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2025 NFL Draft Preview: Don’t Expect a Deep Quarterback Class Like 2024

Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar01/04/2025 - 11:51 am
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

April means the 2025 NFL draft will soon be upon us, and the first position you always look at in the draft is quarterback. Just look at what happened last year. A historic six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, including a shocker of a move when the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick despite paying Kirk Cousins in March.

That kind of unpredictability is why people love the draft so much, and last year’s quarterback class is already looking like a special one with the way Jayden Daniels immediately looked like a superstar, lifting the Washington franchise to its best season since 1991.

Quarterbacks drive this league more than anything, and that’s why teams will make desperate moves to acquire them. But after a bit of a relaxed free-agent period this year, we see there are still some teams searching for a quarterback for 2025, including the Titans, Steelers, Browns, and maybe even the Giants unless they think Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are more than stop-gap options.

As our first look at the 2025 NFL draft, we should note that defense is expecting to make a comeback this year after the first 14 picks were all offense in 2024, a record. Some have even speculated if there will be two quarterbacks drafted in the first round, and three might even be pushing it this year despite the needs of so many teams.

With that said, there is a quarterback favored to go No. 1 in the draft, the son of an NFL Hall of Famer expected to be the second quarterback picked, and there’s an intriguing late riser in the process. But it does make sense that the leftovers for 2025 may be a bit lean after such a loaded quarterback class in 2024.

Using the prospect rankings from NFL Mock Draft Database, we are going to look at the top six quarterbacks this year, how their skills might translate to the NFL, and which team would be the best landing spot for them.

1. Cameron Ward (Miami) – No. 1 Overall Prospect

Cameron Ward was going to declare for the 2024 NFL draft, but he made a brilliant decision to transfer to the Miami Hurricanes instead after a couple of seasons with Washington State where he was already building up a nice highlight reel.

Beyond the NIL deals making it more lucrative to return to college, Ward played so well in 2024 that his stock has risen as the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft with odds creeping up around -2000 as we start April.

Ward had a fantastic season, leading the Hurricanes to the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation and leading all quarterbacks in QBR (88.0) according to ESPN. That’s the kind of feat Jayden Daniels did in 2023 at LSU, but let’s not go comparing the two directly just yet.

Ward showed solid improvement in his passing efficiency in going from Washington State to Miami. He kept his completion percentage, passing volume, and interception rate very consistent, but he was able to throw a career-high 39 touchdowns and improve his yards per attempt from 7.1 to 9.5. He had 10 games with 300 passing yards in 2024.

The team that drafts Ward is going to get a gunslinger with mobility. Ward is much more seasoned of a passer than someone like Anthony Richardson was coming into the NFL, but he’s not going to be as explosive as a runner as Jayden Daniels or Lamar Jackson. Still, he’ll be able to create plays off script.

If Ward is the No. 1 pick in the draft, he’ll certainly rank below the expectations of past No. 1 picks such as Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, and Kyler Murray. But if he’s the best quarterback you can take in the draft, then it’s hard to justify another player to draft instead this year.

Best Fit – Tennessee Titans (No. 1 Pick)

Let’s not complicate things, Tennessee. If you believe in Ward as a potential franchise quarterback, then you should just make the pick. There isn’t a generational pass rusher sitting there in this draft. You need to move on from Will Levis, who became a weekly meme last season.

The Titans don’t have a GM or coaching staff committed to Levis, and the team really didn’t try in free agency to upgrade the position. Should the Titans trade the pick or pass on Ward at No. 1, it’s hard not to imagine the Browns (No. 2) or Giants (No. 3) would gladly sweep in and take Ward instead.

Brian Callahan’s offense was working in Cincinnati in 2023 with Jake Browning under center after Joe Burrow was injured. He’s not a big fan of using play-action for his quarterbacks, but Ward has a gunslinger mentality and can play the type of hero ball that you sometimes need when you’re a heavily flawed team like the Titans.

The AFC South is also a winnable division where you only need to be better than the likes of Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson (or Daniel Jones, apparently). You can’t always count on 2026 offering a brighter future, so the best move for the Titans, barring a king’s ransom offer in a trade, is to take Ward with the No. 1 overall pick.

2. Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) – No. 4 Overall Prospect

Most drafts have a polarizing quarterback prospect, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders looks to be that player for the 2025 class. Some feel Sanders should be the No. 1 overall pick ahead of Cam Ward, and others question if he even should go in the first round or at least not the top 20 picks.

Maybe it’s because his father is the flamboyant Deion Sanders, who was also his coach for all four seasons at Jackson State (2021-22) and Colorado (2023-24). Maybe it’s because people view Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter as the best player on that team.

But the Sanders discourse can get weird despite the fact he is likely going to be a first-round pick. He completed 74.0% of his passes last year and did what he could to overcome a subpar defense in Colorado. Sanders threw for 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year.

However, Sanders only ranked No. 16 in QBR (78.2) as he produced the second-most EPA on passes among all quarterbacks, but he was No. 55 in rushing EPA as he didn’t provide nearly as much rushing value as many of the top quarterbacks in the college game.

