2025 NFL Draft: This Year’s QB Class Is ‘A Lot Like 2022’ – Sports Illustrated
2025-04-22T11:00:01Z
With the group being compared to the disappointing 2022 bunch, nine QB-adjacent coaches evaluate this year’s crop.
This isn’t 2024. Or even ’23. As we break the seal on my annual story breaking down the quarterback class, this baseline has to come first—we’re closer to the class of 2022 this year than we are either of the past two years at the most important position on the field. “I don’t think the class is very good,” says one AFC assistant coach. “I think it’s a lot like the 2022 class, with maybe the exception of Cam Ward. But he’s gonna go first overall. And if you put him in last year’s class, he’s sixth or seventh [overall] for me.” That doesn’t mean these guys have no shot of making it. MORE. SI NFL Draft. NFL Draft News, Mocks, Betting and Analysis. dark In fact, there are plenty of examples of the general consensus being off. The 2015 class was supposed to be excellent, with two Heisman winners in Florida State’s Jameis Winston and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota topping the board. The top of the ’16 class wasn’t seen as nearly the same—this isn’t Winston and Mariota, we all said—with Cal’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz going Nos. 1–2. Goff is the last starting quarterback of the four standing. The 2017 class was shaky enough that quarterback-needy teams decided to wait for a bumper crop in ’18. That April, the Kansas City Chiefs chose not to subscribe to conventional wisdom, seeing something special in a raw, wildly talented and polarizing prospect from Texas Tech, and moved up 17 spots in the draft to land Patrick Mahomes with the 10th selection. So the class being perceived the way it is isn’t a death knell for anyone. But the reference point of 2022 isn’t a great one. And, yet, after Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Bailey Zappe, Sam Howell, Chris Oladokun and Skylar Thompson were picked, somehow, the San Francisco 49ers struck it big, selecting Brock Purdy with the final pick, at No. 262. Is there a quarterback who could bring similar value in 2024? Could the top of the class surprise? We’re diving into all of that, with a panel of nine quarterback-adjacent offensive coaches from nine different teams, who have now had the benefit of a couple months of study into the group. Let’s examine. Size: 6′ 1⅝”, 219 pounds Traits comp: Sawed-off Ben Roethlisberger Ward is the only quarterback in this year’s class who doesn’t have to contemplate a wide range of outcomes. And after talking with coaches who studied him, there’s less of a question on the consensus No. 1 than I figured there might be as we approach the draft. At quarterback, it’s Ward, then everyone else. “He’s the best one—he has great arm talent, really good accuracy, can escape, he’s got a quick release, he can throw from different arm angles. To me, it’s clear.” “He’s the best one—he has great arm talent, really good accuracy, can escape, he’s got a quick release, he can throw from different arm angles,” says an NFC coordinator. “To me, it’s clear.” An AFC coordinator agreed, saying, “I don’t think it’s that hard. He plays with calm and presence, makes all the throws, keeps his eyes downfield. He’s clearly the best one in this class. His biggest strength is his demeanor. He’s always under control. I just think he’s got the ability to do it more than the other guys. He doesn’t need space to generate power, and he can make every throw you need him to make. He’s got the athleticism to keep plays alive but runs to throw. … It’s like Deshaun [Watson] when he was playing well, though Deshaun was more of a runner.” One question I had earlier in the offseason, and I know some teams had before they did deep dives, was how a guy who was seen as a Day 3 prospect last year—and returned to college football because of it—rose to this level. One, and we’ll get to this, is the makeup of the class. But another piece of it is that what had shown up in flashes over Ward’s time at Incarnate Word and Washington State became much more consistent with a better team around him at Miami. Ward responded with 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and an invitation to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. And what’s intriguing, despite five years of tape, is there’s still rawness you have to work through that indicates he still has untapped potential. There are similarities to Mahomes in play style (not raw talent), and in that he’ll have to strike a balance between playing with