It's NFL draft season, which means fans across the country want one thing and one thing only: mock drafts.
Well, two things: quarterbacks and mock drafts. Quarterbacks who will save their franchises, and mock drafts to tell them which one they're going to get.
Today, I have a little of both. I projected a landing spot -- team, round and pick -- for just about every draftable quarterback in this 2025 class, from No. 1 down to late Day 3. I even threw in a few interesting undrafted free agents at the end for good measure. In all, I found fits for 12 passers, including nine draft picks.
These fits are at the intersection of a rather complex Venn diagram. To find each quarterback's home, I considered where he is expected to go in the draft, what schemes and systems work best for each passer, which teams have urgent or long-term developmental timelines and who has visited whom -- and then sprinkled some draft scuttlebutt over the top. (I also included each passer's Scouts Inc. ranking and 2024 stats.) Save for the No. 1 pick, I likely won't get a single pairing right -- the draft is chaos! -- but it's worth investigating how each team could approach their QB needs, and how different prospects can fit into that construction.
Here are my predicted landing spots for these 12 quarterbacks. For more on the class, check out the "SportsCenter Special" on the top passers on Wednesday (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
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Round 1, No. 1: Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward, Miami
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 219 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB1
2024 stats: 67.2% completion rate, 4,313 yards, 39 TDs, 7 INTs (4 rushing TDs)
Ward is a good fit for the Titans in the sense that he's clearly the lone quarterback in this class worth an early first-round pick, and the Titans are the lucky team with that first selection. Ward oozes talent. He has a live arm that accesses all three levels of the field with easy velocity, and there is little to no accuracy drain when he unlocks difficult throws far down the field or deep to the far sideline. Ward has a whippy, nearly sidearm release that allows him to drive tight throws between defenders, but his best balls are the touch passes that drop perfectly between layers of zone coverage.
Ward has feel -- that innate sense of space and time all great quarterbacks have. It cannot be taught or manufactured. It has to be drafted, usually with a premium pick. Watch Ward layer this ball into the seam, delivering it above the linebackers but before the safeties can arrive. It's placed such that tight end Elijah Arroyo isn't pulled into a big hit when he makes the catch. Delightful stuff.
Cam Ward *points out the illegal 12th man on the field* before dropping a beautiful seam ball between the layers of the defense lmao pic.twitter.com/JRRWWYeIMy
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) March 16, 2025
Ward also has some knuckleheaded tendencies that will need to be ironed out. He often dillydallies in the pocket, allowing his feet to drift into an unnecessarily poor throwing platform. A big-play hunter, Ward will also predetermine his reads (especially on late downs) to go for all the marbles, and smart defensive coaches can bait him into bad pre-snap decisions accordingly. But that's a typical wart on a young college passer, and expected maturation in the NFL will smooth over some of those wrinkles.
Ward is not analogous to Joe Burrow, the quarterback with whom current Titans coach Brian Callahan made his hay in Cincinnati as offensive coordinator. He isn't nearly that precise, and he isn't a supercomputer before the snap. Callahan will need to include more run-pass options in his Titans offense, taking advantage of Ward's quick release while simplifying his pre-snap reads. But some aspects of the Burrow offense can port over -- the spread formations, the heavy reliance on shotgun and option routes -- which should assuage some of the natural growing pains between rookie quarterback and playcaller.
Ward is not the slam-dunk first pick that past drafts have enjoyed, but previous "slam dunks" (Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams) are still rattling around the rim. The draft is never a sure thing, but Ward is talented and more than deserves this spot. He has the ceiling of a fringe top-10 quarterback and should settle in as a plus starter.
Round 1, No. 3: New York Giants
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 212 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB2
2024 stats: 74.0% completion rate, 4,134 yards, 37 TDs, 10 INTs (4 rushing TDs)
The Giants have met with exactly two quarterbacks this offseason: Ward and Sanders. That, plus the signings of Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, indicate to me that the Giants are going to do one of two things: take a quarterback extremely early or not take one at all.
It makes sense. Would a third-round pick really beat out Wilson in camp? Is a second-round pick going to save coach Brian Daboll's and GM Joe Schoen's respective jobs? With a rather unspectacular offensive roster, only a stellar rookie season from a lightning rod like Sanders could keep Daboll and Schoen in New York for 2026 and beyond. Why draft Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter to just help out the next guy? Why trade back for the future capital that will never be theirs to use? Push the chips to the middle.