We know sacks come out of the rushing totals in college, but Sanders leaves Colorado with 211 rushes for minus-127 yards. That’s not to say Sanders is a statue as he has enough mobility for the NFL, but for the youngest son of Deion, you might be disappointed that he’s not going to ever be a runner like Lamar Jackson or Michael Vick.

Rushing aside, quarterbacks have to throw with accuracy to win in the NFL. Sanders is further along as a consistent, accurate passer than a lot of quarterbacks who try to break into the NFL these days. Sanders could even be a deluxe version of Teddy Bridgewater, a quarterback many thought should have been the first one taken in the 2014 draft before he fell to the Vikings at No. 32.

It will be one of the biggest stories on draft night to see where Sanders ultimately lands.

Best Fit – Las Vegas Raiders (No. 6 Pick)

The Cleveland Browns even spent $100,000 on a quarterback study that said Teddy Bridgewater was the best quarterback in 2014, and they ended up drafting Johnny Manziel, a bust, instead. We’ll see how they feel about Sanders, who could very well be there at No. 2 for the taking.

Would Deion object to his son going to the Browns, who go through quarterbacks like they’re playing a different sport? I’m not sure he would pull a John Elway (1983) or Eli Manning (2004) and force a trade to another team, but Cleveland would probably be a disappointing landing spot for the Sanders family despite Kevin Stefanski being a solid coach at helping out quarterbacks not named Deshaun Watson.

But let’s say the Browns pass on Sanders as do the No. 3 New York Giants, who have signed Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson to enough millions that they may be punting on the 2025 quarterback class.

That leaves an interesting choice at No. 6 in the Las Vegas Raiders, who should definitely consider pulling the trigger on Sanders. We know Coach Prime would love that move with his son representing Vegas, a rapidly-growing sports market, and playing in a premiere division like the AFC West with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

There’s also the fact that the Raiders could use a long-term quarterback plan. They didn’t have any plan at all in 2024 and it burned them greatly. They traded for Geno Smith from the Seahawks, but he turns 35 this season and may not be the long-term answer there for coach Pete Carroll, the oldest coach in the NFL.

Hell, that could even work out to where Shedeur sits behind Geno as his mentor for a couple of years, then takes over in 2027 with possibly his dad coming to coach him after he leaves the college game after finding out it’s not so fun when you’re not coaching your son and Travis Hunter anymore.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Sanders is someone who the Raiders could use to win shootouts against Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix. In theory, at least.

3. Jaxson Dart (Mississippi) – No. 31 Overall Prospect

The late bloomer in this year’s class is Jaxson Dart, who transferred from USC to Ole Miss in 2022 while his statistics improved every year in college. In 2024, he completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions. He has some decent mobility too as a willing scrambler.

But if there’s something to worry about with Dart, it’d be that he may have leaned a little too much on play-action passing last year, using it on 53% of his dropbacks. Someone like Jayden Daniels used play-action just 17% of the time at LSU in 2023. Without play-action, Dart took too many sacks and didn’t deliver as many big throws:

But there were times when Dart showed he can stay in the pocket and take a hit while still delivering a good throw, something he’ll need to do more frequently in the NFL:

To Dart’s credit, he is a little more than a one-year wonder who just happened to shine in his final college season, helping his draft stock raise immensely in the process. In other words, he’s not Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky.

Best Fit – New Orleans Saints (No. 9 Pick)

Hey, no one saw the Falcons using the No. 8 pick on Michael Penix Jr., who had an over/under draft position of 32.5 at sportsbooks last year. You sometimes have to be really aggressive to get the quarterback you want, and I don’t think the Saints, with new coach Kellen Moore, are overly excited about continuing the Derek Carr era much longer.

If Ward and Sanders go in the top six picks, and if Dart is going to be a first-round pick like many expect, he doesn’t have many other landing spots other than No. 9 New Orleans and No. 21 Pittsburgh.

It’s becoming common for mock drafts to send Dart to the Steelers, who have yet to sign Aaron Rodgers and have again wiped out their whole quarterback room from last season before the draft. But using the No. 21 pick on a quarterback is literally one of the worst things you could do in the draft. That’s the range of playoff teams and it’s usually a bad sign when a quarterback goes that late with Dan Marino the rare exception in 1983.

But I like the idea of the Saints making an aggressive move, perhaps following in rival Atlanta’s footsteps, and giving Moore a passer to build around for his tenure. If the Saints and Steelers aren’t interested, then maybe the Browns can get Dart at the start of the second round (No. 33 pick), but that’s a bummer as you lose out on the fifth-year option that way.

4. Jalen Milroe (Alabama) – No. 45 Overall Prospect

Jalen Milroe spent four years at college football powerhouse Alabama, including the final season of legendary coach Nick Saban’s career in 2023. That year, Milroe threw 23 touchdowns to 6 interceptions while also rushing for 12 touchdowns. Last year without Saban around, Milroe’s passing numbers dipped (16 touchdowns, 11 picks, and his YPA dropped 1.1 yards), but he still rushed for 20 touchdowns.