timing and rhythm within an NFL offense, and doing what made him dangerous as a collegian. He scrambles to throw, is strong and sturdy enough to shed tacklers, and has some real creativity to his game, which is where the Roethlisberger comp comes to life. “He’s been in different offenses that maybe don’t emphasize footwork and timing as much,” says another AFC coordinator. “You might’ve said that about a lot of other guys coming out that developed into what their [NFL] offenses needed them to be. A ton of guys cleaned up their fundamentals. … But I don’t think his [freelancing] is a bad trait at all. He’s the point guard that’s creating shots for his teammates. He’s moving to get the ball to someone else. And he’s talented enough to get the ball where he wants, and he knows it.” One coach compared his quick release to Jimmy Garoppolo coming out in 2014—that trait was a big part of Garoppolo going in the second round to the New England Patriots. Another worried that even though the ball comes out fast, his mechanics need some reworking. “He’s got extreme arm talent, but he throws it low,” says the NFC quarterbacks coach. “He’s 6′ 2″ but throws it like he’s 5′ 8″ and, as such, might benefit from sitting for a year or two to avoid reinforcing those bad habits as he reworks some fundamental things.” Of course, it doesn’t look like that’ll happen in Tennessee. It looks like he’ll take the path that Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels did last year with the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, where he’s the guy from the day he’s drafted, for better or worse. And as for where he’d stack up in that group from last year? It illustrates the makeup of the entire class. “There’s a lot to clean up, but the arm, instincts, vision, feel, he has all those things,” says another NFC coordinator. “But he’s behind the top guys last year. Where he’d fit, for me, would be after [Michael] Penix, in that J.J. [McCarthy]/Bo [Nix] range. There’s a lot to like. I don’t know the character as much, but he likes football, his teammates like him. I can see where you’d have a vision for him.” The Titans, clearly, have one. Size: 6′ 1½”, 212 pounds Traits comp: Teddy Bridgewater It’s hard to know where to start here, so let’s cover the positives first—Sanders was at the forefront of resurrecting two programs, and won conference player of the year at both spots. He produced through constant offensive line issues over the past two years as well as a coaching staff in flux. That doesn’t happen if a quarterback doesn’t have talenth, and Sanders does have some. “He’s the most interesting guy in the draft,” says an AFC coordinator. “The physical tools are good, not great. The arm talent, athleticism, size, all the core things a scout would look at, are O.K. You see him, he’s accurate, he elevates his team, and he’s played good football under an extreme spotlight. I think he’ll go fairly high, but if you’re drafting him, you want to know every detail.” An NFC quarterbacks coach adds, “He’s accurate, tough, competitive in the pocket, he’s got sneaky escapability for not being a super athlete. He has pretty good feel in the pocket. It’s hard to say on some things—they were so bad up front, but there were times where he didn’t help. You wonder, if he’d played at Ohio State, who knows?” “He doesn’t play with good feet, he’s late on stuff, he has an average arm. His accuracy is O.K., but he has no timing, no anticipation. He flashes some throws, but he’s an average player, not a great athlete.” And therein lies the problem. This isn’t like projecting a Josh Allen or a Mahomes, where there are mistakes and missteps, but also a boatload of talent. So the bad balls Sanders puts on tape are magnified for NFL teams in that he’ll be less capable of getting away with it in the pros than the more physically gifted guys. “This guy—if his last name was Breer,” another NFC quarterbacks coach joked with me, “and he was coming out of Minnesota, he’d be a sixth-round pick. He doesn’t play with good feet, he’s late on stuff, he has an average arm. His accuracy is O.K., but he has no timing, no anticipation. He flashes some throws, but he’s an average player, not a great athlete. Even if you watch his pro day, there’s no timing or rhythm. He takes extra hitches.” “It’s so hard because there really is no redeemable quality that’s at a high end,” says an NFC coordinator. “Give him credit—when someone’s open, he’s accurate. He’s tough. He’s resilient. But in terms of a pure thrower, he’s not up there with the top starters in the NFL; he’s well