Aug 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles on the field before the game between the Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

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NFL GM Predicts Shakeup – Expects the Draft To Get ‘A Little Wild’

What will the 2025 NFL draft have in store?

The 2025 NFL draft day is nearly upon us, and teams are busy with their final preparations, as well as their pre-draft press conferences. Yesterday, Chicago Bears’ general manager opened his press conference alluding to the draft as getting ‘a little wild.’ The big surprise up until now this year is the fact that no team has yet made any trades, even though we are right on the brink of the opening day of the draft.

Buckle up for some trade action 🔥 pic.twitter.com/W7yr0HZuPC
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 22, 2025

With less than 48 hours to go, Poles believes that we might just see a trade take place at any moment. With the way things are currently, all 32 teams are still holding on to their respective picks with no change in the draft order.

Afterwards, Bears’ assistant GM, Ian Cunningham, echoed similar sentiments when asked about Poles’ comments. The Bears seemed to be aligned with their plans and ideas with both front office members hinting at several shake-ups during the draft.

Why Ryan Poles Believes the Draft Will Be Wild

Addressing the media ahead of the draft, the Bears’ GM expressed his confidence in where the team is currently and in their draft plans. He also mentioned that they would be ready for any type of situation that may present itself before or during the three-day event.

“I feel really confident where we’re at. I think this one’s going to be a little wild. But we’re going to be prepared for all the different scenarios that pop up.”

As per Poles, this year’s draft class is deeper in certain positions than other times and that could lead to multiple trades across the first two days as teams look to add quality to their roster. When asked whether the top teams may find it difficult to trade down, the 39-year-old hinted at the fact that anything is possible with little time left and the large pool of quality players available.

“I think it’s deeper in certain areas than others. Usually, the cut off is a little bit quicker, I think once you kind of get into two, three, and this one’s going to be a little bit different, so I think there’s going to be a lot more movement than there has been in the past.”

“There’s a lot of phone calls going on right now, so it’s hard to tell today. But, I think as we get closer, it’ll start to show itself with two days to go, how large is the pool of players you’re looking at right now.”

Also Read: ‘Draft Me Or You’ll Regret It’ – QB Prospect Will Howard Sends Loud Message to All Teams in the 2025 NFL Draft

Surprising Scenarios That May Unfold on or Before the Draft

The NFL draft is bound to see trades at one point or another. Most of the time, trades take place much prior to draft day when top-quality quarterbacks are involved. Since that is not the case this time around, teams seem to have been quieter, but that could change any minute now. Having said that, here are a few surprising scenarios that could take place.

Cleveland Browns and/or New York Giants Trade Up From Round 1

The Browns and Giants are currently selecting 2nd and 3rd overall. If the Titans select Cam Ward with the first overall pick as it is being perceived, Cleveland and New York could then go for the best two players in this draft – Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter.

However, both teams are in need of a quarterback, especially with an eye on their future. After Ward, Shedeur Sanders has been seen as the next best signal caller in this class, but his stock has been taking a huge hit of late. Perhaps the Browns and Giants could deal away their early second-round picks and move up in round 1 to grab the best-remaining QB from a very limited pool of talent.

Seattle Seahawks Trade Up

The Seattle Seahawks are blessed with 5 picks in the first three rounds thanks to their trades of DK Metcalf and Geno Smith this year. Currently, Seattle will be selecting 18th overall, which is midway through the first round. With 10 total picks in this draft, the Seahawks can trade up in rounds 1 or 2 in exchange for draft capital.

Falcons Trade Kirk Cousins for Draft Capital

The Atlanta Falcons seem more and more ready to part ways with Cousins. Although they had previously stated that they have no intentions of trading him, Atlanta reportedly is entertaining calls for a trade. Their asking price is what is keeping any deal from happening, but the Falcons have only 5 picks this time, so this could be a huge opportunity to pass up.

Bengals Trade Trey Hendrickson

Cincinnati has already had a rather fruitful offseason, at least on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, they are in dire need of help and trading Hendrickson could be ideal in landing a few more picks in the draft. The Bengals and their star defender seem far from reaching a number, meaning Hendrickson’s extension is looking unlikely.

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!