The 2025 NFL draft has come and gone, bringing a new class of quarterbacks into the pro ranks. The 2025 quarterback class was not particularly lauded, with just one player—No. 1 pick Cam Ward—going at the top of the draft and just two in the entire first round. Shedeur Sanders, widely projected as a first or, at worst, second-round pick, slid all the way to the fifth round. He was the headliner, but a number of quarterbacks wound up going later than many would have guessed entering the weekend.
Ward is the favorite to open the year as the starter for the Tennessee Titans, and even if the team opts to give Will Levis the job for Week 1, the clock is ticking. The rest of the class is fighting an uphill battle to capturing one of the 32 coveted QB1 jobs. Of the league's projected starters for the upcoming season, 25 of the 32 quarterbacks are former first-round picks. Just two—the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott and San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy—were taken on day three of the draft.
With that in mind, not all opportunities are created equal. Some players taken in the middle of the draft are stuck behind entrenched starters, while those in the sixth or seventh round could have much more workable situations to navigate ahead of them.
With NFL rookie minicamps just days away, we've ranked all 14 quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class by their chances to succeed and ultimately earn the starting job with their new franchises:
14. Tommy Mellott — Las Vegas Raiders (Rd. 6, Pk. 213)
The Raiders dipped into the FCS ranks to take two quarterbacks just two picks apart. The first—reigning Walter Peyton Award winner Tommy Mellott—lands at No. 14 simply because there is no guarantee he is a quarterback by the time training camp rolls around. He is listed as a quarterback on the Raiders' roster for now, but Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan says he expects the Montana State product to switch to wide reciever as the franchise looks to take advantage of his impressive speed. (Mellott's 40-yard dash clocked in at 4.39 during Montana State's pro day). The Raiders, which are led in part by Tom Brady, could have a Julian Edelman-type on their hands.
13. Graham Mertz — Houston Texans (Rd. 6, Pk. 197)
Graham Mertz was among the more surprising quarterback selections in the 2025 NFL draft, after his senior season was cut short due to injury. While much of the attention last year was paid to the quarterback that would ultimately replace him, Florida's cannon-armed DJ Lagway, Mertz did take major steps forward over the course of his college career, especially after transferring from Wisconsin to Florida. His 2023 season, in which he completed a shade under 73% of his throws for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions, showed his penchant for solid decisionmaking. Mertz is not likely to lose his team the game with errant throws, and that's an important trait for a backup, The Texans job is likely blocked by C.J. Stroud for years to come, but Mertz could prove himself a valuable NFL backup.
12. Kurtis Rourke — San Francisco 49ers (Rd. 7, Pk. 227)
The 49ers know how to hit on their seventh-round picks, and could have another end-of-draft steal in Kurtis Rourke, who is a few months removed from leading Indiana to an incredible, unexpected College Football Playoff appearance in his first season with the program. Rourke has a solid arm and can move, not unlike the player he'll be backing up this year, Brock Purdy. San Francisco has made other moves to bolster the position as well this offseason, however, signing former New England Patriots starter Mac Jones to a two-year deal.
If Purdy and the 49ers aren't able to figure out a longterm deal, things could certainly get interesting in the Bay Area. That doesn't seem likely, however, so Rourke will likely have to prove himself elsewhere (and stay healthy) for meaningful playing time barring injuries above him on the depth chart.
11. Quinn Ewers — Miami Dolphins (Rd. 7, Pk. 231)
While Shedeur Sanders's perceived slide from first-round hopeful to the fifth round dominated the headlines, the draft did not paint a kind picture to another one of college football's biggest star quarterbacks. Ewers was often mocked as a potential day two or early day three pick but wound up as the last quarterback taken in the entire draft, going to the Dolphins in the seventh round.
Quarterbacks on the Dolphins roster—even those down the depth chart—have a bit more opportunity given starter Tua Tagovailoa's recurring injury concerns; Tagovailoa has played just one full NFL season in his five years in Miami. Former No. 2 pick Zach Wilson is currently slated to be Tagovailoa's primary backup.
10. Kyle McCord — Philadelphia Eagles (Rd. 6, Pk. 181)
While many franchises will look to add backup quarterbacks who can largely replicate what their starters can do on the field, the Eagles have gone in the other direction since handing the job to Jalen Hurts—one of the league's true dual-threat QBs and the engine of the tush push. Hurts's backups through the years—Gardner Minshew II, Marcus Mariota, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee—have all been athletic, but none fit the Hurts mold (inasmuch as any quarterback can). Former Syracuse and Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord is the latest Eagles quarterback who fits that description.