below that. … Looking at last year’s class, for me, he’s closer to [Spencer] Rattler. If there’s a world where it works out, it’s because he’s accurate, tough, has some savvy, but I’d be surprised if he was a really good starter.” That coach added that Sanders’s lack of arm strength and anticipation will be particularly hard to overcome, because those are areas where it’s tough for any quarterback to improve. “Everything’s just slow,” the coach says. “The time it takes him to see it, it looks more like he’s confirming things than anticipating anything.” That led to situations where, at least in the eyes of some, he put his offensive line in impossible situations by either holding the ball for too long or bailing out of the back of the pocket, rather than climbing within it. (At times, he was able to escape that way, but there’s doubt that he’ll be able to get away from rushers in the NFL in that fashion like he did in the SWAC or the Big 12.) Then, there are periphery questions, and what Sanders will bring with him to whatever team drafts him. He’s given some clubs the impression he doesn’t want to play for them, which bolsters the idea that, at least at first, his camp was trying to steer him to certain teams. But you’ve heard less of that of late as the draft gets closer. “The biggest question to me is the intangibles,” says another AFC coordinator. “He publicly blames the offensive line. It looks like he’s only coached by his dad—when he comes off the field; he goes to his dad, not [OC] Pat [Shurmur].” That’s why whichever team takes him will have to be at a real comfort level with all of it and, preferably, have a relationship with the Sanders family. And be confident that his physical tools will be enough—with his football IQ, toughness and resilience all working in his favor. “The physical tools, when you see it in rhythm, it looks good,” says another AFC coordinator. “The stuff you ding him on, holding the ball, dropping too deep, waiting for things to happen instead of anticipating, that’s the Jekyll and Hyde. … The things I’ll give him credit for, he makes plays in big moments, I do think he’s got plenty of arm. And I’ll be interested to see him out of his comfort zone, when he’s just playing football. His dad’s been around wherever he’s played. There’s some positive to that, of course. There’ll be some stuff that’ll be new for him, too.” Size: 6′ 2¼ “, 223 pounds Traits comp: Baker Mayfield with less arm Dart started games as a true freshman at USC, then transferred and started the past three years at Ole Miss—and, as such, there were some preconceived notions for the coaches on what a guy coming out of two spread offenses would be like. But over time, a few of the guys I talked to had really warmed up to the 21-year-old. “I wrote down Baker Mayfield watching him,” says an AFC coordinator. “He plays smart, instinctive. The more I watched, I found myself liking him more and more. I don’t think I had a great idea of what to expect, but I kept liking what I was seeing, writing down positives. I think the guy can freaking play.” “He’s not Penix in terms of arm talent. But good touch, anticipation. I see Baker in the instincts, the intermediate game. I like Jaxson. He’d probably be my top guy behind Ward.” Perhaps the biggest misconception that started to crumble was the idea that Lane Kiffin had him exclusively running a simplistic, rudimentary spread offense. Kiffin, over Dart’s three years running the show, started to move the offense back to his own West Coast roots, and it looked to coaches like it was because he had a quarterback who could handle it. “I can see that,” says another AFC coordinator. “Some old-school West Coast concepts that he hadn’t run with his previous quarterbacks.” And, at least on tape, he responded by evolving as a quarterback. In the types of spots where coaches saw Sanders bailing out of the back of the pocket, they saw Dart climbing through it, with his eyes downfield. They also, by the end, caught him manipulating defenses. “There are a couple clips that come to mind where he uses his eyes to move a zone defender,” says the first coordinator. “He knows the guy is looking at him, so he takes advantage of that—it’s pretty high-level stuff.” Now, where the Mayfield comp breaks down a bit, which four different coaches raised independent of one another, is on physical ability. While Dart has a similar shorter, stout build to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, and a lot of play-style parallels, he lacks Mayfield’s howitzer arm. And that’s where the questions with