[Editor's note: The following article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 NFL Draft Preview magazine. Order your copy today online, or buy it at retail stores and newsstands everywhere.]
We heard it all the way through the 2024 football season: The 2025 draft class of quarterbacks is underwhelming and lacks a clear No. 1 who has separated himself from the pack. With the pre-draft process in full swing, that still rings true. None of the quarterbacks in this class has an obvious, unquestioned path to NFL stardom.
Still, there are NFL teams in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, and some of these guys will be drafted as such, even if they aren't. So, of the available talent at the position in this draft, who has the best chance to reward a leap of faith?
It's far from automatic that any class contains a future superstar quarterback. Based on the tape, though, here are the six quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft who could wind up as best in class years down the road, and how they can get there.
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images
In 2024, Sanders completed 353 of 477 passes (74.0 percent) for 4,134 yards (8.7 yards per attempt), 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a passer rating of 116.0. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 64 times for 305 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and four touchdowns and had seven fumbles.
On the plus side, Sanders is adept at working through progressions in the route tree, and he's calm and relatively unaffected when asked to do so. He doesn't move at a hurried pace when he has to read through the play.
Sanders also has outstanding pocket movement; he isn't a default bailout quarterback when his first read isn't open. He will work through pressure both horizontally and vertically through the pocket to make the right throw, and he can release the ball with good timing as the pocket compresses.
When throwing on the move, as long as Sanders rights his shoulders to the target before letting it go, he can throw consistently with timing, accuracy and velocity. He should be plug-and-play in a boot-action offense as a result.
Sanders was great against the blitz in 2024 - 98-of-144 for 1,403 yards, 15 touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 125.4. Not only will he exploit voids in coverage left by blitzing defenders, but he'll also make outstanding deep throws against extra pass-rushers.
He can be a productive rusher on scrambles, but don't make the mistake of thinking that running is his default setting. He is generally looking to throw until the last millisecond.
As far as what needs work, Sanders can be a bit loose with his mechanics when throwing deep under pressure - he'll try the "Vick Flick" (the rare ability to zing the ball 20-plus yards downfield with a flick of the wrist) when he really needs to drive the ball from his lower body. Sanders has a good deep arm, but not a transcendent one. He must drive from his legs to make accurate downfield throws.
Sanders must guard against a tendency to throw fadeaway jumpers from deep in the pocket - he'll bend his upper body back and try 3-pointers with limited efficiency.
Sanders is more of a "see it and throw it" quarterback than a true anticipatory thrower; he'll become more dangerous in the NFL if he can learn to throw his receivers open starting when his back foot hits the ground at the end of his drops. He too often has to wait for the receiver to cross the midline, or he'll throw late and behind the receiver on crossers. That delay is also where a lot of his sacks come from. He'll also benefit as a red-zone passer when he learns to consistently throw the ball in rhythm before the receiver comes open. In the NFL, if you wait, you're late.
If you're in need of an athletic QB who's more about the art of quarterbacking from the pocket than anything else, Sanders could be your man. He is far from the underdeveloped run-around guy some observers think he is - on the contrary, he has a true feel for the pocket and progressions.
Sanders brings Jordan Love to mind as a passer, and if he's in an offense similar to the one Love has with the Green Bay Packers, filled with all kinds of effective motion and eye candy to affect defenses, he could be a similarly transformative quarterback.
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Cam Ward, Miami
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
In 2024, Ward completed 305 of 454 passes (67.2 percent) for 4,313 yards (9.5 yards per attempt), 39 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a passer rating of 119.9. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 44 times for 336 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and four touchdowns and had four fumbles.
With Ward, the raw attributes are off the charts. Whether it's designed or a reaction to pressure, Ward has a singular ability to hit deep timing throws from outside the pocket, and this happens even when he drifts to his left, which takes away some of his accuracy and velocity.
Ward can zing it downfield as well as anyone in this class, and he also makes accurate timing throws. His numbers on deep passes (34-of-75 for 1,148 yards, 14 touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 131.5 on passes of 20 or more air yards in 2024) are exceptional.
