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This year, I jumped into the chaotic realm of college football with my conference previews and CFP predictions. I usually do some mock drafts during the draft cycle as well, but this year is different. I’ve decided to break down some of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, and to be honest, this is one of the most confusing classes since I’ve started watching football.
There is no consensus #1 pick like Trevor Lawrence or Caleb Williams, nor is there a projected #2 selection that falls like Justin Fields or Drake Maye. Will there be a riser like Zach Wilson or Jayden Daniels? Probably. Could this be a class like 2022 where we overhyped prospects only for all of them to be busts besides the literal last pick in the draft? I sure hope not.
All I know is that this class is enigmatic and tumultuous. One that, in my opinion, perfectly compliments the chaos of the new 12-team CFP that just finished its first year. As a fun little thing, I am giving out class superlatives at the end of the piece.
Let’s meet our future NFL signal callers!
Shedeur Sanders-Colorado
Overview: I can’t talk about this class without mentioning Shedeur Sanders. Deion’s son has made headlines the past two years and for the most part, has backed up his talk on the field. However I don’t think he’s anywhere close to a guaranteed success in the League.
Pros: Sanders is very accurate and can make all the short and intermediate throws. Throughout his four years in college, he has shown a remarkable ability to throw under pressure. In his career, he had a 70.1% completion percentage, which is elite. While at Colorado, his subpar offensive line made it so that Sanders was under duress most games. Due to this, he has lots of experience being unfazed by the rush, which I think is something that people overlook. Another thing that people overlook is the baggage he brings.
Cons: He’s got talent, don't get me wrong, but he played 2 years at the FCS level, a year at the bottom of the PAC-12 and this year in the gutted Big 12. I am not trying to hate on him, but he has not shown up in big games for the Buffs. This year, CU only played two ranked teams and lost both games. Last year, they got smashed by a Top 10 Oregon team where Sanders struggled mightily. While yes, last year they beat #17 TCU, that was Week 1, and the Toads won a whopping 5 games. The guy just doesn’t win when the lights are the brightest, at least not in FBS play. In the Alamo Bowl vs. BYU, he got destroyed, throwing for just 208 yards and 2 INTs.
His lack of arm strength is a big concern for me. “Oh my god, Om, why are you being so harsh?” you may ask. I am speaking facts. If you want a player to turn your team around, he better win big games. If he can’t elevate a team and lead it, then is he really a franchise guy?
There are also the off-the-field issues that many overlook. One is his comments about his offensive line play, as well as leaving a loss at Nebraska with two minutes left. I just don’t think you can overlook that.
He also shoved a referee in Colorado's game against Kansas. Yes, a flag probably could have been called on the previous play, but that doesn’t excuse shoving a ref. You just don’t do that.
Right now, I don’t think he’s worth a top-5 pick. The lack of competition and attitude scares me. My Titans have the first overall pick, and yes, I am critical of Sanders. I don't think he is a good enough quarterback to be a number one pick. If he was mocked as a second rounder I would be all in, but the risk-over-reward for a guy that would have been QB7 in last year's class is too high.
Draft Ceiling: Top 5
Draft Floor: Late First
Where I’d Draft: Late First
Perfect Fit: Raiders
Miami QB Cam Ward during pregame warmups vs. rival Florida.
Photo: John Raoux / AP
Cam Ward-Miami
Overview: Next up we have to talk about the dynamic Hurricane Cam Ward. Great player, no baggage, amazing stats, and he elevated Miami this year. He’s got to be a top-5 lock right? As the great Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
Pros: Cam’s got a great story, going from an FCS school to Washington State to a Heisman finalist. His blend of athleticism and arm talent is a rare mix, and he can just sit in the pocket all day and wait for the big throws. I also love his ability to extend broken plays and create something out of nothing.
Cons: However, now I’ve realized for QB’s, a huge factor that many analysts overlook is competition. Miami didn't play a ranked team this season until their clash with #18 Iowa State in the Pop Tart Bowl. He played in the PAC-12 the last couple seasons and put up just barely above average stats. I love his athleticism and ability to make something out of nothing and to extend plays, and don’t want to take anything away from that.