Sanders is just that: a big risk for a lot of chips. He's a pocket passer who likes to extend plays and scramble, but he doesn't have the physical tools to be as successful with that play style in the NFL as in college. His 8.1% sack rate isn't going to suddenly improve against pro pass rushers. Yes, the accuracy is impressive, but 34% of Sanders' pass attempts were behind the line of scrimmage, and 35% were to wide-open receivers last season (with at least 5 yards of separation). Those are near nation-leading rates.
His peak plays are impressive, but his asks were often easier than those levied on other college quarterbacks. And while he was under pressure quite a lot (over 40% of his dropbacks, well above the national average), his average time to pressure was also remarkably above average at 3.14 seconds. That indicates he created a lot of his own pressure by holding on to the football, and the film backs up that conclusion.
In New York, Sanders would find a familiar offense. Daboll's system takes much of the decision-making out of the hands of the QB, as he likes to get his playmakers the ball near the line of scrimmage. And while there are plenty of holes to poke in Sanders' game, there's no doubt he would bring a level of moxie and playmaking to the position that was sorely lacking in the Daniel Jones era.
The dream outcome for Sanders is he has a Jayden Daniels- or Burrow-esque effect on a franchise in need of reinvigorating. The more likely outcome is average play that leaves the Giants stuck in neutral for a few more years -- but hey, now's the time to be hopeful.
Round 2, No. 33: Cleveland Browns
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 223 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB3
2024 stats: 69.3% completion rate, 4,279 yards, 29 TDs, 6 INTs (3 rushing TDs)
The Browns' current quarterback room includes Deshaun Watson, who tore his right Achilles (again) in January, and Kenny Pickett, who is probably not a starting-caliber signal-caller in this league. They need to add somebody. They were reportedly interested in adding Kirk Cousins earlier this offseason, which is a dire, dire sentence in the year 2025.
If Cousins isn't traded before the draft -- and I don't think he will be -- then the Browns have to select a passer. Any name, at any stage of the draft, would be justifiable. It seems they're interested in going non-QB in the first round, which I like directionally and absolutely love if Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter is the selection. After securing a generational talent like him, adding a potential starting quarterback becomes the next priority. And that player is Dart.
Dart may require a trade up into the end of the first round, which the Browns are well-equipped to execute; they have nine picks beyond Round 1 to use as trade fodder. But if he lingers until Day 2, he should be the Browns' pick at No. 33. (Cleveland met with Dart this week.)
Dart is a twitchy, creative thrower who loves to push the football down the field. I'm impressed by his ability to throw on the move and under pressure, as he doesn't need ideal throwing platforms or arm angles to generate velocity or accuracy. Ole Miss' offense allowed Dart to regularly take deep isolation shots, and his growth as a processor has been stunted as a result; he is not good at moving defenders with his eyes or dissecting coverages. But the Browns should take any level of creativity, aggressiveness and arm talent, no matter the processing errors, if it means they'd get some semblance of a future at QB.
Dart's ceiling as an NFL starter is likely limited. He doesn't have elite size, arm talent or movement skills; he's acceptable but not thrilling in all three categories. He reminds me a little of J.J. McCarthy in that way, and McCarthy was the 11th overall pick, albeit with much more collegiate success. So Dart at No. 33 is a worthy swing for a desperate team.
Schematically, expect coach Kevin Stefanski to brush off parts of the old Baker Mayfield playbook for Dart. Dart can be good on the movement series and has the deep touch to hit play-action shots off heavy sets. He excelled throwing the back-shoulder ball in college, although Cleveland doesn't have a great isolation receiver right now. (Even if it takes Hunter at No. 2, it wouldn't want to use a player with his skill set as a back-shoulder specialist.) Maybe that's another draft target, or maybe that's the role for Cedric Tillman to grow into in his third season.
Round 2, No. 52: Seattle Seahawks
Tyler Shough, Louisville
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 219 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB4
2024 stats: 62.7% completion rate, 3,195 yards, 23 TDs, 6 INTs (1 rushing TD)
As the dust settles on Seattle's tumultuous offseason, clarity has come regarding Sam Darnold's contract with the Seahawks. Seattle rarely guarantees money outside the first year of a deal, but it seemingly did here. Darnold's $15 million roster bonus for 2026 is already fully guaranteed, signaling this is likely a two-year commitment.
