2025 Draft: Projected Top QBs

Advance Scouting Report on Big 3

It will be tough for quarterbacks in the Draft Class of 2025 to match the buzz generated in 2024.

This last class featured a generational talent in Caleb Williams, a prototypical quarterback in Drake Maye, a dynamic athlete with a cannon of an arm in Jayden Daniels and proven winners at the college level in Michel Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy.

But there will be plenty of intrigue with the 2025 quarterbacks. Isn’t that always the case?

Carson Beck, Quinn Ewers, and Shedeur Sanders are all expected to declare for the 2025 draft and be the top three names for most at the position. Each traveled a different path at the collegiate level, but all found success and look to be the next wave of QBs to enter the NFL during next year's draft cycle.

Carson Beck

Carson Beck had a more unconventional path in college by today’s standards. He will be a 5th-year senior next season, but last year was his first year as a full-time starter. He sat behind Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett for his first three years. So, 2023 was Beck’s first season as a full-time starter, and with the pressure of coming into a winning situation on a winning team, he led Georgia both a winning season and bowl win as well. In 2023, Beck finished with 3,941 pass yards, 24 TDs, six INTs, and an impressive completion mark of 72.4 percent.

In my opinion, Beck is the best of the three quarterbacks going into next season. In terms of measurables, he possesses the ideal size (6-4, 215 pounds). Pre- and post-snap, he displays an exceptional ability to process man and zone coverages, throws with great anticipation and is extremely accurate to all levels. He also shows a nice touch, being able to take something off a throw and drop it into the hands of a covered receiver.

Beck also possesses a plus arm to fit throws into tight windows. He won’t shred a defense with his legs in space, but he has very good pocket presence. Beck is enough of an athlete to evade pressure and extend a play, and he is capable of and willing to picking up yards in space when there is an opening. Outside the pocket, Beck is very smart; he does a good job keeping his head up and finding receivers working back to him. He is very accurate but ball placement can be a bit of an issue for him on deep throws. There’s room for improvement in that area in 2024.

Beck’s 2023 campaign was impressive from an efficiency standpoint, but the numbers may not pop enough — especially since those numbers came in just one year of production — for some to give him his just due. To us, Beck is very polished and has the makings of a franchise player. We think he will have a better year this season and generate legit buzz from teams going into next year's draft.

Quinn Ewers

Quinn Ewers enters his junior season as a third-year starter for the Longhorns. He is coming off an efficient 2023 campaign in which he passed for 3,479 yards, 22 TDs, six INTs, and completed 69 percent of his passes. He led Texas to a 12-1 regular season record, which earned the Longhorns a spot in the college football playoff, and although they lost in the Sugar Bowl to Washington, he performed well, passing for over 300 yards and committing no turnovers. Ewers’ play and leadership over the past few seasons have solidified him as the team’s QB1 going into 2024, even with touted recruit Arch Manning committing to the Longhorns this spring.

Ewers has a confident release, and he displays controlled footwork on his drop and when stepping up in the pocket. He exhibits poise and makes good decisions, knowing where and when to check down when everything downfield is covered. Ewers’ ball placement is efficient on short/intermediate throws but can be off when he fails to anticipate. Still, overall, his accuracy is solid, as his is touch, more so on deep vertical concepts when he often drops the ball in nicely. He also shows good placement on underneath throws.

Much like Beck, Ewers is nothing special athletically, but he can extend and steal yards if given space. As mentioned, he is calm in the pocket and senses pressure well, and shows the skill to keep plays alive and pick up yards with his legs. He is not much of a threat, outside the pocket, to hurt a defense downfield, but he is good at keeping his head up and finding an open man working intermediate or short.

Texas’ offense features a heavy majority of RPO concepts that demand fast reads and getting the ball out quickly. Because of that, Ewers isn’t often asked to go through multiple progressions. There are times he does a good job in looking off a defender for a completion, but we would like to see more of that going forward. While his arm strength is solid, it certainly is not remarkable — he is not a guy who will let rip a 60-plus-yard throw on a dime. He lacks the arm talent to throw off platform and from different angles, and he often gets balls knocked down at the LOS. Ewers’ overall decision-making is a strength, but when under pressure, especially when the pocket is pushed into his lap, he will sometimes force throws.

In 2024, Ewers will be without many of the top targets he had last year; several made the jump to the pro level. It will be interesting if he has a Drake Maye-like dip in his production or improves on what he has been able to do over the past couple of seasons. One thing is for certain: He is on the nation's radar, and his performance this year will tell us a lot about his abilities as a football player.

Shadeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders’ college career has taken a unique path. A 4-star prospect out of high school, Shedeur decided to attend an HBCU school and play for his father at Jackson State. He earned numerous individual and team accolades, such as winning two SWAC championships as well as being Jackson State's school leader in passing touchdowns and completions. In 2023, Shedeur followed his dad once again, but this time to the University of Colorado, where, last season, he put up 3,230 pass yards, threw for 27 TDs (against just three interceptions) and completed 69.3 percent of his throws.

As a passer, I believe Sanders is a bit underrated, mainly because he played behind arguably the worst offensive line in major college football last year and, therefore, wasn’t able to consistently show all of his abilities. In the pocket, Sanders shows poise, and a good internal clock allows him to react calmly to pressure. He is underrated as an anticipatory thrower, as he shows good timing when his receivers get open.

As a decision-maker, Sander doesn’t get enough credit. He avoids bad throws and excels at protecting the ball, making smart decisions more often than not. When watching him play, you notice that he takes his time, and if the throwing lane is not there, he will move on to the next progression or extend with his legs.

In my opinion, Sanders is the best athlete of the three QBs evaluated here; he is a smooth athlete and nimble in space. When extending a play, he can pick up chunk yards if a defense forgets about him as a running threat. Sanders demonstrates nice footwork when stepping up in the pocket and resetting, giving him a solid foundation to throw a tight, accurate ball. His touch and overall placement on throws downfield is another strength, whether leading his man or putting a pass on a receiver’s back shoulder.

Shedeur is sometimes a bit slow going through his progressions, and this sluggishness in processing can lead to missed opportunities and sacks — especially true behind an offensive line that struggled like Colorado’s did in 2023. Sanders’ arm talent is about average. When throwing from a less-than-solid base or forced to change arm angles, his accuracy/ball placement can suffer. Sanders does possess a slightly elongated throwing motion, and defenders can get a jump on him when he does stare down a target.

Even following a successful offseason, it’s hard to say whether Colorado will be a better team in 2024, but we do believe that, with another year of experience under his belt, Shedeur Sanders will be an improved quarterback. If he does decide to declare, Sanders will make a case for QB1 in the 2026 draft. We could even see a potential Heisman push if he gets more production from his supporting cast.

Closing argument

Each one of these QBs will undoubtedly be under the spotlight during the 2024 season because of their individual talent and the profile of the teams they play for. While it’s unknown which signal-callers will declare for the next draft, these three QBs are the best in the country, and if they all have impressive years, there will be plenty of NFL-centered buzz surrounding them next spring. We would also be remiss not to mention Miami Hurricanes QB Cameron Ward, who is coming off back-to-back 3,000-yard/10-TD seasons at Washington State and will also be a QB whose draft prospects could rise with a great 2024 season.