Quarterbacks were the hottest commodity in last year's NFL draft. Now they're the biggest question.
One year after six quarterbacks flew off the board in the first round of the NFL Draft, teams aren't as optimistic about the 2025 class.
One year after six quarterbacks flew off the board in the first round of the NFL draft, the teams that took those risks are largely optimistic marching into the 2025 season.
But the bevy of quarterback-needy teams sitting toward the top of next week’s draft might not be so lucky, as teams and analysts don’t appear nearly as high on this crop of prospects as they were last year's.
While Miami’s Cam Ward, a Heisman Trophy finalist, is the overwhelming favorite to go first overall to the Tennessee Titans, the outlook for the rest of the quarterbacks appears muddy. That’s in no small part because quarterback-needy teams spoke with their wallets this offseason, doling out deals to journeymen and late-career veterans instead of creating a drumbeat around drafting a quarterback of the future.
“If you’re a team in need of a quarterback and Cam Ward is the best quarterback on your board, you have to take him whenever you’re picking,” Bucky Brooks, a former player and pro scout-turned-NFL Network analyst, said on the “Move the Sticks” podcast this week. “But in terms of how these guys stack up ... I don’t believe anyone in this class is a transcendent quarterback.”
Still, a handful of teams have major question marks at what’s quite possibly the most important position in professional sports, including multiple teams with top-10 picks in the draft (like the New Orleans Saints, amid the news that Derek Carr’s injured shoulder has jeopardized his availability for next season).
Rating: 5