Dart really take off, in whether he has the physical traits to ascend to be an above-average NFL starter. “I was struggling with Dart big-time; I think he’s probably a backup,” says an NFC coordinator. “I had a hard time seeing him as a guy you can build around. His arm is O.K.; he has just enough athleticism. That offense, Lane does a good job getting the quarterback clean looks. But any time he had to progress, and feel the pocket close and make tough throws out of a tight pocket, I didn’t see it. … I don’t see the physical ability.” And even if there has been evolution in Kiffin’s offense, which is coordinated by Charlie Weis Jr. at Ole Miss, there will still be an adjustment from a QB-friendly college scheme. “To his credit, it’s not an easy offense to run, how Lane was running it,” says a third AFC coordinator. “But then what are you trying to do with him if he’s going to play right away? He has very few plays under center in play-action.” There were also, in the words of a fourth AFC coordinator, “some bad decisions in big moments—a really bad interception against Florida, which I think is part of the package, in that he’s got some gamer to him.” But, overall, there’s a guy here who seems to be a Day 2-ish talent who’ll get pushed up a bit by the quality [or lack thereof] of the class. “He’s still not a natural thrower, there’s some stiffness, and he was a wing-T quarterback in high school,” says an NFC quarterbacks coach. “But he throws with anticipation, generally puts the ball in good spots, he’s a good athlete, big kid, tough. I think he’d be a good pick if you have a guy that’s just O.K. He’s not Penix in terms of arm talent. But good touch, anticipation. I see Baker in the instincts, the intermediate game. I like Jaxson. He’d probably be my top guy behind Ward.” Dimensions: 6′ 4⅞”, 219 pounds Traits comp: Drew Lock For context, Shough was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. He backed up Justin Herbert for two years at Oregon. He has four degrees, turns 26 in September, and was in college for seven years because of a combination of injuries and COVID-19 circumstances. Now, if you can put all that aside … there’s something here. “Give him credit; he’s overcome a lot,” says one AFC coordinator. “What you like, and what people saw at his year at Louisville, is there’s more under center stuff, a lot of play-action, and he’s already been in a lot of different systems. So he’s further along in terms of football IQ. Those things excite you—him and [Will] Howard and [Kyle] McCord are the most pro-ready because of the systems they’ve played in. He’s got the size, athleticism. … He’s not 22, but all those guys last year were older, too. It’s funny. Aaron Rodgers is 41. I get it, he’s 26. You’d love to have him for 15 years. But, realistically, you’re just trying to get a guy through his first contract.” He’s not 22, but all those guys last year were older, too. It’s funny. Aaron Rodgers is 41. I get it, he’s 26. You’d love to have him for 15 years. But, realistically, you’re just trying to get a guy through his first contract.” And after throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns against just six picks in Jeff Brohm’s scheme, which has shown quick translation to the pros through guys such as Aidan O’Connell, he finally put together everything he’d shown in bits and pieces through previous seasons at Oregon and Texas Tech. Still, there are questions. “Physically, you watch the tape and he’s impressive, he’s a good athlete, can make all the throws,” says another AFC coordinator. “But the question marks—Why did this take so long? Why didn’t he beat out Anthony Brown at Oregon? There’s a lot of good s–t standing in the pocket, making throws, but there are also moments where you’re asking, Is he bailing out? His personality’s O.K. … He’s a fast riser. I know a lot of coaches like him. I’d be nervous, in a bad quarterback class, with a guy that seems to come out of nowhere.” The “bailing out” piece did come up repeatedly—Shough has explained to teams that some of that was a result of the injuries that he had to overcome (he broke his collarbone in 2021, re-injured it in ’22, then broke his leg in ’23 at Tech). One NFC coordinator says, “I think he has the second-best arm in the class behind Cam. He’s a pure thrower, has some athleticism, played a ton of football. … But there were times where the pocket was tight, and he didn’t seem firm back there. This would be an easier evaluation if he was. I did like the arm, the athleticism, there’s just a little flinchy-ness.” An NFC quarterbacks