With the Pro Day circuit winding down, we’re finally in the home stretch of NFL Draft Season. This two to three week period is a good time to review this year’s draft class with a bit more focus and explanation than you’ll see in Mock Drafts. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top passers in the 2025 Draft.
1. Cam Ward, Miami
QB1 in the Two Point Conversion Draft Guide, Cam Ward was a 0-star recruit from Texas who began his college career at Incarnate Word. After two seasons of setting records at UIW, Ward entered the transfer portal, ultimately landing at Washington State for two seasons. Ward eventually transferred again to Miami, where he blossomed into consideration of being the 1st Overall Pick in the 2025 Draft.
Ward’s superpower is his ability to extend plays and create something from nothing. Often last season, Ward had to go above and beyond to ensure the Hurricanes offense continued to move the chains. Ward is athletic and mobile enough to be able to consistently buy time and get out of the pocket, giving his guys a chance. Ward also has a good enough arm to throw off of many different platforms and angles, making him an even greater threat to find plays that aren’t initially available.
This creativity can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Ward certainly can extend plays, but he was often the reason why plays had to be extended. Not playing in structure can lead to mistakes, one of the biggest contributing factors to the losses Miami suffered this season. This will likely be remedied by spending time with an NFL coaching staff/development program, but it is something to note nonetheless.
Overall, of all the passers in the 2025 Draft, Ward has the best chance to be a true franchise quarterback. His capable arm and athleticism, paired with his creativity and willingness to always find something, make Ward a tantalizing choice to go first overall. At this point, it would be quite the surprise if Tennessee did not select Cam Ward.
Draft Range: 1st Overall
2. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Being the son of NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur entered college football with high name value and high expectations. After spending two seasons lighting it up at Jacksonville State, Sanders followed Coach Prime to Colorado where he helped turn around one of the worst programs in the Power 4 (at the time, Power 5) college football conferences. Recently in 2024, Sanders’ play warranted him being a Heisman Award finalist, only to eventually lose out to his teammate, Travis Hunter.
Sanders’ superpower is his accuracy and touch, he throws an incredibly catchable ball. This proficiency allowed the Colorado receivers to eat up chunk plays with YAC throughout the season. Sanders is also tough; he routinely stood in the pocket and delivered while taking hits. One of the more underrated traits when trying to project quarterbacks to the NFL is the willingness to attempt tough throws. While the Colorado offense didn’t often demand it, Sanders has the willingness to find and attempt layered throws when necessary.
Sanders is more of a system-runner than a creator/elevator of an offense. When it comes to escaping and creating outside of structure, Sanders has his limitations. Even within the pocket, Sanders doesn’t possess high-end speed or mobility, often drifting into pressure and taking rough sacks because he simply cannot avoid them.
Overall, outside of Cam Ward, Sanders might have the best chance at being a starter in the NFL. The term ‘system quarterback’ is often used in discourse as a slight to one’s abilities. However, in the NFL, playing within and operating a structure at a high level is tantamount to success. Within Shedeur Sanders’ range of outcomes certainly lies the ability to be a quarterback that operates an NFL offense to a necessary degree.
Draft Range: Sometime on Day 1
3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Hailing from Katy, Texas, Jalen Milroe began his college football journey as a 4-star recruit, eventually landing at Alabama. Like many recruits, Milroe sat behind Bryce Young for two seasons, eventually becoming the starter after Young was drafted by the Carolina Panthers. Milroe led his team to a College Football Playoff berth in year one as a starter and stayed with the program after the surprising retirement of Head Coach Nick Saban. Milroe would eventually finish out his senior season, staying with the same program all four seasons as a locker room leader and culture builder.
Milroe’s superpower is his athleticism, he may be the most prominent, athletic quarterback in recent college football memory. Aside from the fact that he reportedly ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at his pro day, Milroe is incredibly stocky and strong as a runner. Milroe also possesses one of, if not the strongest arm in the 2025 Draft, which he used to great effect as a deep passer. The traits are there and would lend him to immediately being one of the three to five most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL the moment he gets drafted.
It’s disappointing that despite such great physical tools, Jalen Milroe struggled mightily this season with consistency as a passer. Too often Milroe would funnel his vision onto one target, or rely too much on his arm to properly step into throws, leading to misses. Even as a ball carrier, Milroe would try to cut back to gain extra yards instead of cutting upfield, which likely would’ve been the better option, given that he’s usually the fastest player in the stadium. Milroe’s decision-making speed would be inconsistent as well throughout the season, sometimes immediately making his reads, other times being too tentative.