That big of a commitment may preclude the Seahawks from taking a developmental QB on Day 2, but they spent one of their 30 precious pre-draft meetings with Shough, indicating there's at least some interest. General manager John Schneider was running the show back in 2012, when the Seahawks signed Matt Flynn to a three-year deal ... then drafted Russell Wilson in the third round in the same offseason. The world is a little different now than it was then -- Shough would likely cost a second-rounder, not a third; Darnold got two years worth of guarantees, not one -- but the theory is still the same. Darnold is a possible yet uncertain starter for the Seahawks. And two dart throws at quarterback are better than one.
Shough is a great fit in Klint Kubiak's Shanahan-inspired system. He ran a ton of play-action at Louisville and is comfortable going under center, taking deep dropbacks and hitting big throws into the windows created by those fakes. Shough is a surprisingly good thrower on the move and can shine in a series of bootlegs and half rolls, which Kubiak deployed frequently last season when in New Orleans.
Tyler Shough throwing the high corner off play-action. Can't drop it in the bucket much better than that. pic.twitter.com/WwImNydpmd
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 1, 2025
Shough, 25, is somehow only two years younger than Darnold and has a long injury history, so he's far from a perfect prospect. He will worry some teams, but Seattle is in a good position to take the risk. If Darnold misses time or regresses back to the level of his pre-2024 play, Shough would have a chance to win the starting job.
Round 3, No. 83: Pittsburgh Steelers
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 217 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB5
2024 stats: 64.3% completion rate, 2,844 yards, 16 TDs, 11 INTs (20 rushing TDs)
First things first: The NFL invited Milroe to the draft in Green Bay, and he accepted. Typically, that sort of invite goes only to first-round picks. I'm leaving him on Day 2, where I think he makes sense as a developmental prospect with high-tier athletic traits. Milroe as a draft attendee reminds me of Malik Willis as a draft attendee. Yes, the traits might be first-round caliber, but the play isn't there just yet.
Pittsburgh's brass met with Milroe before his pro day. On the one hand, the Steelers took a stab at a dual-threat quarterback with Justin Fields last season, so trying again with Milroe is intuitive. And if Aaron Rodgers is their stopgap starter for 2025, Milroe would have time to develop. On the other hand, Pittsburgh showed little interest in building an offense around Fields, as it only marginally included designed QB runs. Any team drafting Milroe -- who ran a 4.4 at his pro day -- needs to major in such a scheme. That's how Milroe can keep an offense on track while his passing traits catch up.
Milroe is a good enough runner that I could see him being a dangerous starter as early as Year 1, just for how electric he is as a scrambler and short-yardage player. But in order to have a rounded profile as a quarterback, he has to operate dramatically faster in the pocket. Thirty-seven percent of Milroe's pass attempts were out in under 2.5 seconds last season, lowest of the major quarterbacks in this class. Milroe struggles to get to full-field reads in the pocket and will invite pressure so that he can break contain and get to an improvisational state, in which he is more comfortable.
I'm not convinced the Steelers are the best schematic fit for Milroe, but in the construct of quarterback development, we tend to overweigh the scheme and underweigh the rest of the offensive roster. The Steelers have two good receivers in DK Metcalf and George Pickens, as well as a young and ascending offensive line. If the running game doesn't take a step back without Najee Harris, Milroe would have the necessary infrastructure to develop whenever the reps come in Pittsburgh.
Round 4, No. 131: New Orleans Saints
Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 218 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB8
2024 stats: 66.0% completion rate, 4,779 yards, 34 TDs, 12 INTs (3 rushing TDs)
The Saints have done their homework on the top quarterbacks in this class, and fans are likely hoping for a splashier quarterback move than this. There are two problems, however, with projecting that.
The first is the Saints have so many draft needs. They could use a starter at cornerback following the departures of Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo. They also need a starter at left guard, with free agent signee Dillon Radunz holding the spot right now. Wide receiver is far from secure, with Rashid Shaheed returning from knee surgery and Chris Olave now suffering four concussions since he was drafted in 2022. Neither is currently signed beyond the 2025 season.