coach agreed, saying, “You can talk yourself into saying he’s got everything, you can talk yourself into not liking him. He’s 6′ 5″, has arm talent, can drive the ball, but there’s a lot of tape where he flinches, and gets inconsistent with his base and his feet.” Which, in a lot of ways, makes Shough a boom-or-bust prospect. With seven years of experience, and pro-style mileage, he should be ready to go quickly. His ceiling is pretty high. But his age, injuries and pocket presence are enough to cast doubt, too, making his a very, very interesting case. “He’s a very talented guy,” says another AFC coordinator. “I’m just not sure how you look at him overall, with the durability issues. He’s been hurt a bunch; it’s taken a toll. But if it wasn’t for that, he might go a lot higher. I see him as talented, a guy you’d want to work with.” Could that push him into the first round? It seems like he’s climbing on to the Sanders–Dart tier for at least some teams, which gives him a chance to be the second quarterback taken. Size: 6′ 1⅞ “, 217 pounds Traits comp: Taysom Hill Milroe is another one where if you cut up enough tape, with some creative editing, you’d get really excited. But the whole story is more complicated. “You turn on the Georgia tape, and he’s as good as anyone,” says an AFC coordinator. “Then, as the season went on, I’m not sure if he lost his confidence, but it felt like something happened. He’s the one dynamic runner in the class—Riley Leonard can run, but with Jalen, you can build a true quarterback run game. That should set him up for early success. He’s got a big arm, too, and changed coordinators three times, so you can reason some of it.” Milroe succeeded Bryce Young at Alabama, and after learning under Bill O’Brien as a backup, started the past two years with Tommy Rees and then Kalen DeBoer running the Crimson Tide offense. Both leaned into Milroe’s ability to run the ball—and that he can be dynamic in that area is in no way up for debate. “For me, there’s no reason Milroe can’t be Jalen Hurts. In a bad quarterback class, big picture, he’s the only guy who has a truly elite ability. I know how bad he looked at times throwing it, but he might be the best quarterback runner I’ve ever evaluated. He’s a better runner than Lamar [Jackson] was in college.” “For me, there’s no reason Milroe can’t be Jalen Hurts,” says an AFC coordinator. “In a bad quarterback class, big picture, he’s the only guy who has a truly elite ability. I know how bad he looked at times throwing it, but he might be the best quarterback runner I’ve ever evaluated. He’s a better runner than Lamar [Jackson] was in college.” Where the debate from there goes is how much better Milroe can get as a passer. Hurts improved in leaps and bounds as a pro, even ascending in areas (such as anticipatory throws) where guys generally don’t get better. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback did with a militaristic work ethic. And Milroe is behind where Hurts was coming out of Oklahoma, where he’d transferred after three years at Bama. “Milroe is like a running back playing quarterback,” says an AFC quarterbacks coach. “He’s robotic as a quarterback. He does amazing things with his legs, and he’s a great kid, so he has a chance to get better just on his will alone. But he’s more robotic than Hurts was coming out. [Anthony] Richardson would be a closer comp, to me, as a passer.” And as such, if you’re going to succeed with Milroe at quarterback, the consensus is it’s going to take changing your offense completely to accommodate him. Whether he’s good enough to merit doing that is an open question. “He’s tough, he’s got an elite trait, obviously,” says an NFC coordinator. “The passing just isn’t going to get much better. He’s not a natural passer. Looking at it, you can tweak, you can do a couple things with his feet, his base, so he’s throwing on balance. But I’m not sure how better it’s going to make him. He looks like Trey Lance coming out, the difference here between he and Lance is that for Milroe you have to wholesale change the offense going in.” “This guy is Colin Kaepernick, to me,” says an NFC quarterbacks coach. “You see it on down-the-field accuracy. He’s stiff, he can’t throw with his feet, he shot-puts the ball down the field. And as a runner, he’s the same way Colin was, not shifty, just a straight-line, strong runner. … I do disagree with the Hurts comp. Hurts was a better thrower.” Still, some believe, with the proper investment of scheme and time (and a willingness to buy into the quarterback run game from both player and