An unprecedented amount of 2025 NFL Draft picks are holding out right now, including multiple former Texas football players.
CB Jahdae Barron is one of a few remaining unsigned first rounders heading into the 2025 training camp circuit, with the team obviously working to get a deal done before the players hit the field in a couple weeks.
Barron is currently projected to be Denver's starting slot corner/nickelback this season alongside All-Pro CB Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss. Needless to say, it would be beneficial to both sides to strike a deal so that the former All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner doesn't miss out on valuable reps in Vance Joseph's defense.
If the Broncos and 20th overall pick Jahdae Barron AND second-round pick RJ Harvey don’t come to an agreement on their rookie contracts soon, they won’t be at training camp…
— SleeperBroncos (@SleeperBroncos) July 12, 2025
Something should get done soon for both #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/diTi8SiQ3u
In addition to Barron, DT Alfred Collins is one of 30 (that's right THIRTY) 2025 second round picks that remain unsigned as of right now. The new 49ers defensive tackle is also slated to be a starter this season in San Francisco next to Jordan Elliott.
Collins has the ability to be an impact player for the team as a rookie at nose tackle. He could fix a boatload of issues for the 49ers' run defense and be the missing piece that Kyle Shanahan and Co. has been searching for since 2022.
49ers running out of time to get 2nd rounder Alfred Collins deal done! https://t.co/R7FzoqwWIS
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) July 13, 2025
The apparent cause for this mass number of holdouts is due to two NFL teams, the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.
Houston and Cleveland both gave their 2nd-round picks, WR Jayden Higgins and LB Carson Schwesinger full-guaranteed contracts in May. This obviously threw off everyone's expectations regarding the types of contracts that non-day one players should get.
Personally, I believe that this was an incredibly bad decision by the two teams due to the fact that now, the CBA might need to be altered at some point over the next couple of seasons. If this insane amount of money is going to be fully guaranteed for "Day two" players, then some financial adjustments will need to be made.