The second issue is the Derek Carr deal. Carr's contract was restructured this offseason for 2025 cap relief. He now represents a cap hit of $69.2 million in 2026; if cut, he'd count for over $59 million in dead cap space. The average team would cut Carr next year before his $40 million in base salary hits the books, take the 2026 dead cap hit and be clear in 2027. But predicting the Saints' salary cap management is a fool's errand, and I have failed at it one too many times to try and do so again.
So could the Saints pick a quarterback with the ninth pick? Sure. They could also wait this long, and I wouldn't be all that surprised.
McCord worked out with the Saints late in March, and he fits the model of quarterbacks with whom new coach Kellen Moore has worked in the past, like Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott. McCord has good size, he's highly comfortable operating in the pocket and he'll work through progressions and hit backside reads. An uber-aggressive passer, McCord regularly bites off throws he just can't chew with only average arm strength, but that aggressiveness could serve him well at the NFL level. He's always willing to give his receivers a chance.
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord: rhythm thrower from the pocket with good aggressiveness.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 8, 2025
Catches the weakside safety sniffing to the three receiver stride. Throws the backside vertical early as he senses pressure. Ballsy throw with a high degree of trust in his receiver. pic.twitter.com/8H32JPxWAq
McCord won't create much out of structure and will look disastrous during his cold streaks. But if he can ride the ups and downs while making big plays with his arm and eyes, he'll find a longtime career as a plucky NFL backup. The Saints can only hope he has so much dip on his chip that he enjoys a Brock Purdy-esque elevation to starting-caliber play.
Round 6, No. 187: Minnesota Vikings
Will Howard, Ohio State
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 236 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB6
2024 stats: 73.0% completion rate, 4,010 yards, 35 TDs, 10 INTs (7 rushing TDs)
A few weeks ago, the NFL world was abuzz with the potential of Aaron Rodgers joining the Vikings and fighting J.J. McCarthy for the QB1 job. That probably won't happen, and probably was never going to happen, but the Vikings do need another QB in the building. Minnesota lost last year's QB1 (Sam Darnold) and QB3 (Nick Mullens) in free agency. Only Brett Rypien is rostered behind McCarthy, who is far from a sure thing himself. (McCarthy still hasn't played an NFL snap following last year's meniscus injury.)
I love Rypien as much as the next guy. (No, really.) But that's not enough.
Ideally, the Vikings go QB earlier in this draft -- but Howard in Round 6 is a pretty square deal. He had 43 starts over four seasons at Kansas State and a national championship campaign with Ohio State. With the Buckeyes, he looked the part of a poised and trustworthy veteran. I like Howard's mobility, but he isn't a one-read-and-scramble escape artist in the pocket. He'll sit in there, bounce through progressions and look for the correct throw. He can break a tackle or two as well; he's big and doesn't shy away from contact.
Howard can access all the levels of the field and is generally safe with the football, but he doesn't see it fast and will get hoodwinked by coverage rotations at the snap. He needs an offense like the one Kevin O'Connell runs, as it protects the quarterback from high processing demands. At Ohio State, Howard picked his poison on isolation routes with elite college receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. In Minnesota, he could do the same with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
If he hits, I could see Howard having a Jacoby Brissett-like career in the NFL. He might even get the designated sneaker role in Minnesota behind McCarthy!
Check out some of the key numbers behind Ohio State QB Will Howard's college career.
Round 6, No. 190: Los Angeles Rams
Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 216 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB12
2024 stats: 66.7% completion rate, 2,861 yards, 21 TDs, 8 INTs (17 rushing TDs)
Just three picks after his national championship opponent leaves the board, here comes Leonard. Like Howard, Leonard is experienced with 37 starts over three years at Duke and one season with the Fighting Irish. Like Howard, Leonard has good mobility -- in fact, he's a better runner than Howard, and his best NFL usage would almost certainly involve some designed QB runs. Leonard also has good size, though he's a bit gangly at 6-4 and would do well to add some bulk.
His biggest issue is shot selection. He's solid before the snap and can open throwing lanes with his eyes, but he doesn't like to hang in the pocket looking for downfield throws; he'd rather tuck and run. In a class with guys like Milroe and Ward, it's actually Leonard's 10.6% scramble rate that leads the pack. There's nothing too bad about that -- he's great on the hoof -- but he can rob his offense of deep shots in the process. Only 11% of Leonard's pass attempts this season went 20-plus air yards, which ranked 125th among 158 qualifying passers. When pressured, he's quick to his checkdown, but not in a good way; he's simply too cautious and unwilling to test downfield coverage unless the window is clearly open.
