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Last year's rookie quarterback class was special. The first three players drafted were all quarterbacks, with Caleb Williams going to the Bears at No. 1 followed by Jayden Daniels to the Commanders at No. 2, and Drake Maye to the Patriots at No. 3. Daniels won Rookie of the Year. Maye made the Pro Bowl. Williams flashed a ton of potential and looks to be someone Chicago can build around.
Deeper down, Bo Nix had a great year for the Broncos after going at No. 12. Michael Penix Jr. took over as Atlanta's starter late in the year and showed upside, while J.J. McCarthy's rookie year never got going due to injury. He has a shot to take over as the starting quarterback in 2025 in Minnesota assuming the team moves on from Sam Darnold.
This year's class isn't quite as deep. Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward have star upside, but there are not many other players who look like they can be top players in the NFL. Still, someone else is bound to break out at some point. Let's look at the 2025 rookie quarterback class.
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Project Quarterbacks Who Could Have Fantasy Football Appeal One Day
9) Dillon Gabriel - Oregon
The move to Oregon didn't pay Dillon Gabriel the same dividends that it paid Bo Nix, but Gabriel did have a strong final college season for the Ducks.
The problem here is that Gabriel played six college seasons. He's already 24 years old and likely won't have much room to get better than he is right now. He's an undersized pocket passer, and while he's really good in the pocket, he can't create when he's forced out of the pocket.
Gabriel feels like a player who will bounce around as a valuable NFL backup quarterback, but his starts will be limited to taking over for an injured starter.
8) Riley Leonard - Notre Dame
Riley Leonard comes in one spot ahead of Gabriel because while both are likely just career backups, Leonard brings a little more mobility to the field. If he's ever forced to start for a team, he has a little more upside when it comes to fantasy simply because he moves better with the ball.
With that said, it's possible to prefer Gabriel because he's a much better decision-maker. Leonard has an arm that gets the ball anywhere, but he also tends to misfire on throws and make poor choices about when to throw under pressure.
7) Will Howard - Ohio State
2024 proved that if you surrounded Will Howard with top-level talent, he could produce top-level results. After four inconsistent seasons at Kansas State, Howard moved to Ohio State for his final season. He led the Big Ten in completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, setting career-best marks in all three stats.
Joel Klatt on his pod talking about Will Howard. Said it's going to help Howard's NFL draft stock because Howard had such command of OSU offense. Howard called plays at the line in order to get Ohio State out of bad plays. Not a lot of QB's have that green light.
— JBook. (@JBook_37) February 26, 2025
Age is a concern after five years in college and it's possible this is as good as Howard ever is, but if he can clean up the turnovers, then he could be a serviceable low-end starting quarterback. Like a Gardner Minshew II kind of player who never becomes a long-term starter, but who can have a good year or two if a team is forced to start him.
6) Quinn Ewers - Texas
If there's a quarterback I'm wrong about in the "was too low on" sense, it's going to be Quinn Ewers.
Ewers had a good career with the Longhorns but didn't quite live up to the hype. He needs to seriously work on his consistency and poise at the next level. Ewers has to trust his arm because he can make many difficult throws.
He'll need a good offense around him, but there's no reason Ewers can't be a serviceable starting quarterback if he can clean up things that are all possible to clean up. His physical skills won't be what prevent him from being an NFL starter.
5) Tyler Shough - Louisville
There's a hype train starting to leave the station for Tyler Shough. I'm hesitantly getting on board.
Shough has been in college for a long, long time, beginning his journey in 2018 with Oregon. Right off the bat, that shows that age is a big concern here.
But despite his seven years in college, Shough has played in just 42 games. 2024 was the first year he played more than seven contests, with Shough completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Shough has a live arm and a strong presence in the pocket. He's a decent athlete when forced to run, though he'll be at his best when given a clean pocket and time to find his receivers. The four previous players here might have bigger name recognition, but Shough brings a poise to the field that they lack.
Quarterbacks Who Should Start NFL Games At Some Point
4) Jaxson Dart - Ole Miss
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Jaxson Dart. While he doesn't possess elite skills, he has a strong arm and can make plays outside the pocket.
It's just ... is that it? Watching Dart play, you see an above-average quarterback whose ceiling looks like that of an above-average quarterback. There are three players in this class with potentially elite skills and Dart just doesn't beat them out.
That's not to say he can't be a solid NFL starter. Dart's good enough that the team drafting him will do so with the intent of using him as a starter at some point. He's not being drafted to be a career backup. He's being drafted to compete for a starting job.
3) Jalen Milroe - Alabama
This draft really lacks the kind of dual-threat quarterbacks who have been thriving in the NFL. Jalen Milroe isn't that kind of quarterback, but he could be.
Milroe's biggest concern is that he's not that great of a passer at this stage. He has a strong arm, but he has to work on accuracy and on letting plays develop. Too many times at Alabama, it felt like Milroe's first option was to run the ball.
With that said, no quarterback in this class has the athletic appeal of Milroe. He can take off and make huge plays on the run.
If he develops more as a passer, he can be a Jalen Hurts-type player, another former Alabama quarterback who entered the draft with concerns about his accuracy but a high fantasy floor because of his rushing skill.
If he doesn't fix the accuracy concerns and keeps running too much, we could be looking at a juiced-up version of Justin Fields. That will win you some weeks in fantasy, but it won't lead to Milroe sticking as a long-term NFL quarterback.
Quarterbacks With Superstar Fantasy Football Upside + 2025 Redraft Appeal
2) Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Finally, we reach the top two. Both have things that make them potential stars and also drawbacks that can doom their NFL careers.
We begin with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. If we're talking about pocket passing, Sanders is No. 1 in this class. He's an accurate player who doesn't crumple under pressure. Give him time and he's going to make defenses pay.
"Shedeur in New York with the Jets, to me, is perfect."@MelKiperESPN highlighted why Shedeur Sanders is built for New York's expectations 💪 pic.twitter.com/itH4mwRjxs
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 25, 2025
But as far as fantasy football appeal goes, Sanders is limited by the fact that he's almost too good in the pocket. Sanders would rather stand tall and find his man when things collapse rather than use his legs to stretch out plays and go on the run.
In that way, there's a little C.J. Stroud in him. Both have athletic traits, but neither runs much. Sanders will take sacks in the NFL that he shouldn't take because he'll want to stay in the backfield rather than take off and make plays with his feet.
1) Cam Ward, Miami
Finally, we come to the QB1, Miami's Cam Ward. After two incredible seasons at the FCS level with Incarnate Word, Ward left for Washington State, where he proved he could be a top college quarterback.
Then, in 2024, he moved to Miami for a final season after initially declaring for the draft. The decision to go back to school was fruitful, as it turned him from a fringe first-round candidate into the potential No. 1 pick.
Ward has a great arm and the skill to make things happen when plays break down. Sanders is a better pocket passer, but Ward arguably has the better arm thanks to his creativity. He can make any throw you ask him to make. He also has the athleticism to extend plays.
The big issue with Ward is he can get a little cavalier with the ball. He has to work on avoiding turnovers at the NFL level. Don't force the ball into windows he shouldn't. Protect the ball when scrambling. Don't take unnecessary risks.
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