2025 NFL Draft Quarterback Rankings

Christian Williams analyzes the top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft and gives his final rankings.

The 2025 NFL Draft is a lot of things, but a strong quarterback class isn’t one of them. Throughout the 2024 pre-draft process, it was apparent that at least four quarterbacks would go in the first round; six heard their names called before pick 15, setting a new record. NFL teams understand that hitting on a quarterback is the most critical component of roster construction, which is why analysts are still viewing the 2025 class through rose-colored lenses; there may only be one quarterback worthy of top-ten selection, but the odds that only one quarterback leaves the board before pick 10 are relatively slim, though not impossible. Here’s how I see the 2025 quarterback class. All the graphics in this article were created by

CFBNumbers

, and you should check out his fantastic quarterback tool here.

Quality NFL Starters

Cam Ward | Miami (FL)

6015 | 219 LBS | RAS: N/A | Position Rank: 1 | Prospect Grade: 79.29

Ward was a confounding watch in 2024, with periods of elite play intermixed with baffling decisions. Ward’s combination of outstanding upside and a somewhat safe floor makes him the best option for teams at the quarterback position. His arm talent pops off the film with the changing of arm angles, exceptional zip, and jaw-dropping accuracy on challenging throws. Ward is unconventional, though. He has inconsistent footwork that gets off-kilter in the face of pressure. An offense that requires tying route timing and footwork together would create problems for him, as he has a more unconventional dropback than most prospects. He drives the football with the flick of his wrist, minimizing the damage his footwork creates and giving evaluators less concern than someone with a weaker arm. His ability to drive the football opens throws that aren’t available to every quarterback in the class, including opposite-hash Cover-2 hole shots and tight-window seam throws between the linebacker and safety. Ward’s arm talent also allows him to create plays out of structure, with impressive escapability and pocket awareness. He sometimes struggles with his changeup, failing to put the necessary loft on the football on layered throws over the middle. Still, there were signs of improvement in his velocity decisions in 2024, with some impressively lofted throws in the red zone.

His pre- and post-snap processing ability improved in 2024, but the former was the most significant improvement. Miami granted him the freedom to get the offense in the correct situation, and his correctness in critical moments was impressive. He communicated protections and audibles regularly, and his crunch-time poise was generally positive. Post-snap, there wasn’t much that confused Ward. He was consistently in total command, though off-script scramble drills sometimes put blinders up and caused bad fumbles and interceptions.

Ward’s leadership skills stand out among the class. Stories of his arrival in Miami and immediate program-changing mindset circulate, and the results were evident when stacking the last two decades of quarterbacks in the program. Scouts and teams are raving about his whiteboard work and interviews.

Ward isn’t a perfect prospect, and his decision-making must improve to become a franchise-changing quarterback. He put the ball in harm’s way too often in 2024, and that problem extends back to his time at Incarnate Word. Ward must find the balance between “I can make this throw because my arm is stupidly strong” and “I can take this check-down because that defensive back is in a great position.” If he’s the selection at No. 1 to the Titans, Brian Callahan won’t have patience for Will Levis-esque stupidity, and the team will be intentional about coaching the hero ball out of him.

Despite Ward’s inconsistent decision-making, he still possesses the highest upside of any of the top quarterbacks, and he would’ve been firmly in the mix with Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix for QB4 in the loaded 2024 class.

