back to the quarterbacks on Day 2," the ESPN draft analyst wrote. "There is some love for Milroe in NFL circles right now, and he could fit well in New York. He'd have the chance to learn behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, developing his pre-snap reads and improving his short-to-intermediate accuracy. Milroe throws a great deep ball and can change a game with his legs. He ran for 20 scores in 2024."

Milroe started 26 games under center for the Crimson Tide across the last two seasons. As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound quarterback completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,834 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 12 rushing touchdowns. This led to him being named second-team All-SEC and finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Across 13 games this past season, Milroe finished with 2,844 passing yards, a 64.3 completion percentage, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but scored a whopping 20 rushing touchdowns.

Milroe participated in Alabama's Pro Day recently, where he put together an impressive performance. His Next Gen Stats athleticism score of 99 ranks No. 1 among all quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Milroe is the fifth quarterback taken in Kiper's two-round mock draft.

Here is where Kiper projected all five of those signal-callers:

1. Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward, Miami

9. New Orleans Saints - Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

26. Los Angeles Rams - Jaxson Dart, Mississippi

33. Cleveland Browns - Tyler Shough, Louisville

34. New York Giants - Jalen Milroe, Alabama

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