Would he be doing this in the SEC or Big Ten? No. The ACC just doesn’t have the talent that the SEC and Big Ten have. Nothing against what he’s been able to do taking a pitiful Canes team to a snub in the CFP. Like Sanders, Ward has been overhyped. If Ward was in last years draft class, he would have been a second round pick at best. My team needs a QB badly, so this is why I am critical of the so called "top picks." The Titans can't afford to draft a guy just because they need a franchise quarterback. They need to see the red flags, and for Sanders and Ward, I think there are legitimate flags that many overlook.
Draft Ceiling: Top 5
Draft Floor: Early Second
Where I’d Draft: Mid First
Perfect Fit: Browns
Quinn Ewers rears back before letting a pass go vs. the Kentucky Wildcats.
Photo: Brett Patzke / Imagn Images
Quinn Ewers-Texas
Overview: I have to mention Horns QB (RIP the Mullet) Quinn Ewers. I love Q and I do think he’s a good quarterback. He can succeed if he gets the right system in the pros, but this blog is all about the confusing reality of these signal callers, and most of it is calling them out on their glaring weaknesses. So I will reluctantly set aside my bias and question his abilities.
Pros: He has the arm, the work ethic, and the raw talent to be a first round pick. His accuracy on short and intermediate passes is the best in the country and he has great tools. Ewers has a great demeanor as well. You can't tell if he's up by 30 or down by 30. He's calm and collected 24/7 and doesn't lose his cool. He’s won a lot of games, only losing 5 games over the past two years and had Texas in the SEC Title Game and the CFP Semifinals. His poise and arm talent are some of the best in the country. If given a good offensive line, Ewers will tear opposing defenses apart.
Cons: He can’t stay healthy. He’s inconsistent. He’s overhyped. The deep ball is a struggle to watch at times. Also, when the opposing defense gets pressure, Ewers struggles to create plays and takes too many sacks by just sitting in the pocket. These are all very real red flags. However, if healthy, Ewers can go toe-to-toe with the best arms in the country. I am not as critical of him as I am with the first two, as Quinn isn't going to be top 5. He could end up being a quality starter if picked in the second or third round.
Draft Ceiling: Mid First
Draft Floor: Mid Fourth
Where I’d Draft: Early Second
Perfect Fit: Seahawks
Jaxson Dart-Ole Miss
Overview: Continuing on SEC guys, Hotty Toddy! because Jaxson Dart (isn’t that just a great name for a QB?) is a dawg. This dude just bleeds aura and I love his confidence.
Pros: Jaxson is the all-time passing yards leader for Ole Miss, and second in TD's for the Rebs. I think either Dart or Ewers will be the biggest risers in the draft. Dart is very athletic and can make plays. His arm is solid, but where he really shines is his confidence and consistency. He was by far the most consistent QB in the SEC, registering a great 69.3% completion percentage. If he wows at the combine and the Ole Miss pro day, I could see him being a first round pick.
Cons: His ability to show up in big games (outside of the Georgia one, chill out) I don’t like. Via Statmuse, Dart is is 5-5 vs. ranked teams in his career (5-4 at Ole Miss), but the Lane Kiffin era of football has been marred with high expectations and disappointing seasons. This was supposed to be the year for the Rebs, and Dart was pretty damn good. However, I’m just not sold on him.
The Kentucky loss is a massive hit to me. An unranked team held the Ole Miss offense to 17 points, tied for their lowest scoring performance of the season. Am I nit-picking? Yes, but as a fan of a team that would potentially use a high first or second round on another QB this year, these are questions I have. He choked against Florida and Ole Miss missed out on the Playoff, which hurts Dart’s draft hopes. His meltdown vs. the Gators will be pinned against him for a while. His inability to get the Rebels over the hump gives me concerns.
Draft Ceiling: Late First
Draft Floor: Early Fourth
Where I’d Draft: Late Second
Perfect Fit: Giants
Jalen Milroe-Alabama
Overview: The Crimson Tide's Jalen Milroe is probably the most confusing and mind-numbing QB to evaluate. Last year, he got embarrassed against Texas at home, got benched for a guy that plays lacrosse now, and then beat Georgia and almost took the Tide to the National Championship. Pretty crazy couple months, huh? I love who Milroe is as a person; he has no off the field issues and just seems like a really good dude. I can’t help but root for him. On the field, he’s a tank playing QB, dominant on the ground and for the most part takes care of the ball.