team), there’s something to work with—another NFC quarterbacks coach says, “He’s so physically gifted, it’s really intriguing. I don’t think he’s anywhere close to his ceiling.” Which is why, maybe in the second round, some team will roll the dice, knowing in the worst case they wind up with a really fun gadget weapon. Dimensions: 6′ 2⅛”, 214 pounds Traits comp: Spencer Rattler Once considered a once-in-a-generation recruit out of a Texas prep powerhouse, Ewers became the first NIL posterboy when he reclassified, graduated high school early and headed for Ohio State in 2021. He transferred to Texas four months later and was the Longhorns’ starter the past three years—playing and starting 36 games for Steve Sarkisian. Interestingly enough, and as was the case with old super recruits such as Jimmy Clausen and Matt Barkley, the questions from an NFL context with Ewers revolve around his physical traits. There’s skepticism that, after three years under Sark, there’s much left to harvest. “He’s probably the third-best pure passer in the draft. There’s just something missing, maybe a tentativeness. With his arm, he just doesn’t cut it loose enough. But he has passing ability. The lack of athleticism has hurt him. You just wonder if he maxed out in high school.” “I started watching him and there’s a natural feel to him—he can adjust arm angles, the ball comes out smooth and quick,” says an NFC quarterbacks coach. “He’s got ability, the arm talent to be successful. But the ceiling—Sark’s a great coach, so where’s that going to go for him? Is he tapped out? The tape left me wanting more. … It was a combination of some missed throws, some arm strength stuff.” Some mentioned how Ewers didn’t seem to have quite the pop he had in his arm this year that he’d brought to the table previously—and there’s a reason for that, as he played through an oblique injury and later on a high-ankle sprain in 2024. So to some degree, when assessing his last season in Austin, scouts have had to wade through what’s real and what’s not. “It’s in there with him, he’s a pure thrower,” says an NFC coordinator. “He’s probably the third-best pure passer in the draft. There’s just something missing, maybe a tentativeness. With his arm, he just doesn’t cut it loose enough. But he has passing ability. The lack of athleticism has hurt him. You just wonder if he maxed out in high school.” “He’s a good player who’s just not physically good enough at this level,” says an AFC coordinator. “He does a good job of playing quarterback, and I think he could have a good long-term career as a backup. I just don’t think he’s physically good enough to consistently play at the level needed to be a starter in the league—it’s the athleticism, arm strength, his body, his frame, all of it combined.” The upshot here is Ewers was under a searing spotlight in high school, and from the start upon his arrival in Columbus and Austin as well, so he won’t shrink to the pressure of playing in the NFL. That, at least, should give him the chance to prove what he’s got when he’s fully healthy. “Give him credit, that amount of pressure, he comes to Texas as a big recruit, they bring in Arch Manning behind him, with the expectations he was already facing, it’s a lot,” says an AFC coordinator. “But he’s sort of an enigma.” Size: 6′ 4¼”, 236 pounds Traits comp: Josh McCown Howard is another one where the big question is in his ability to make NFL-level throws. He spent four years, and started 27 games over that time, at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State for his final year of eligibility—where he threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns over 16 starts and won a national title. “I love Will Howard,” says an AFC quarterbacks coach. “That team was loaded, but he’s big, throws a catchable ball, doesn’t take sacks, as a runner he’s effective for a big guy, he’s extremely intelligent. There’s just a lot to like. … The more I watched him, he kept climbing for me. The arm strength, his ability to fit it into tight windows, there’s a little concern there. Other than that, I don’t know what’s not to like.” “I really like Howard. The knock is the arm strength. The other stuff is pretty good. He’s going to have no problem coming in and running your offense with all the stuff they asked him to do at Ohio State.” That little concern was a bigger one for other folks, too, who saw the ball come off his hand a little funny, and that quirk leading to inconsistencies in accuracy, and lackluster velocity. “The throwing motion, there’s a flaw—it’s like Ewers, he’s an