With time in Los Angeles' offense, Leonard could be coaxed into ripping more throws to the intermediate level of the field, where he has plenty of arm talent to reach. The Rams aren't in need of a starter in 2025 after Matthew Stafford agreed to a restructured deal. But if the Rams continually update Stafford's deal on a year-to-year basis, they must invest in a developmental quarterback behind Stafford and veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo. Leonard represents a low-cost swing that does not preclude the Rams from investing more seriously in the position in the 2026 draft.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see the Rams take an earlier swing on a passer than this. Unfortunately, this just isn't the draft for developmental QBs, especially when your second-round pick belongs to the Panthers as a result of last year's trade up for Braden Fiske.
Round 6, No. 211: Dallas Cowboys
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 214 | Scouts Inc. ranking: QB7
2024 stats: 65.8% completion rate, 3,472 yards, 31 TDs, 12 INTs (2 rushing TDs)
Dallas just made a splash (relative term) by trading for 2024 sixth-round pick Joe Milton III, who captured hearts across America with a dominant Week 18 performance in the Patriots' win over the Bills in his NFL debut last season. It was actually a good game -- he went 22-for-29 for 241 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing TD -- but it shouldn't move the needle much. One good game against mostly backups does not suddenly turn a sixth-round flier into a viable QB2.
Cowboys longtime backup Cooper Rush found a new home in Baltimore this offseason, so the job is up for grabs. Will Grier, who has bounced on and off practice squads for much of the past two seasons, is Milton's only competition. The Cowboys have plenty of space on their roster for another quarterback to compete in camp.
Check out some of the key numbers behind Texas QB Quinn Ewers' college career.
So why not take another sixth-round flier in Ewers? The No. 1 quarterback in his 2021 recruiting class, Ewers spent one season at Ohio State before transferring to Texas, his home state, to play for the Longhorns. The recruiting ranking was a product of Ewers' live arm. He can generate velocity from a variety of arm angles, and he has a wicked quick release when throwing in rhythm.
The issue is that nothing else crystallized for Ewers over his time in college. He has worrisome sprays of poor accuracy to all three levels of the field, he struggles to throw receivers open against tight coverage and he often doesn't seem to understand what defenses are doing to him. He'll climb up into pressure when he should feel it and escape the pocket, and he'll throw right into coverage traps when he should get his eyes to the back side. So Ewers remains a developmental prospect in that he has the physical tools of an NFL quarterback but lacks many of the necessary skills to reliably play the position well.
Like most former five-star recruits, Ewers will almost certainly get drafted. It doesn't matter how poorly you played in college when you have better traits than most Day 3 picks. Dallas will feel like home to Ewers, and he could stick on the roster as a QB3 and fight for the backup job.
Three intriguing undrafted free agent fits
Miami Dolphins: Hunter Dekkers, Iowa Western
Dekkers started for Iowa State in 2022 but left the program in 2023 after pleading guilty to a charge of underage gambling. He enters the NFL after playing for juco school Iowa Western in 2024. Dekkers isn't the tallest quarterback at 6-2, but he has a big arm and good movement skills. A left-handed passer with a gambling mark against him won't be on every board, but I'd love him on the Dolphins, where he could back up another lefty in Tua Tagovailoa.
Washington Commanders: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Gabriel leaves college as one of the most productive passers in NCAA history, but he does not project as an NFL passer. He's 5-11 and does not have the movement traits or arm talent of Bryce Young or Kyler Murray. Gabriel has a quick release and fast eyes, so he could work in college-inspired offenses like those in Washington (Kliff Kingsbury) or potentially Las Vegas (Chip Kelly).
Detroit Lions: Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Rourke throws with good rhythm, knows when to take shots and has enough arm to hit the windows between zone coverage. He has unspectacular physical traits and an injury history, but he could keep a functional NFL offense on schedule as a pocket passer. The West Coast offenses that like timely, one-read-and-out quarterbacks -- like the Lions and Cowboys -- will like Rourke.