It may read as stereotyping, but it’s just the truth about Milroe’s scouting profile. He is as athletic as any quarterback in the 2025 class, but he’s your classic case of a raw passer with a strong arm who isn’t the most consistent with his accuracy and decision making, especially if he has to stay in the pocket.

You could have said this in the past about Justin Fields, and we know that hasn’t exactly worked out at the NFL level. But Milroe’s combination of dominant mobility and deep-ball capability could make him a highlight hero and a dream pick for a team willing to work on a project at quarterback for a few years.

Remember, even Jalen Hurts didn’t start shining until his third year in Philadelphia after they traded for A.J. Brown. Milroe is going to need patience.

Best Fit – Pittsburgh Steelers (Trade into Second Round)

The Steelers could have re-signed Justin Fields and have a more proven player in the NFL than Milroe, but they let him sign with the Jets for $20 million a season. Well, Milroe is the next closest thing to Fields in this draft, and they can mold him from Day 1, and he can’t be any worse in the clutch than Fields, who is 2-18 at fourth-quarter comeback opportunities.

But the Steelers likely would have to trade up into the second round to get Milroe if they don’t want to take him at No. 21. Their next pick is No. 83. But if they believe in him, then he should be a guy they come away with no matter if they sign a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers or not. Let Milroe sit behind the veteran.

But Milroe’s scrambling combined with having big-play weapons like George Pickens and D.K. Metcalf could be very interesting to watch if they make this happen. He’d also help the running game, which lost running back Najee Harris, by taking some pressure off the offensive line and giving more space to a slasher like Jaylen Warren.

The vision is there for this pick, and at this point, the Steelers may not have any other choice.

5. Will Howard (Ohio State) – No. 69 Overall Prospect

Will Howard probably wasn’t trending to be a draft pick at Kansas State where he improved slowly in four years, but he really took advantage of the talent around him when he transferred to Ohio State for his 2024 senior season. He completed 73.0% of his passes for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns while directing the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Howard’s 83.0 QBR ranked No. 7 in 2024 according to ESPN, but many will credit that to Ohio State’s great receivers and offensive system that has produced big numbers in the past for Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud, and even Kyle McCord had an 83.7 QBR in the 2023 season.

You be the judge of how many of these touchdowns from Howard in 2024 were the product of great talent and coaching compared to great quarterback play. I will say the throw at 1:18 against Iowa was greatness from Howard.

But at 6’4”, Howard has that combo of size and toughness to deliver in the pocket against the blitz that will get NFL teams very interested in his continued improvement. You just better hope you have quality receivers and don’t expect him to be the playmaking type of quarterback that defines the best in the game.

Best Fit – Miami Dolphins (Rounds 2-3)

If Howard is a coachable prospect with a solid foundation of mechanics and size who needs superior talent around him, why not send him to the Miami Dolphins where Mike McDaniel can teach him? It remains to be seen if Tyreek Hill will be traded per NFL rumors at the moment, but the Dolphins have some really nice speed and weapons for Howard to throw to.

We also know Tua Tagovailoa has a nasty history with concussions and can’t be expected to start every week. The Dolphins may have made the playoffs last year if they had a better backup option when Tua was out early in the season instead of playing Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle.

For a team with an unsettled quarterback position, Howard is someone worth taking a chance on in Night 2 of the draft.

6. Quinn Ewers (Texas) – No. 91 Overall Prospect

The Texas quarterback everyone is looking at for their future is Arch Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, but that’s down the line. In the 2025 draft, you’ll have to settle for Quinn Ewers, who transferred from Ohio State to Texas in 2022 and was a multi-year starter with a career-high 31 touchdowns last season.

Ewers also threw as many interceptions (12) as he had in his previous two seasons combined, and it was the strip-sack for a return touchdown in the late stages of the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State that unceremoniously ended his college career.

But Ewers was a former No. 1 high school prospect in the nation who has decent size (almost 6’3”), just enough mobility for the modern NFL, and he’s overcome injuries. He could be the coachable kind of mid-round pick teams love to take a chance on even if it doesn’t mean he’ll ever amount to more than a backup in the league much like former Texas star Colt McCoy (2010 draft) was.

Best Fit – Cleveland Browns (No. 94 Pick)

We mentioned the Browns earlier. If they don’t come away with Sanders or Dart in this draft, they could always use that late third-round pick on Ewers as head coach Kevin Stefanski has been very successful at getting something out of just about every quarterback he’s coached except for Deshaun Watson (go figure).

Ewers would also make lightning strike twice with the Texas star quarterback going to the Cleveland Browns in the third round after that was the exact move in 2010 with the aforementioned Colt McCoy, who was just 6-15 as a starter in Cleveland.

Ewers is unlikely to fare much better, but someone is going to draft him in the middle rounds and give him a shot.

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Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar01/04/2025 - 11:51 am