arm thrower,” says an AFC coordinator. “It’d just come out inaccurate, and you see another guy with NFL-level skill on the other end [of the throw], and that can make up for it. But I don’t think he can throw down the field well enough, he can’t drive it … it’s the way he throws. There was a ball, a night game at Ohio State, he’s throwing it to the right, it flutters off his hand, and it went high 10 yards out of bounds. And the reaction, you could tell the wideouts had seen it before.” But what Howard can bring is leadership, football IQ, adaptability and experience in two offenses that translate smoothly to the NFL level. So the floor is high—even if he doesn’t become a starter, he should have NFL staying power. “I really like Howard,” says another AFC coordinator. “The knock is the arm strength. The other stuff is pretty good. He’s going to have no problem coming in and running your offense with all the stuff they asked him to do at Ohio State. He gives you a little more ability in the run game, too, they used him on direct runs. The only knock is the arm. The kid is solid.” “I love the competitiveness—good size, a little athleticism,” says an NFC coordinator. “He throws it O.K. He’s not a totally natural thrower, but he does make big throws. He’s just a competitor. He looks like a gritty backup.” Which is enough to buy McCord time to keep developing and see where he can take it. Dimensions: 6′ 3″, 218 pounds Traits comp: Case Keenum Howard replaced McCord at Ohio State, where McCord had backed up C.J. Stroud for two years before becoming the starter in 2023. McCord left for Syracuse last year after not getting an assurance the job was his for ’24 and threw for an ACC-record 4,779 yards, with 34 touchdown passes and 12 picks in his only season with the Orange. Interestingly, in my conversations, Howard was the guy he was compared to most. “He’s very similar to Will in a lot of ways,” says an NFC quarterbacks coach. “When you watch him, he doesn’t look overly athletic, doesn’t move all that well, and he rips off a run, like, Where did that come from? He was very impressive at Syracuse, the leadership, the it factor, there’s some stuff to him. He’s great in the short pass game, the ball comes out fast. After that is where it’s a little more average, with his arm strength, accuracy, consistency, that’s lost with more difficult throws.” “I go back and forth on him, I really do. There’s something to him. I like how smart he is, he plays on time, throws with anticipation. He has a bit of a long delivery, it’s this windup after he gets loaded. And he’s not a great athlete, but he does know how to play quarterback. I see him being a good backup.” Another similarity to Howard is in McCord’s experience with pro-style concepts, which makes a lot of his tape applicable to how he’ll be deployed in the NFL. So where he’s not overly big, athletic or strong-armed, he has knowhow that should at least give him a shot to stick as a backup, and buy himself time to develop into something more than just that. “I go back and forth on him, I really do,” says another NFC quarterbacks coach. “There’s something to him. I like how smart he is, he plays on time, throws with anticipation. He has a bit of a long delivery, it’s this windup after he gets loaded. And he’s not a great athlete, but he does know how to play quarterback. I see him being a good backup.” “When I dove in it, it was like, Oh s–t, he threw for a ton of yards,” says an NFC coordinator. “I was surprised—nothing about him really stood out, his arm didn’t stand out, he had a weird delivery. You see toughness, he’ll stand in there and throw it. The other stuff, I didn’t love. I just see an average guy.” Dimensions: 6′ 3⅜”, 216 pounds Traits comp: A less-jacked Tim Tebow Yet another transfer. Once a few coaches dug into Leonard’s story, they became more intrigued. The offense Leonard ran over four seasons at Duke was simplistic, so the learning curve he met in transferring to pro-style Notre Dame was steep—which makes the growth he showed over the course of a run to the national title game impressive. “He barely knew football at Duke; it was all pick-and-stick stuff,” says an AFC coordinator. “He got a lot of development at Notre Dame. He’s a big dude, he’s going to continue to physically mature. He’s a good athlete; I think a better athlete than Will [Howard], has a little more in his body. And his pro day, I didn’t know he was capable of throwing it like that. … I think as a Day 3 developmental guy, he’s a good guy to invest in.” “He’s interesting because everywhere he went, he