Pros: Milroe is 7-3 vs. ranked teams in two years, which I’d say is pretty damn good. His arm is a rocket launcher, almost like a mini Anthony Richardson. His running ability and upside will have many executives fall in love with him. The talent is there, I’m not questioning that. It's the in-game inconsistencies, and well as running hot or cold each week that gives me pause.
Cons: One moment Jalen will make a great throw, and the next, he makes a decision so frustrating that you launch your remote through the TV in a blind rage.
Milroe has a great arm, but the accuracy on deep balls is very spotty, and his mechanics can get very sloppy at times. H has tendencies to crumble on reads in pressure situations, leading to him favoring the run, which is a very dangerous double-edged sword. He must clean up those glaring weaknesses quickly in the pre-draft process. He makes decisions that are just confusing. If you want to see what I mean, just watch this season's Georgia game, and then go watch the Oklahoma and Michigan games. Having to wonder which Milroe will show up each week is unacceptable if he is your first round pick. No offense to Jalen, but he’s a project QB and should not be a first rounder. Learn from Anthony Richardson.
Draft Ceiling: Late First
Draft Floor: Early Third
Where I’d Draft: Early Third
Perfect Fit: Rams
Dillon Gabriel-Oregon
Overview: Next up, we have a man with the most career touchdowns, the Oregon Duck, Dillion Gabriel.
Pros: This is where the draft gets very confusing for me. DG has been at three programs (UCF, Oklahoma, Oregon), he’s put up great numbers at all 3 schools, and he’s won games. The lefty was been great again this season and brings experience and a solid arm to the table. I really don’t see many negatives in his game. I get it, he’s ancient (6 years of college ball), but Michael Penix and Bo Nix both had very long college careers and Dillon has put up better numbers. Plus, aside from a broken clavicle at UCF, he’s been healthy.
Cons: He plays a very efficient, clean, game-manager style football and with his experience, he could be a very solid NFL starter, but then again, he doesn't make game winning plays. He's not going to stand there and will a team to a win. Additionally, he's just 6 feet tall and doesn't have any outlier traits. I like DG and I think he'd succeed given the right system, but he is a later round insurance piece, not a QB1 in the NFL.
Draft Ceiling: Early Third
Draft Floor: Late Sixth
Where I’d Draft: Mid Fourth
Perfect Fit: Saints
Kyle McCord-Syracuse
Overview: I can’t write this blog without mentioning former Buckeye and current Orange, Syracuse’s Kyle McCord. The guy has had a wild journey. A former 5-star recruit, McCord went to Ohio State with Quinn Ewers and backed up CJ Stroud for a few years before winning 11 games for OSU last season. The only issue was that he lost to Michigan, throwing two gut wrenching interceptions against the Wolverines. Coach Ryan Day didn’t commit to him as the starter, and since Kyle played in 4+ games his freshman year, he chose to transfer for his last year of eligibility. Yes, he threw 5 INTs against Pitt, but only 2 of them were really on him.
Pros: Take away the Pitt game, and he’s had a better year this year than last. I don’t want to sound like the number one Kyle McCord fan, but you can't deny that the dude’s got talent.
Yes, he did get screwed over at Ohio State, and some of it was his fault, and some wasn’t. He’s kind of the Spencer Rattler of this year’s class. Talent that flamed out at his first school, who played well at the second and could develop into something bigger. Him out-dueling Cam Ward and leading the Orange to a 42-38 win when they trailed 21-0 speaks volumes to me, especially on a day when Ohio State put up 10 points in another loss to Michigan.
Cons: The only cons I see with McCord are in his losses this season, as well as his inability to elevate his team in big moments. Then again, he isn't going to be a first round draft pick, so the cons start to get overlooked, and McCord has got the talent to be a late round gem.
Draft Ceiling: Late Fourth
Draft Floor: Late Seventh
Where I’d Draft: Late Fourth
Perfect Fit: Jets (if Aaron Rodgers stays)
Riley Leonard-Notre Dame
Overview: Notre Dame has a weird thing for good-looking graduate QBs from the ACC. Last year, it was former Demon Deacon Sam Hartman, and this year it was former Blue Devil, Riley Leonard. Honestly, I am higher on Leonard than most.