McCord was college football's most prolific passer in his first and only year with the Orange, tossing for an FBS-high 4,779 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. He's fairly athletic and can make plays outside of the pocket, but he's not going to do the things that Hurts can with the ball. The South Jersey native has to be excited to be drafted by his hometown team, but barring a significant change in Philadelphia, he'll likely have to head elsewhere for a real chance to compete for a starting job.
9. Riley Leonard — Indianapolis Colts (Rd. 6, Pk. 189)
The Colts have a type. While the franchise certainly hopes that former No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson can turn the corner and take command of the starting quarterback job, that is no guarantee. The franchise signed Daniel Jones, a similar dual-threat player, to compete with Richardson this season, and then selected yet another player with a similar skillset in Notre Dame's Riley Leonard.
Leonard doesn't have the arm talent of Richardson or Jones, but he's a sound decisionmaker and instinctual playmaker with the ball in his hands. He certainly won't have the upside of Richardson, but his steady hand makes him an ideal backup for the type of offense that coach Shane Steichen wants to run in Indianapolis.
8. Dillon Gabriel — Cleveland Browns (Rd. 3, Pk. 94)
The Browns' later quarterback selection came with far more hype, but it is clear that the quarterback selected 50 picks earlier was higher on the team's board, though his selection in the third round was earlier than most projections. Gabriel was an elite college player, starring for three different programs and littering his name all across the FBS record books. That kind of experience is valuable, for sure, but his smaller frame (5' 11", 205 pounds), questionable arm strength and advanced age for an NFL rookie (25) put a real ceiling on his potential.
It is unlikely that coach Kevin Stefanski puts Gabriel in over NFL veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett as a rookie, and his draft classmate Shedeur Sanders has better measurables while offering similar impressive accuracy.
7. Cam Miller — Las Vegas Raiders (Rd. 6, Pk. 215)
The Raiders hope they've solidified their quarterback position for 2025 with the trade for former Seattle Seahawks starter Geno Smith. The future, however, is wide open; Smith is 34 years old and Las Vegas could get out from his contract after the 2026 season.
North Dakota State quarterbacks have found mixed success in the NFL in recent years (Carson Wentz, Trey Lance), but Miller believes his impressive experience—67 college appearances, 56 starters—and winning pedigree impressed the franchise. Given Tom Brady's role with the franchise, it's a fair bet.
"From every conversation that I've had with the GM, he has talked to me about how they want to bring in people that are winners and they've been accustomed and used to winning games," Miller said, per the Raiders' team site." I think that was really the X-factor in their choice to take me in the draft."
His physical attributes don't jump off the page and there's no guarantee he'll ever supplant backup Aidan O'Connell on the depth chart, but on a team with a relatively open quarterback situation beyond a starter in his mid-30s, Miller is in a solid spot for a sixth-rounder.
6. Will Howard — Pittsburgh Steelers (Rd. 6, Pk. 185)
The Steelers entered the draft as the team most frequently connected to Shedeur Sanders as a potential first-round pick at No. 21. Instead, they took Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, and passed on Sanders twice more before he was taken by the Browns in round five. Instead, they opted for national championship-winner Will Howard in the sixth-round, a less sought-after draft prospect, despite the team's very light quarterback room.
Mason Rudolph returns to the Steelers for his second stint and is currently penciled in as starter. Howard's former Kansas State teammate Skylar Thompson also signed with the team after three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Aaron Rodgers waits in the wings, but even if he does end up signing to play in the Steel City, it is likely a one- or two-year arrangement. Howard has bucked expectations throughout his football career, and if he can do it again in the pros, he has a significant opportunity ahead of him with a franchise that has no other long term plan at quarterback right now.
5. Jaxson Dart — New York Giants (Rd. 1, Pk. 25)
Dart has to be thrilled to be a first-round pick, with a team that wanted him badly enough to jump back into the first to select him. The Giants present a tricky situation for a young quarterback, however, after the failed Daniel Jones experiment has the entire administration's backs against the wall entering 2025.
The pressure is on coach Brian Daboll (18-32-1 in three seasons) and general manager Joe Schoen to return to the playoffs this year. To that end, they've signed a pair of veteran quarterbacks who are expected to be ahead of him on the depth chart: presumptive starter Russell Wilson as well as Jameis Winston. If the Giants play well, Dart is sitting on the bench to develop for the forseeable future. If they don't, there will be pressure to play him ahead of schedule in '25, and it very likely ends in the team bringing in a new coach/GM combo that was not involved in the move to draft him.