won—Duke and then Notre Dame this year. He’s got a chance.” And from the jump, Leonard can be an effective runner. He rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. On Notre Dame’s game-opening, 18-play, 75-yard touchdown drive against Ohio State, Leonard logged nine rushes—illustrating what a big part of the offense the quarterback run game had become. So with that, and the raw ability to throw it, the question is where his ceiling is as a passer. “He’s interesting because everywhere he went, he won—Duke and then Notre Dame this year,” says an NFC coordinator. “He’s got a chance. He’s very athletic, he’ll be able to extend plays. … At the combine, I liked his mechanics, the ball came out good. There are things you have to clean up, with processing and footwork, but there’s serious athleticism there.” Mainly, he’ll have to become more refined as a passer. “I want to like him,” says an NFC quarterback coach. “He’s tough, he’s athletic, he’s smart. It’s just that he can’t throw the football. When I say that, it always comes off his hand hot, it’s always got velocity. But on the short and intermediate throws, third down and red zone, it’s all over the place. … I just don’t think it can get better. It kind of is what it is.” And after those guys, all of whom should be drafted, there are a few to keep an eye on. Among them … • Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel should get drafted after starting three years at Central Florida, two years at Oklahoma, and last year for a Ducks team that spent a good chunk of the season ranked No. 1 in the country. He has a stellar 155–32 career TD-INT ratio, his 18,722 career passing yards are second all-time nationally (behind only Keenum), and he broke Bo Nix’s FBS record for starts with 63. Stylistically, in part because he’s a lefty, he’s reminded some of Tua Tagovailoa. “He’s accurate, he plays with accuracy, timing and rhythm,” says an AFC coordinator. “He’s just a backup, skill-set-wise.” • Multiple coaches raised the name of North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. There’s been a run of Bison quarterbacks in the NFL (Wentz, Easton Stick, Lance), and, again, the NDSU offense has proven to translate well into the pros. “You see a guy who’s tough, plays on time, has a good base, throws with anticipation,” says an NFC quarterbacks coach. “The arm is good enough and he’s a natural thrower of the football. He’s 6-foot, so that’s tough, but I remember John Wolford; he found a way to hang on as a backup. Will [Miller] ever start? Probably not, but he can be a quality backup.” • Florida’s Graham Mertz tore his ACL in October, so bringing him aboard will require a little patience. But he has good size, a good arm, plays with a good base and can drive the ball. Plus, with experience both at Wisconsin and as a Gator, there’s a lot of experience he can draw on. “He’s like Mike White to me,” says an AFC coordinator. “Right type of guy to be a backup, won’t make the fatal error.” • Indiana’s Curtis Rourke drew praise for playing the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL. He had surgery in January, so a team bringing him in will have to be patient, but he’s big, plays on time in the pocket and isn’t afraid to take shots. He also won big at both IU and, before following coach Curt Cignetti to Bloomington, at James Madison. • UCLA’s Ethan Garbers showed some toughness and a lot of arm strength in his first full season as a starter, enough to get him a shot to stick somewhere in the NFL. feed Albert Breer is a senior writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated, delivering the biggest stories and breaking news from across the league. He has been on the NFL beat since 2005 and joined SI in 2016. Breer began his career covering the New England Patriots for the MetroWest Daily News and the Boston Herald from 2005 to ’07, then covered the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News from 2007 to ’08. He worked for The Sporting News from 2008 to ’09 before returning to Massachusetts as The Boston Globe’s national NFL writer in 2009. From 2010 to 2016, Breer served as a national reporter for NFL Network.
In addition to his work at Sports Illustrated, Breer regularly appears on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, FS1 with Colin Cowherd, The Rich Eisen Show and The Dan Patrick Show. A 2002 graduate of Ohio State, Breer lives near Boston with his wife, a cardiac ICU nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, and their three children.
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