Pros: Where Leonard shines is on the ground, as he has put up 600+ rushing yards and 13+ scores on the ground in his 2 healthy seasons. While his arm lags behind, he could be a very good project QB taken in the later rounds with high upside as a prospect.
Will he succeed? Probably not. But where GM’s think now with quarterbacks is upside and potential. That’s the only reason why Anthony Richardson was the fourth overall pick a couple years ago even though he sported a disgusting 54% competition percentage at Florida.
Cons: Leonard isn't going to wow you with his arm, and you can debate the quality of teams that ND played this season. What you can't debate however, is his potential to be a weapon for a team. Like I said with McCord, Leonard will be a late round pick, and can be used in intriguing packages as an athletic playmaker. The pros heavily outweigh the cons when we get to the later parts of the draft.
Draft Ceiling: Early Fifth
Draft Floor: UDFA
Where I’d Draft: Mid Sixth
Perfect Fit: Colts
I would like to clarify that the order in which I wrote these QBs does note correspond to my personal ranking of them. If I were to rank the QB’s I talked about in this article, this is how I would do it:
1. Cam Ward - Miami
2. Shedeur Sanders - Colorado
3. Quinn Ewers - Texas
4. Jaxson Dart - Ole Miss
5. Jalen Milroe - Alabama
6. Dillon Gabriel - Oregon
7. Kyle McCord - Syracuse
8. Riley Leonard - Notre Dame
Some other players who are as interesting and confusing as the players detailed above are Ohio State’s Will Howard, Missouri’s Brady Cook, and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke. They have all shown flashes of potential and could be solid pickups as UDFA’s for many teams. Yes, Howard won the Buckeyes a natty, go argue with a wall. To clarify, I think he could be a late round pick, but he hasn't really impressed too much in college from a prospect standpoint. He had the best weapons in the country, an elite rushing duo, and against the better defenses was just a game manager. Look at the Michigan game, the Texas game, and even the National Championship. That isn't an NFL-ready prospect, that's just a very good college QB.
Yes, I was very negative about a lot of these players. However, when I analyze them, the negatives simply just stick out to me a lot more than the positives do. Whether it’s talent concerns, off the field issues, or simply lack of competition, I believe that this class has no sure things, but also huge potential. It has a lot of boom or bust prospects and very well could end up like the awful 2022 class. GMs have a lot to consider, but I believe that they need to factor in the competition a whole lot more. The SEC/Big Ten compared to the Big 12/ACC is just a night and day difference.
Rookie QB success also just depends on their draft situations and how competent their franchises are at putting a good team around them. People may wonder why I am critical of Sanders and Ward, but less so of Ewers and Dart. Sanders and Ward are projected top-5 picks, which I frankly don't see why. For a guy that should be a franchise savior, I should hope that they are as much of a sure thing as possible, especially since my Titans can't afford to miss on the #1 pick. Those two QB's are far from what Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye were. For Ewers and Dart, yes, there are glaring red flags, but if they are going to be second or third rounders, the cons start to hold less weight. Obviously, with just under three months until the 2025 NFL Draft, this list could change dramatically after the combine and pro days.
Superlatives:
Highest Floor: Jaxson Dart
Highest Ceiling: Cam Ward
Strongest Arm: Jalen Milroe
Most Accurate: Shedeur Sanders
Most Arm Potential: Quinn Ewers
Best Athlete: Cam Ward
Underrated: Kyle McCord
Overrated: Shedeur Sanders
Underrated Athlete: Riley Leonard
Most Likely to be a Gem: Kyle McCord
Should Have Stayed in School: Jalen Milroe
Most Likely to be Best, if Given Right Situation: Quinn Ewers
Most Likely to be Best, Even in a Bad Situation: Cam Ward
Biggest Boom-or-Bust: Jalen Milroe
For my Titans, I hope they stick with Will Levis. I believe he deserves another chance. If the Colts are giving Richardson chance after chance, the Titans should give Will another season. If he struggles, I will move on, but given the lack of sure things and Tennessee’s need for a receiver and right tackle, I believe it would be a mistake to take a QB in the first two rounds. Obviously, there are situations where I would support it, but for the most part, I believe that Levis needs another year.
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