There are concerns, of course. Ward will turn down open (or opening) receivers at times and bail out of the pocket before he should. He has a propensity for leading into throws with his upper body, which misaligns his center of gravity for optimal velocity and accuracy. He can sail passes high and far beyond the target.
Overall, Ward will get loose and too lanky with his mechanics, and combined with his field-reading issues, that leads to some really odd results in which you're not quite sure where he's trying to put the ball. Ward must become more tight and consistent with his delivery if he's going to live up to his potential. When he puts it all together, he's as dynamic as any quarterback in this class, but when he has too much time to work through things, it almost works against him.
If you're looking for a good working comparison, think of Jameis Winston at his best. Winston was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft because he had the arm to make any throw - all the good ones, and all the bad ones.
Ward may well be the first overall pick based on pure talent and how amazing he looks when things are clicking. But there are two sides to "arm arrogance" - that thing inside a QB's head that tells him to make a throw when common sense tells him not to. That's not to malign Ward's intelligence - it's more about situational awareness and the understanding of when to simply take a profit. Not everything can be highlight-worthy, and the sooner Ward realizes this, the better.
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart © Petre Thomas-Imagn Images © Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
In 2024, Dart completed 276 of 398 passes (69.3 percent) for 4,279 yards (10.8 yards per attempt), 29 touchdowns, six interceptions and a passer rating of 122.3. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 100 times for 648 yards (6.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns and had three fumbles.
Dart has a quick, easy delivery that allows him to throw to all areas of the field with pinpoint velocity, timing and touch. Dart can make tight-window throws into converging coverages even when under serious pressure, and he has an intriguing combination of touch and arm strength that allows him to place "go" balls and fade throws where he wants them.
When throwing on the move, Dart doesn't automatically take the easy completion; he's perfectly comfortable waiting out the pressure on the run, squaring his shoulders to the target and hammering the ball downfield.
As a runner, Dart is adept at taking the ball through traffic and exploiting open gaps. He's more inclined to keep his eyes downfield when under pressure, and his running ability isn't an alpha trait, but it's a valuable part of his tool kit. He forced 21 missed tackles and had 28 runs of 10 or more yards in 2024.
However, his throwing abilities are a double-edged sword. Dart's arm arrogance is justified, but he will occasionally zing the ball into stacks of defenders when he shouldn't. He also will occasionally get too loose with his lower body, leading to instances in which he doesn't turn into the throw and sails his passes.
Dart has the capacity to be an anticipation thrower, but he will wait and throw late too often, leading to some inexplicable incompletions and interceptions. He'll occasionally have stretches where he struggles to time things up with his receivers, though that could be mitigated to a degree in his NFL transition with more explosive receivers who can separate.
The balance that Dart's NFL team will have to strike is to magnify the positive effect of some truly amazing deep balls with touch and accuracy with his tendency for "YOLO" throws where he seems to assume that if he hurls the ball in the air, it will mysteriously come down in the right place. If Dart's GPS can be refined, he has all the skills to be a legitimate first-round talent and a valuable quarterback in almost any system.
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe. Will McLelland-Imagn Images Will McLelland-Imagn Images
In 2024, Milroe completed 205 of 319 passes (64.3 percent) for 2,844 yards (8.9 yards per attempt), 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of 93.6. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 150 times for 879 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns and had 11 fumbles.
Outstanding pocket movement is a hallmark of Milroe's play. He will move side to side and up in the pocket to elude pressure, and he doesn't have the tendency to bail prematurely. He will stand and deliver when pass-rushers are converging. He has a Ben Roethlisberger-like ability to throw accurately with defenders hanging off his frame.
When Milroe is ahead of the game with his field reads, he has the arm to make tight-window throws downfield with velocity and touch.
As a ball-carrier out of designed runs or scrambles, Milroe is quick to diagnose gaps, and he has the acceleration to get to the edge and upfield.
