What looked like a dream year for three of college football’s brightest stars quickly turned into a draft-day horror story. The cover of EA Sports’ College Football 25 was supposed to showcase the future of the NFL. Instead, it now reads like a cautionary tale.
Travis Hunter, Quinn Ewers, and Donovan Edwards, once five-star recruits and college standouts, graced the front of the highly anticipated return of the iconic video game franchise. But their paths to the NFL took shocking turns, highlighting just how unpredictable the league’s selection process can be.
From primetime hype to fifth-round reality
Hunter, the two-way phenom from Colorado, was the only one to hear his name called on Day 1. But even his path came with a twist: the Cleveland Browns traded the No. 2 overall pick to Jacksonville, where the Jaguars made Hunter the surprise centerpiece of their franchise rebuild.
Quinn Ewers, once projected as a first-rounder, slid all the way to the seventh round. The Miami Dolphins selected him 231st overall, a massive fall for a quarterback who once passed on millions in NIL deals to stay at Texas-only to watch Arch Manning take over the Longhorns spotlight.
Not even drafted
Perhaps the most brutal outcome came for Donovan Edwards.
The Michigan running back didn’t get drafted at all. Though he signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, his absence from the board sent shockwaves through social media, as fans wondered how a former top recruit could fall so far.
The cover curse is real
It didn’t take long for fans to start speculating: is the EA Sports cover jinxed? Just one year after being labeled the “faces of college football,” none of the three players matched those expectations on draft night. In fact, Arch Manning, the current Texas QB and presumed star of the next EA title, has already declined to appear on the College Football 26 cover.
After this year’s chaos, maybe he knows better.
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