4. Tyler Shough — New Orleans Saints (Rd. 2, Pk. 40)
Outside of Cam Ward, there isn't a better bet for a 2025 quarterback to see the field early than Tyler Shough. The Saints have plenty of questions at the position given the injury concerns surrounding Derek Carr, and at 26, with seven years of college under his belt, New Orleans didn't spend a second round pick to keep him on the bench.
Of course, that age and Shough's own lengthy injury history call into question his own upside. Shough bounced around from Oregon to Texas Tech, finally landing at Louisville where he started for the first time in '24. He put up solid numbers, but he was far from the most productive quarterback in the draft. Still, odds are quite high that he'll see time under center for first-year coach Kellen Moore, and if he has success, New Orleans could officially opt to bring the Carr era to an end.
3. Jalen Milroe — Seattle Seahawks (Rd. 3, Pk. 92)
Jalen Milroe may be the ultimate developmental prospect, and he lands with a franchise in a great position to bring him along. The Seahawks made a notable quarterback gambit during the offseason, trading Geno Smith to the Raiders and bringing in 2024 Minnesota Vikings starter Sam Darnold on a three-year, $100 million deal. Darnold was an effective bridge quarterback for the Vikings, after the team let Kirk Cousins walk and before handing the job to 2024 draftee J.J. McCarthy for the upcoming season. His job is more secure in Seattle, but the franchise isn't locked in with the former New York Jets first-rounder for the long term, with a potential out in his deal ahead of the 2027 season, when Milroe will still be just 24 years old.
The Seahawks don't have the same level of investment in Milroe as Minnesota has in McCarthy, but if the third-round pick comes along as an accurate passer, he could develop into one of the most naturally gifted quarterbacks in the league. "This guy is fast, he's explosive, and look, he can throw the ball," his former Alabama coach Nick Saban said during the draft.
"He's got a strong arm. He's a great deep ball thrower. He just needs a little refinement and consistency in the passing game and he can be an outstanding player."
2. Shedeur Sanders — Cleveland Browns (Rd. 5, Pk. 144)
Shedeur Sanders may have been selected two days later than he expected in last week's NFL draft, but beyond the shock and noise around his slide, he wound up in a pretty wide open situation. Now, it's up to him to prove to the league that they left a first-round talent on the table.
The Browns' quarterback room is anyone's to win. Veteran Joe Flacco was a fan favorite thanks to his surprising 2023, stepping in for the injured Deshaun Watson, but did not impress with the Indianapolis Colts last season and is a year older. Kenny Pickett hasn't looked the part in three NFL seasons since the Pittsburgh Steelers made him a first-round pick in '22. Fellow draftee Dillon Gabriel was taken two rounds before Sanders, but his diminutive frame and arm strength call into question his NFL potential. He may have been a more productive college quarterback than Sanders, but he also played for much more well-established programs at Oklahoma and Oregon after starting at UCF. Cleveland also placed some substantive investment in landing Sanders, sending away fifth- and sixth-round picks to move up 22 spots in the draft to take him, even with Gabriel already in tow.
It is very rare for a fifth-round pick to be as good a position to challenge for a starting quarterback job as Sanders is entering this season.
1. Cam Ward — Tennessee Titans (Rd. 1, Pk. 1)
It should come as little surprise that Cam Ward, the top pick in last week's NFL draft, steps into the best immediate situation—both to quickly win the starting quarterback job and to have the best chance to succeed once he takes it over.
Ward's top competition for the job is likely Will Levis, the Titans' last hope at being the quarterback of the future. The former second-round pick has shown occasional flashes but has struggled with consistency, posting a 13–12 touchdown-to-interception ratio, with a paltry 6.9 yards per attempt in 12 starts. Even so, general manager Mike Borgonzi denied that the team was looking to move Levis, instead stating that he sees him as valuable competition for Ward to be the franchise's starter this season. "There is going to be competition in every room, and he elevates the competition in that room," the GM said, per ESPN. "That is what we're trying to do here as we get into training camp. We want to have the best 90-man roster and the best competition in every room, and Will certainly provides that." Tim Boyle and Brandon Allen, career backups signed this offseason, fill out the depth chart.
The Titans may not have the NFL's top assemblage of skill position talent, but the pantry isn't bare either. Calvin Ridley returns after a second-consecutive 1,000 yard season, and is now joined by veteran signee Tyler Lockett. The team signed another reliable pass catcher in Van Jefferson, and drafted Stanford's Elic Ayomanor—a big, high-upside target.
Even if Ward isn't the Week 1 starter, all things point to him taking over the job sooner than later, and in a relatively light AFC South, he has the potential to lift the franchise in the near future.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking Every 2025 Rookie QB Based on Situation: Who Is Positioned to Succeed?.