NFL Comparison: Sam Darnold (before the Jets)

NFL Starters

Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss

6022 | 223 LBS | RAS: N/A | Position Rank: 2 | Prospect Grade: 74.74

Dart has been different levels of impressive since his true freshman season at USC, where his pocket presence and throws under pressure stood out immediately. His transfer to Ole Miss offered him an opportunity to develop under Lane Kiffin, a notoriously great offensive schemer in the college game, but not necessarily an NFL developer due to his heavy run-pass option and Air Raid blend of offense. Still, Dart has an intriguing set of tools, and his mental growth was evident in 2024. From an athletic standpoint, he’s not the best runner in the class, but he’s not far behind. He’s not a blazer, but he runs with toughness and has the evading skills of a tight end (in a positive, not derogatory way). Designed quarterback runs can be part of an offensive game plan, and his athleticism also translates to play extension. He’s supremely accurate to all three field levels, with a gorgeous, high-arcing deep ball. He has a cannon, especially when setting his feet and driving with his lower body. He gives up velocity when on the move, but a quarterback prospect rarely maintains that (see Justin Herbert, Caleb Williams). He can drive the ball into tight windows, but his improvement with velocity management was apparent throughout 2024. He layers the ball nicely over the first coverage level, though he has a bad tendency to throw hospital balls when targeting the intermediate areas of the field.

Dart has the most buttoned-up footwork among the top of the quarterback class, with more intention and urgency getting to the top of his dropback. He worked almost exclusively from the shotgun, but his quick feet created opportunities for more plays. When pressure came, Dart didn’t struggle to create separation to get a throw off. When he wasn’t facing pressure, Dart’s urgency afforded him time to hold safeties with his eyes or a pump fake, which wouldn’t be possible with a slow dropback. Dart also has one of the cleanest, quickest releases, though Ward’s ability to change arm angles makes his arm talent more covetable. One of Dart’s best traits is his ability to throw in the face of pressure. Sacks remain a problem (more on that later), but Dart’s willingness to stand in the pocket and deliver throws with defenders bearing down on him is admirable and a quality many in this class don’t possess. Because he has a strong arm, throwing deep balls while getting hit doesn’t result in a fluttery, Peyton-Manning-in-his-final-year football.

Dart’s not perfect by any means. His processing ability is still questioned, with hand-delivered reads, heavy RPOs, and the lack of full-field progressions on the film. Still, he grew immensely in this area in 2024, and a Bo Nix-esque processing trajectory isn’t out of the question. Sacks remain the most significant problem for Dart. He was sacked over 50 times over his final two seasons, with a 19.2% pressure-to-sack ratio in 2024. More problematic, though, is the severity of the sacks. Dart attempts to create outside of structure and learning when to throw the ball away will be a critical component of his development moving forward.

Dart is a bet on traits and development, and those bets tend to be risky. He’s more volatile than other prospects. Still, the signs of a high-level NFL starter are all over his film.

NFL Comparison: Derek Carr

Shedeur Sanders | Colorado

6014 | 212 LBS | RAS: N/A | Position Rank: 3 | Prospect Grade: 74.24

Sanders is arguably the most polarizing prospect in the class, primarily due to his namesake and the media attention he has received since the family move to Colorado two seasons ago. When he’s in rhythm and playing on time, he’s the quarterback most likely to dissect a defense and string together multiple scoring drives. Things get dicier when he’s pressured — a situation he found himself in regularly at Colorado. Sanders is the most accurate pocket passer in the class, regularly placing throws perfectly at all three field levels. He understands cornerback leverage well, and is excellent at protecting his receivers with balls that keep them out of danger. Sanders layers throws with excellence, with the best mastery of velocity in the class. His touch throws and loft allow his receivers to make a play, no matter the coverage, and he has a beautiful deep ball with a high-arcing trajectory. While other quarterback prospects excel with tools, arm talent, and the ability to create when plays break down, the latter is the only applicable description to Sanders’ game. Sanders doesn’t have the strongest arm — it’s NFL average, but his ability to drive the ball into tight windows with velocity is a question mark. He has a smooth, quick release, but lower-body torque generates his power (not a bad thing, just a fact). Sanders’ superpower is his ability to read the field and take what’s given to him, though a deeper analysis of his processing ability will expand on this point. His willingness to take underneath routes and check-downs to keep drives alive and on schedule is impressive.

A few things will limit Sanders’ ceiling at the NFL level if he doesn’t improve drastically.

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