Top 5 most puzzling moves in the NFL draft

Being a General Manager is a very hard job, but.....

By: Randall Slifer

The NFL Draft came and went quickly in this cycle as NFL fans became divided against prospects who have not taken a single snap in the National Football League. We are all guilty of doing this, and NFL teams and front offices are not immune to making mistakes. Predicting athletes’ future success is an unproven science, but there are moments when much of the crowd tilts their heads like a confused dog. NFL Drafts should not be evaluated until three years have passed, but let’s look at five issues that may seem puzzling while the draft was happening:

5.) Detroit trades up for Isaac TeSlaa
Isaac TeSlaa is a tall, athletic wide receiver that Detroit traded up for in the 3rd round of the NFL draft. The question of his draft spot does not take away anything from Isaac TeSlaa, as he deserves to be wherever he gets drafted on his hard work going from JUCO to the SEC. Isaac TeSlaa was not used to the best of his ability at The University of Arkansas due to their offensive scheme of having a dual-threat quarterback and heavy run style. Isaac TeSlaa has some mystery about how well he will adjust to the NFL, given the limited experience he faced in college. My only question mark surrounding Detroit is the trade-up for Isaac TeSlaa. Detroit traded up 32 spots to move up to pick 70 and gave up two third-round picks in the 2026 draft. I love Detroit’s moxie and confidence in Isaac TeSlaa, but it seems too much to give for a prospect who still needs to develop and adjust to the NFL with added speed. Isaac TeSlaa deserves a third-round pick, but I am unsure if he is worth three third-round picks.

4.) Washington Commanders ignoring pass rush
Washington Commanders had a great 2025 season and made some great off-season moves to improve their team. Commanders also had a good draft in getting some value in picks and kept attacking their offensive line to ensure Jayden Daniels had solid protection. One glaring need was edge defenders, which were plentiful in this 2025 draft. Josh Conerly Jr is a stud at left tackle, and the value they received in drafting Trey Amos at pick 61 were both good selections. One pass rusher should have been drafted with their final three picks. Jaylin Lane is a good receiver coming out of Virginia Tech, but pass rushers like Bradyn Swinson, Que Robinson, and Elijah Roberts were available at their fourth-round pick. Washington will have an electric offense and a solid defensive backroom, but teams struggle when you cannot get to the quarterback in the NFL season, especially in the playoffs. There are two challenging goals to continue when your quarterback excels in his rookie season. The first is avoiding a quarterback sophomore slump. Their strategy to avoid the slump was drafting Josh Conerly Jr in the first round and trading for Laremy Tunsil. The second is getting back to the playoffs. I am not sure they did enough on the defensive side to prove they can keep going toe-to-toe in the difficult NFC East.

3.) Steelers ignoring Quarterback
Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the 2025 season with Mason Rudolph as the starting quarterback. Mason Rudolph is a long-term backup quarterback and nothing else. He has had time to prove himself as a starting quarterback, and he is better than most backup quarterbacks, but he does not have the consistency and poise to be successful for a full season as a starter. Pittsburgh did end up drafting a quarterback in the sixth round, Will Howard. There have been good quarterbacks drafted in the 6th round, notably Tom Brady, but the odds are typically against quarterbacks drafted in day 3. The thought process remains that Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins may join the Pittsburgh Steelers. Each quarterback is nearing their career’s end and has recently dealt with Achilles injuries. This draft was relatively weak in the quarterback department, but other ways exist to address your quarterback issue without drafting a quarterback. The 2026 class is much more talented than the 2025 class, and Pittsburgh could have already set their eyes on that class by trading back and picking up 2026 assets. Even if Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins head to Pittsburgh, their quarterback problem will remain an issue in 2026. As we all know, The Steelers will walk away with nine wins in the 2025 season and are too far away from trading up in the 2026 draft to fix their revolving door of a quarterback problem.

2.) Tyler Shough goes in the top 50
Tyler Shough is one of the most interesting cases as a quarterback heading into the NFL draft. Tyler Shough committed to Oregon in 2017. That is right, three years before the pandemic. Shough’s career involved three schools in Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville, and he had two significant injuries during his collegiate career. He had a strong finish in Louisville, playing his first full season, and gained a lot of buzz into this NFL Draft. The New Orleans Saints took Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick, and it seems too early to take an almost 26-year-old quarterback. Age is only a factor in how much more Tyler can develop. He has been around the game for so long, and the positive aspect is that he is a more polished prospect. What is Shough’s ceiling, though? He can learn the NFL game and compete, but his worst attribute is handling pressure. I am not sure he will be able to deal with the NFL speed and process pressure better when he has some puzzling clips of him panicking under pressure in Louisville. Derek Carr will likely not be able to start the 2025 season, and Tyler Shough will bring a higher floor than other prospects in this draft, but are we sure Shough is worth a top-50 pick? Personally, Shedeur Sanders brought a similar floor at a younger age, with a higher ceiling. Shough will get his chance, and now it comes with more pressure being a top-40 pick that was questionable at best.

1.) Cleveland picks Dillon Gabriel before Shedeur Sanders
The Cleveland Browns selected Dillon Gabriel with pick 94 and followed up by selecting Shedeur Sanders at pick 144. Dillon Gabriel played very well in his final season at Oregon, which led to the number one overall seed in the college football playoff. He has some good qualities but is a left-handed quarterback whose arm is not incredibly strong. Dillon Gabriel was asked about his preference for playing football and said, “The more sun, the better.” The average city in the US sees 205 days of sun. Cleveland averages only 168 days of sun combined with an average of 62 inches of snow and 38 inches of rain. Having lived close to Cleveland most of my life, I could not imagine a Hawaiian native enjoying the Cleveland weather. Seasonal depression is real, folks. Now, Cleveland decided to draft Shedeur Sanders after the Dillon Gabriel pick, which left it more puzzling. Cleveland gained capital to draft a quarterback in a better 2026 class, and it seemed like that was their strategy. A video came out of the Browns war room after they made the Shedeur selection, and it seemed too melancholy drafting the prolific quarterback. Rumors swirl that it was an owner’s pick, and Shedeur at the spot was a good dart to throw. Did the owner make the call between 50 picks, and did the Haslems think it was a good idea to draft both quarterbacks? Understandably, you can have a quarterback competition to bring the play to a higher level, but they could have used a lot of draft capital at other positions. Cleveland needs to throw darts in many spots on their roster, and double-dipping at quarterback may not have been the wisest move.