Learn Dane Brugler’s 2025 ‘The Beast’ NFL Draft information.
A minimum of past Cam Ward, there isn’t any consensus on the place every of this 12 months’s crop of quarterbacks could get drafted. After Ward presumably turns into a Tennessee Titan, the remainder of the group is a whole thriller. It’s simply as probably Ward is the one quarterback we see on Thursday night time as it’s that 4 quarterbacks go within the first spherical.
Fortunate for us, we’re going to chop by means of all that uncertainty and play quarterback matchmaker, inserting all of this 12 months’s high quarterback prospects on the groups that take advantage of sense. In some instances, that has extra to do with what kind of quarterback the workforce wants; in others, it’s about discovering the suitable surroundings for getting probably the most out of a specific talent set.
Let’s get to the beautiful new {couples}.
Cam Ward: Tennessee Titans
All indicators level to Ward being the Titans’ beginning quarterback subsequent 12 months. It’s not even value entertaining totally different potentialities for both QB or workforce at this level. Ward is each an excellent match for the core of Brian Callahan’s offense and would deliver components that Titans’ quarterbacks final season didn’t.
The Titans’ 2024 offense was all about maximizing play-action alternatives and attacking down the sphere. Ward has the arm expertise and fearlessness as a thrower to excel in that surroundings. Nonetheless, Ward additionally massively improved his quick-game operation in faculty, and he’s far more comfy taking part in from unfold and empty formations than Will Levis has ever been. Ward is leaps and bounds forward of Levis (or Mason Rudolph) as a creator exterior of the pocket, too.
There are going to be rising pains with Ward’s overzealous play model early on, however they are going to be value it in the long term. Ward has each a flooring and ceiling worthy of being the No. 1 choose on this class.
Shedeur Sanders: New Orleans Saints
Discovering Sanders’ greatest match was trickier than I anticipated. Kevin Stefanski’s downfield play-action offense in Cleveland will not be perfect; Brian Daboll’s faster passing assault in New York would possibly make sense, however that offensive line is a sieve and Sanders will not be athletic sufficient to faucet into a number of the greatest components of Daboll’s playbook.
The thought of Sanders being Kellen Moore’s first crack at a quarterback is intriguing, although. Sanders is at his greatest working unfold passing ideas, particularly within the beneath space. He’s a dependable short-area passer who makes use of the intermediate and deeper areas of the sphere to maintain defenses trustworthy, moderately than making these his most well-liked areas of assault. That’s completely nice for a West Coast-inspired offense.
In fact, falling to ninth general isn’t any assure. The Browns or the Giants could really feel the itch of desperation and draft Sanders within the high three. If Sanders does slide a bit of bit, nonetheless, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Saints cease that fall.
Jaxson Dart: Seattle Seahawks
It could be gorgeous if the Seahawks left the primary two days of the draft and not using a quarterback. The deal Sam Darnold signed in March is successfully a one-year contract with workforce choices from then on out — if that doesn’t scream “a developmental quarterback is coming,” I don’t know what does.
Seattle might go in just a few instructions, however Dart is sensible for his or her new offense beneath Klint Kubiak, and vice versa.
Dart jogs my memory a whole lot of Jimmy Garoppolo as a passer. The 2 are fairly related in construct, arm expertise and talent on throws over the center of the sphere. A majority of Dart’s greatest throws on movie are slants, brief posts and crossers. The identical was true of Garoppolo at his greatest in San Francisco. Neither Dart nor Garoppolo is a quarterback you need studying out a full development fairly often.
In concept, Kubiak’s offense performs into all of that. It’s constructed off the run sport, which is then parlayed into a powerful play-action assault. Not solely does that simplify reads for the quarterback, it additionally calls for the QB typically makes tight throws over the center of the sphere, which is the place Dart shines.
With a 12 months on the bench to study the tempo of the league, possibly Dart could make it work with the Seahawks.
Tyler Shough: Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ greatest path to a quarterback is to take the Day 2 participant most prepared to start out instantly. For my cash, that’s Shough.
Outdoors of Ward, Shough is probably the most proficient thrower within the class. He has a versatile but explosive launch that works properly from all platforms, out and in of the pocket. Although he’s extra of a straight-line thrower than somebody with implausible contact, he nonetheless will get the job accomplished from an accuracy perspective.
Shough is a top quality processor, as properly. Just like Ryan Tannehill, he could be a hair sluggish coming off of reads early within the down however typically doesn’t make weird errors, and he protects the ball properly.
When it comes to professional readiness and arm expertise, Shough simply makes probably the most sense for Kevin Stefanski’s offense proper now.
Jalen Milroe: Los Angeles Rams
If Sean McVay desires to maintain the offense roughly the identical in an eventual post-Matthew Stafford world, Milroe will not be the reply — he’s truly the furthest factor from Stafford on this draft class (apart from the 2 or three weird misfires every QB has each sport).
