When rabid fans watch the 2025 NFL Draft, they want to be around fellow draftniks – people who live for projections, 40-yard dash times, rumors about off-field problems, and teams’ plans for moving up or down in the draft. They have to love, moreover crave, the angst and emotion while waiting for the newest star to join the roster. If this is you, know that you have a couple of like-minded chums in multimedia form.
Gregg Rosenthal is the host of 40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season, a podcast and TV program airing on NFL Network. Throughout all of the pre-draft hype, Rosenthal has been joined by NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah. 40s and Free Agents is a show for hardcore NFL Draft followers – fans who know the players and teams and want some detailed insight on the best athletes and likely selections.
The latest edition of the show was the final production before the NFL Draft emanates from Green Bay on Thursday, April 24.
Rosenthal opened the show joking that Jeremiah had appeared on pretty much every NFL Draft program in the world over the last few weeks. He’s not far from wrong. The omnipresent Jeremiah will offer draft intel to networks, podcasts, radio stations, magazines, newspapers, town meetings, kindergartens, and maternity wards. As a draft expert, he might just be the best in the business. No one combines feelings and facts better than Daniel Jeremiah.
Rosenthal is as much of a draft nerd as Jeremiah and uses this knowledge as a skilled interviewer and setup man. As Rosenthal stated, this pair has been on an offseason journey together from the regular season, playoffs, Super Bowl, NFL Combine, free agency, and now the draft. The big reveal on this particular edition of 40s and Free Agents was that Jeremiah changed the number one player on his list of top 150 draft prospects. Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter held the spot but has relinquished it to Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter.
The Insider Look At Travis Hunter & Cam Ward
The combined offensive and defensive talent of Hunter is just too good to pass up, Jeremiah opined. He also based the switch on Hunter’s attitude and positive off-field traits. Jeremiah knows what he is talking about. He served as a territorial scout for the Eagles, Browns, and Ravens, and started three seasons at quarterback for Appalachian State, graduating in 2000. In short, Jeremiah thinks like a GM and a player combined.
Breaking down the top of this year’s draft, Jeremiah pointed to Miami’s Cam Ward as the clear number one quarterback. He then named 6 players who have high ceilings and high floors: Hunter, Carter, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, Penn State TE Tyler Warren, Michigan TE Colston Loveland, and Michigan DT Mason Graham.
Maybe the best part of the discussion between Rosenthal and Jeremiah was their exchange on draft inflection points, a term brought up by Rosenthal. I loved this phrase to describe those moments or choices in a draft that can change the rest of the selections and the fortunes of a given team. It was an excellent lead-in for Jeremiah who said that the first inflection point in the 2025 draft could be at pick 3 with the New York Giants. Will they take a well-known quarterback like Shedeur Sanders, a surprise QB like Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, or the best player like Carter?
In a very astute discussion, Rosenthal asked terrific questions and Jeremiah responded that the number 9 choice by New Orleans and pick 21 by Pittsburgh could be other key inflection points. The intelligent but not haughty chit chat between Rosenthal and Jeremiah captured all of the intrigue inherent in the NFL Draft. There are not a lot of visual bells and whistles on 40s and Free Agents, just solid, fact-based draft discussion that whets fans’ appetites for the big event in Green Bay.
Just Like Fans, Insiders Must Be Ready For Anything
Jeremiah warned fans to be ready for draft surprises like Mitchell Trubisky being picked second overall by the Bears in 2017 or Daniel Jones going 6th overall to the Giants in 2019, a choice that Jeremiah predicted would happen. Jeremiah, who will be part of NFL Network’s live draft coverage, also said that draft commentators need to have a deep knowledge base and be prepared to talk about any player at any time.
Jeremiah can definitely do this, and it came in handy when Rosenthal introduced the On the Clock segment putting Jeremiah on a five-minute clock to face some tough draft questions. On the topic of the Saints picking a quarterback, Jeremiah said that they could go for former Ohio State Buckeye Kyle McCord with the 93rd pick. Rosenthal then asked about a player/team combo and Jeremiah came back with Loveland joining the LA Chargers. Next, the pair discussed a good but unlikely two-player combination for the Patriots pairing Jeanty with Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson.
Rosenthal and Jeremiah are ready to rock in terms of draft discussion. These dudes don’t just do their homework; they are the guys who remind the teacher to assign NFL Draft homework to the rest of the class. They have fun too. When Jeremiah ran long on one of his answers, Rosenthal jokingly compared him to Bill Belichick answering a question about special teams.
Coming back from another break, a graphic showed the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 draft class with a bunch of players who had an impact on the team’s Super Bowl championship season. This led to a discussion on teams that could use the 2025 draft as a springboard to contention. Rosenthal picked the Giants as a graphic showed that New York has eight picks in the 2025 draft with four of those picks in the top 100. Jeremiah picked the Jets with eight choices in the 2025 draft, six in the first five rounds.
Rosenthal, who has covered the NFL for NBC Sports, Rotoworld.com, and ProFootballTalk.com, has a draft intellect that is through the roof. He presents it in a witty and sarcastic manner that is appealing to watch. Later in the show, he brought up the Jacksonville Jaguars as a middle of the road team that could lift themselves up with their ten picks in this year’s draft. Jeremiah countered with the Chicago Bears who have upgraded several positions over the last year and could use this draft to get over the playoff hump under new head coach Ben Johnson.
As for good teams that still have needs, Jeremiah and Rosenthal talked about the Texans, Packers, and Commanders. When asked about the Bengals, Jeremiah bluntly retorted that offensive players need not apply. This draft is all about defense for Cincinnati.
40s and Free Agents is that rare show that does not need graphics, guests, gags, or glitz. Rosenthal takes the snap and places the football perfectly for Jeremiah to kick it through the uprights. This talented duo would be equally at home making important picks in an NFL team draft room or donning their favorite teams’ jerseys and watching the draft in your living room.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
