The 2025 NFL Draft will not look like its 2024 counterpart. Making definitive statements about any draft is usually ripe for looking foolish, but I’m confident in forecasting that we won’t see six quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks. We may not even see six in the top three rounds.
It’s just not that strong of a class.
As such, we don’t need to be that deeply familiar with this year’s passing prospects, as was necessary last season. However, it’s still worth getting to know the five most important prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft quarterback class. At least two will be tied to pass-catchers we care about, and that list could grow depending on the ever-powerful force of quarterback thirst.
As we come toward the end of March, it appears all but locked in that Cam Ward will be the No. 1 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans. While Ward isn’t regarded in the same tier of prospects as the guys who went in the top three last season, that doesn’t take away from his own appeal as a franchise quarterback.
Ward is an experienced player who thrived with multiple programs and led the ACC with 10.5 adjusted yards per attempt last season. He has a live arm that can access all levels of the field — and he knows it. Ward’s game oozes confidence, as he doesn’t shy away from difficult throws to tight windows over the middle. His aggressiveness borders on admirable arrogance in the best way possible. While he’s not the rushing threat of prospects like Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye in last year’s draft, he moves well in the pocket and can pick up first downs as a scrambler.
If Tennessee does indeed take Ward, he’ll find himself in a non-perfect but solid situation for a rookie quarterback.
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The Titans spent significant resources on the offensive line this offseason and, by doing so, should get that unit out of the bottom five league-wide. Running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are a nice duo and exceeded expectations last year. The pass-catching corps definitely needs an infusion of talent. I wonder if former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan takes a page out of his old team’s book and pushes to take a wideout at the top of Round 2 as Cincy did with Tee Higgins and Joe Burrow in 2020. Regardless, I like how Ward fits with Calvin Ridley, who is coming off the highest air yards per target (15.7) of his career.
Shedeur Sanders is not the same level of athlete nor does he possess the arm talent of Cam Ward, which is why he’s fallen behind the Miami product in just about everyone’s rankings at this stage. Still, Sanders is a quality prospect who brings a lot to the table.
While Sanders’ 74% completion rate is juiced by the amount of RPOs and screens in the Colorado offense, he’s still a highly accurate passer. He has excellent ball placement when working in- and out-breaking concepts. Sanders might not possess a rocket arm but he can drive the ball through zones over the middle.
Sanders has some bad habits he needs to work on in the pocket. Some of the sacks he took were due to Colorado’s failings on the offensive line, but Sanders also needs to clean up his plan against pressure. He can run a clean and efficient passing offense when he’s protected. I’d love to see Sanders land on a team with a strong offensive line emphasizing the quick passing game. I could see him having a run like Jared Goff has enjoyed with the Detroit Lions under similar circumstances.
Jaxson Dart appears to be the Big Media postseason riser at the quarterback position. The Ole Miss product showed consistent improvement throughout his college career and can drive the ball down the field over the middle. Anyone who takes him in Round 1 will be banking on that path of improvement continuing in the pros because there are some red flags in the profile that point to a quarterback who needs some time off the field to develop.
Dart comes from a goofy Ole Miss offense under Lane Kiffin that’s great at lighting up the collegiate scoreboard but doesn’t lend any favors to NFL development. He’ll be starting from scratch in terms of working on full-field reads and multi-level concepts. That’s fine but there were already plenty of reps where Dart makes mistakes against zone coverage that will be exacerbated in the pros. He needs to both clean up his footwork and speed up his processing from the pocket.
Again, all of that is fine if this is someone his NFL team is planning on stashing and letting him develop for a few years. If they plan on starting him from Day 1, we should have concerns. The best situation for Dart would be something akin to the Jordan Love plan we saw the Packers pull off a few years back under Aaron Rodgers. Dart doesn’t have the same tools or ceiling of Love but that’s his best path to being a quality starter in the NFL.
The package of tools, traits and skills that Tyler Shough brings to the table isn’t undesirable. The problem is you have to unbox them from a soon-to-be 26-year-old who missed significant time over his college career with injuries. Shough was Justin Herbert’s backup at Oregon in 2019 in his second collegiate season. He was in Trevor Lawrence’s recruiting class. Both of those guys are on their second NFL contracts.
Shough could develop into something like a Carson Wentz or Ryan Tannehill type at his best. He has a good arm talent and ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. I can perfectly envision Shough having a nice run as a starter for a team that is run-game-based and asks the quarterback to launch javelin-style deep shots off play-action.
Quarterback Thirst likely gets Shough drafted on Day 2, which, for the right team, could make some sense if they just need a short-term solution. I’m slightly less convinced he’s someone’s answer over the long haul.
Jalen Milroe is, without a doubt, the most tantalizing athlete among the quarterbacks this season, ultimately earning him a spot in the top five most intriguing players. Milroe ran for 32 touchdowns over his final two college seasons. He cemented that athletic profile with an unofficial 4.37 40-yard dash at Alabama’s pro day. Some teams will look at that as a ball of clay worth molding.
The problem is his passing profile leaves much to be desired. When I was charting Jermaine Burton last season for Reception Perception — which is looking like it will end up being a fantastic waste of time, by the way, thanks to predictable character concerns — I was pretty convinced that the guy playing quarterback wasn’t an NFL prospect. Milroe doesn’t layer through with accuracy, throws uncatchable fastballs in the quick game and aim-launches vertical shots.
I’ll give Milroe credit that there appeared to be a moment where he was turning the corner this past season but he fell off as the year went on in a new offense. People rave about the character and leadership. Pair that with undeniable physical skills and he’s worth taking a shot and developing. We know that if this type of player hits, he will matter in fantasy football. I just think he’s a multi-year project we should not expect to see anytime soon.
This quarterback class drops off from an intrigue standpoint after these top five guys. Frankly, you have to do a lot of squinting once we get to the fourth and fifth names as it is. Beyond the aforementioned five, there are some interesting possible developmental backups that even their respective truthers won’t go to the mat to defend as future starters.
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Kyle McCord made a drastic improvement at Syracuse, which put him in a much better position than where he finished at Ohio State. Quinn Ewers played a lot of ball in college in an RPO-heavy offense but didn’t drive the ball down the field. Dillon Gabriel and Will Howard are strong collegiate passers who don’t profile as high-upside players, though I like Howard specifically as a “run the offense” backup. Nate Tice still holds a burning candle for Riley Leonard.