McVay has lengthy flirted with the concept of a cell quarterback, although. He was keen to offer John Wolford an opportunity on the finish of the Jared Goff saga, then held onto him because the workforce’s backup by means of the 2022 season. McVay additionally gave Bryce Perkins a begin in 2022, a sport by which Perkins carried the ball 19 instances for 90 yards.
Milroe will stroll into the league as top-of-the-line athletes on the place. As a passer, he’ll want no less than a 12 months to repair his footwork and adapt to the velocity of protection on the NFL stage, however that’s okay. There can be no stress on Milroe to compete with Stafford for the job.
This is able to be an extended play. No matter it being an excellent or reasonable thought, I simply so badly wish to see the world by which McVay will get to re-unlock the boot-action sport and dabble in a quarterback-centric dashing assault.
Riley Leonard: New York Giants
Brian Daboll’s greatest work over time — exterior of his time with Josh Allen — was at Alabama in 2017, with Jalen Hurts, and in 2022, with Daniel Jones.
Although totally different high quality gamers, Hurts and Jones can each typically be described as sturdy, athletic quarterbacks with the arm expertise to push the ball down the sphere a bit of bit. Each gamers added one thing to the offense by way of their mobility, and Daboll took benefit.
Except for possibly Milroe, Leonard is Daboll’s greatest swing at that sort of athlete. Leonard is 6-foot-4, 218 kilos with critical wheels. He’s pretty explosive in brief areas and excels when he actually will get to stride out, just like Jones. He’s clearly a weapon within the designed-run sport and the pink zone.
Leonard nonetheless has rather a lot to show as a passer, however his athletic capacity and toughness offers him a flooring to work with whereas he figures it out.
Kyle McCord: Dallas Cowboys
It’s arduous to seek out and maintain onto good backup quarterbacks — the Cowboys have been fortunate to draft and retain Cooper Rush for so long as that they did. Boring as he’s to look at, Rush was a wonderfully competent quarterback when it got here to operating the offense and never taking part in exterior of his means.
With Rush now in Baltimore, the Cowboys are searching for the subsequent man to fill that function. McCord is their greatest guess.
McCord will not be an amazing expertise. His arm is simply okay, and he’s not going to scare anybody on the transfer. Like several good NFL backup, nonetheless, McCord can run an offense effectively and persistently. He actually discovered to play inside himself at Syracuse, displaying good rhythm and decision-making as a thrower.
It’s unlikely he ever ascends to something above an excellent backup, however that’s fairly alright for a Cowboys workforce looking for that precise sort of participant.
Will Howard: Pittsburgh Steelers
They need to draft any individual, proper? Even beneath the idea Aaron Rodgers lastly drops the charade and indicators, the Steelers must make some type of effort to safe a younger quarterback.
Howard, if nothing else, matches Arthur Smith’s offense. He’s not somebody who ought to be a high-volume passer, which already leans into Smith’s run-first method. Moreover, Howard’s greatest traits are his measurement and arm expertise, which permits him to comfortably throw down the sphere, in addition to ample athletic capacity for a participant his measurement. Smith’s total play-action and boot menu can be open with Howard at quarterback.
It’s arduous to think about Howard growing the down-to-down accuracy and play velocity to actually thrive as an NFL starter, however Smith’s offense in Pittsburgh no less than would give Howard an opportunity to cover his weaknesses and lean into his strengths.
Dillon Gabriel: Miami Dolphins
Placing the brief lefty quarterback prospect as a backup to the brief lefty NFL quarterback looks like a bit, but it surely’s not. It is sensible when you think about every participant’s strengths and the dynamics of being a left-handed vs. right-handed thrower.
Firstly, pass-catchers typically speak concerning the flight and spin of the ball being totally different from lefty quarterbacks — the ball rotates in the other way of 99 p.c of quarterbacks, so it seems totally different coming right into a receiver’s imaginative and prescient.
Gabriel, like Tua Tagovailoa, additionally thrives with RPOs and throws over the center. He has a versatile and explosive launch, making him completely geared up to handle these RPOs at a excessive stage. And he thrives on in-breaking throws, even providing extra velocity than Tagovailoa does.
The Dolphins desperately must put money into a backup quarterback someway. Gabriel matches.
Quinn Ewers: Buffalo Payments
Not each participant or workforce will get their perfect match in an train like this. Typically, groups need to accept whoever is left on the dance flooring.
From the Payments’ perspective, a younger backup quarterback ought to be on the desk, as a result of Mitchell Trubisky has only one 12 months left on his deal. It makes some sense for the Payments to get forward of issues early and get a developmental participant within the pipeline.
Ewers would deliver useful athleticism and arm expertise for Joe Brady. He nonetheless struggles with pocket presence and contact accuracy, particularly down the sphere, however there’s sufficient expertise there to mould a useful backup.
(Prime picture of Jaxson Dart: Justin Ford / Getty Pictures)