What needs development? Milroe has a tendency to throw late in the progression. This leaves him vulnerable to hidden and switched defenders, as well as defenders jumping routes for deflections and interceptions. He is not a consistent anticipation thrower. While Milroe does display the ability to throw from multiple arm angles, the results are not consistent.
Any coach looking to benefit from a big, mobile quarterback who can make all kinds of throws in an RPO-heavy offense would find Milroe to be a great asset over time. He likely will struggle early on against the NFL's complexities, but eventually, he could be a force multiplier with a coaching staff content to let his athleticism be an asset. A Jalen Hurts type is not an unrealistic projection.
Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
In 2024, Rourke completed 222 of 320 passes (69.4 percent) for 3,042 yards (9.4 yards per attempt), 29 touchdowns, five interceptions and a passer rating of 122.5. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 33 times for 100 yards (3.0 yards per carry) and two touchdowns and had seven fumbles.
Rourke has a very good sense of pocket movement, and he'll tie his ability to go through progressions with the movement to extend the play for a successful outcome. Rourke also has the ability to read defenses that shift pre- to post-snap, which bodes well for his NFL future. He has the arm to make any throw, as long as the circumstances are right.
When pressured, Rourke generally won't let his mechanics fall apart, so he's not a drastically different quarterback when defenders are converging. You blitz Rourke at your peril; last season, when blitzed, he completed 85-of-121 passes for 1,132 yards, 11 touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 126.5.
Rourke isn't much of a running threat, but he is dangerous on the move as a passer because he will reset his shoulders to the target quickly and maintain his throwing position. This allows him to get the ball downfield with accuracy when other quarterbacks might struggle to do so.
Rourke is somewhat mobile outside the pocket, but this is not a feature of his game. At 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds, he's big enough to pick up yards on scrambles, RPOs and quarterback draws, but when he's throwing outside the pocket, his mechanics and accuracy aren't the same. It was revealed in early January that Rourke had played the entire 2024 season with an ACL injury, and when you go back and watch his 2023 tape, there is a bit more mobility and accuracy on the move. For the most part, though, he's a pocket passer and will need to land in a system where pocket movement is valued but running isn't a priority. Play-action also should be a big part of Rourke's palette - in 2024, he completed 90-of-111 play-action attempts for 1,200 yards, 14 touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 147.5.
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In 2024, Gabriel completed 326 of 447 passes (72.9 percent) for 3,857 yards (8.6 yards per attempt), 30 touchdowns, six interceptions and a passer rating of 114.6. Excluding sacks, he ran the ball 62 times for 300 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns and had four fumbles.
Gabriel has outstanding movement skills both in and out of the pocket. He has nimble footwork to reset and throw, and he's equally adept at squaring his shoulders to the target after he's escaped pressure. He would be a natural in any boot-heavy passing game.
Gabriel has both arm strength and arm talent - in 2024, he completed 27-of-48 passes of 20 or more air yards for 960 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 131.9. He will drop the ball into tight windows downfield, and he'll make accurate intermediate and deep throws with more than one speed.
As far as what needs work, Gabriel occasionally will get a bit too loose with his throws on the run; he'll try trick shots when he should think twice about them.
Similarly, Gabriel's generally outstanding ability to throw on the move will have him drifting in the pocket at times and throwing off an inconsistent base. Bad things are more likely to happen in those situations. And while Gabriel is an efficient thrower under pressure, he also will run himself into sacks at times when he loses his bearings on the play, perhaps trying for the hero rep.
As a smaller left-handed quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa is the automatic comparison. But Gabriel has a bit more to offer. There's a lot of Russell Wilson to his game with the athleticism, the deep ball and the occasional overextensions of the play that will lead to trouble. Gabriel does present some schematic limitations, but he also opens up other concepts if you embrace the mobility, the arm and the field comprehension.
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Related: 2025 NFL Mock Draft: Updated 4-Round Projections, Post-Free Agency
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This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM.