Now that the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft has come and gone, the team at Rotowire.com took a look at the personal Instagram accounts of each player selected during the first round. We were able to secure the growth of each prospects' social media from Thursday, April 24th at 9:00 ET to Friday, April 25th at 9:00 ET.
Top 10 Social Media Followers Added By Draft Prospects
Rank | Player | Team | # of Followers Added* |
1 | Las Vegas Raiders | 35,000 | |
2 | Green Bay Packers | 34,400 | |
3 | New York Giants | 28,000 | |
4 | New York Giants | 27,000 | |
5 | New England Patriots | 25,700 | |
6 | Philadelphia Eagles | 22,800 | |
7 | Tennessee Titans | 22,000 | |
8 | Carolina Panthers | 14,100 | |
T-9 | San Francisco 49ers | 13,400 | |
T-9 | Denver Broncos | 13,400 |
*Rounded to nearest whole number
When it came to draft night movement on the social media front, no first round pick gained more popularity than former Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty, who was picked by the Las Vegas Raiders with the sixth selection on Thursday night.
Jeanty, who finished his time in the Gem State with 4,769 yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground in 40 games with the Broncos, gained 35,000 Instagram followers on Thursday, finishing just ahead of former Texas Longhorns wideout Matthew Golden.
Golden gained 34,400 followers on the Meta-owned social media site overnight, doing so after the Green Bay Packers took him with the 23rd pick in the first round after he caught 58 balls for 987 yards in his lone season with the Longhorns in 2024.
Other big-time movers on social media overnight included a pair of New York Giants selections, in former Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (+28,000 followers) and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter (+27,000 followers), while offensive tackle Will Campbell picked up 25,700 followers on Instagram after the New England Patriots picked the former LSU Tigers star with the fourth pick on Thursday.
Top 10 Social Media Percentage Growth By Draft Prospects
Rank | Player | Team | Percentage Growth* |
1 | Seattle Seahawks | 150.0% | |
2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 144.4% | |
3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 121.5% | |
4 | New York Jets | 111.1% | |
5 | Philadelphia Eagles | 56.0% | |
6 | Green Bay Packers | 50.1% | |
7 | New England Patriots | 44.2% | |
8 | Buffalo Bills | 40.0% | |
9 | San Francisco 49ers | 38.6% | |
10 | Josh Conerly Jr. | Washington Commanders | 37.2% |
*Rounded to nearest whole number
When broken down by percentages, the first round pick with the greatest social media following growth overnight was former North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel, who was taken 18th overall by the Seattle Seahawks out of the FCS powerhouse program.
Overall, Zabel's following swelled by 150% after getting picked by Seattle, beating out fellow offensive lineman Josh Simmons of Ohio State, who saw a 144.4% surge in followers after getting picked 32nd overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Two other picks, in Derrick Harmon of the Pittsburgh Steelers (+121.5%) and Armand Membou of the New York Jets (+111.1%) saw triple-digit growth in their social media following on Instagram overnight, while Jihaad Campbell out of Alabama was the next closest, with a 56% surge in followers after the Philadelphia Eagles took him with the 31st pick in Green Bay Thursday night.