Overall, it’s easy to both talk yourself into and out of Milroe as a prospect. On day one in the NFL, he will possess physical traits that every other quarterback in the league could only dream of. He may also struggle to operate systems and go through NFL progressions from Day one. Milroe’s range of outcomes is the widest in this class, and it will come down to the team that selects him having a strong developmental plan and offensive structure in place in order to extract the best version of Milroe on the field.
Draft Range: Sometime Day 2, but maybe Day 1
4. Jaxson Dart, Mississippi
A 4-star recruit from Utah, Dart began his career committed to and playing at USC as a true freshman. The summer of 2022 saw heavy movement in the college football sphere, Lincoln Riley and his quarterback Caleb Williams transferred to USC. As a result, Dart transferred to Ole Miss, eventually becoming the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (10617).
Dart’s superpower is dissection – being able to access every area of the field with his arm and throw with good timing and placement. Throughout his time in Oxford, Dart rarely put the ball in harm’s way, displaying good field vision and (usually) good decision-making with his passes. Dart also is a sneaky capable runner; he knows when to pull the ball down and pick up chunk yards. All of this is to say that Dart operated his system at a high level.
The question that teams and evaluators must then ask is: how much of the success can be attributed to Dart, and how much of it was the system he was in? Lane Kiffin is known for creating easy, quarterback-friendly offenses that really only require first-read throws and the occasional scramble. When the easy throws weren’t available, you could see Dart begin to struggle with timing, ball placement, and seeing the entire field. To Dart’s credit, these breakdowns usually didn’t happen because he operated his system at a high level, but when they did occur, Dart didn’t really elevate or create something out of nothing.
Overall, Dart is a tough evaluation to try and make. We’ve seen quarterbacks in recent years who were given ideal situations in college struggle when they land on bad teams in the NFL (i.e. Zach Wilson). We’ve also seen what happens when you give someone who had ideal conditions in college a workable transition into a good NFL system (i.e. Bo Nix). With Dart, I believe it will come down to how insulated a system he lands in – will he land somewhere that has a good play-caller that can develop and get the most out of him? Or will Dart land in a bad situation where he may not be able to elevate the team around him?
Draft Range: Early Day 2
5. Tyler Shough, Louisville
Originally from Arizona, Shough began his college football career as a 4-star recruit in the 2018 class. This is the same class that had prospects such as Trevor Lawrence, Ja’Marr Chase, and Patrick Surtain II, all of whom are entering their fifth NFL seasons. Shough landed at Oregon to eventually replace Justin Herbert but dealt with a litany of injuries over three years in Eugene that would ultimately push Shough to transfer to Texas Tech. After three seasons with the Red Raiders, Shough would again transfer, landing at Louisville where he would have his breakout season during his seventh college campaign.
Shough’s superpower comes from his age and experience – he’s a grown man playing against younger players. This can be a benefit, as he’s spent time in many different systems, learning different concepts and ways to attack defenses. For the Cardinals this season, Shough was able to apply his experience in Jeff Brohm’s system, emphasizing quick game and passes outside the numbers. Shough also has both a live arm and necessary athleticism, giving him the ability to hit any area of the field or take a few scramble yards if the quick game wasn’t there.
While his sage wisdom may have been a benefit at the college level, Shough’s transition to the NFL raises some questions. Being a 25 (26 after Week 3) year-old rookie doesn’t necessarily bode well for a longer prime in the league. Shough also had his breakout year in what’s largely a gimmick offense – the spacing in college allowed for the outside areas of the field to always be open for business, which may not be the case in the NFL. A lot of Shough’s throws felt predetermined as well, downfield shots often were layups for defensive backs that Shough didn’t see.
Overall, if you take this season in isolation from the rest of his career, and without a lot of the context of the offense he was in, Shough looks like a home run pick. The reality of Shough, however, requires further examination. Shough’s unique breadth of experience likely lends him to being a high-floor backup – someone who can come in and learn/digest a new offense easily. Despite this, Shough also exhibits flaws that might prevent him from being anything more than a high-end backup. It will be up to the team that selects him to determine if Shough’s age and limitations on tape are worth an early investment and a shot at being a franchise quarterback.
Draft Range: Day 2
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