The 2025 NFL draft is officially in the books. And while it wasn't considered the best year for quarterbacks, the event didn't lack for drama at the position.
As expected, Miami quarterback Cam Ward was the first player taken, going No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans. The choice felt inevitable by Thursday night, but that shouldn't overshadow his incredible story—after playing in a run-heavy wing T offense in high school, he began his career at Incarnate Word, lighting up the FCS level before transferring to Washington State and finally finishing at Miami. He was a big transfer portal get, and the Hurricanes hope to repeat that success with Georgia's Carson Beck, who was once considered a potential Heisman winner and top draft pick before a rough 2024 season put a damper on his prospects. He'll now look to reassert himself as a top college QB in Coral Gables.
Colorado's Shedeur Sanders was expected to be the next quarterback taken, but that honor ultimately went to Jaxson Dart, whom the New York Giants traded back into the first round to select. Sanders fell past three more quarterbacks and into the fifth round on Saturday before he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, who selected another QB ahead of him, as well.
Now, Sanders's father and Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders will make his own big decision with his son off to the pros: give the quarterback job to a stopgap transfer from the Group of 5 ranks or go big and give the job to a blue-chip true freshman.
But Colorado isn't the only program with a big quarterback battle on its hands after producing a draft pick at the position. Here are the quarterbacks currently projected to step in for each of the QBs taken in the 2025 NFL draft.
Miami: Carson Beck, Sixth-Year Sr. (Replacing Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans—Rd. 1, Pk. 1)
A year ago, Beck was a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy entering his second season as the starter at Georgia. But although he led the Bulldogs to the SEC championship, he suffered an in-game UCL injury that required season-ending surgery and cost him the chance to appear in the College Football Playoff. Though he was once considered a potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, he opted to transfer to Miami rather than go pro.
Ward thrived after transferring to the Hurricanes from Washington State for his final college season. But Beck's situation is a bit different; Ward began his career at FCS program Incarnate Word before making his way to Washington State and then Miami, while Beck was already on the game's biggest stage. If he breaks out after a disappointing 2024, however, the results could be largely the same.
Ole Miss: Austin Simmons, RS Soph. (Replacing Jaxson Dart, New York Giants—Rd. 1, Pk. 25)
Rebels coach Lane Kiffin has been one of college football's transfer portal kings over the last few seasons, but in replacing Dart, a three-year starter, he is expected to turn to a homegrown talent in Austin Simmons.
Simmons's playing time was limited in 2024, but he looked the part when he stepped in for an injured Dart early in Ole Miss's 28–10 win over Georgia. Down 7–0 early in the game, Simmons completed 5 of 6 throws for 64 yards, leading the Rebels right down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie up the game.
The Moore Haven, Fla., native was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and, until recently, a two-sport star for Ole Miss; he dropped baseball as he prepares to become the face of the Rebels football program. And he won't have too much time to adjust; Ole Miss opens the season against Georgia State, but the schedule will quickly ramp up with games against Kentucky, Arkansas, Tulane and LSU in September.
Louisville: Miller Moss, Fifth-Year Sr. (Replacing Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints—Rd. 2, Pk. 40)
Shough played at Oregon and Texas Tech for his first five college seasons before finally getting the opportunity to start at Louisville in 2024. And he made the most of it, throwing for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. Now, he's considered one of the potential sleeper quarterbacks in the '25 draft.
Miller Moss, meanwhile, sat behind Caleb Williams before getting his chance to start for USC last season. He played reasonably well, but was eventually benched in favor of the younger Jayden Maiava amid the Trojans' struggles. Now, he's off to the ACC to play his fifth and final season with the Cardinals. While Moss has been up-and-down in his relatively limited playing time, he has had some impressive performances on the biggest stages, throwing for 372 yards and six touchdowns against Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl and 378 yards and a score in USC's season-opening win vs. LSU last year. The bowl game audition proved to be a pretty valuable one for the Los Angeles native.
Alabama: Ty Simpson, RS Jr. (Replacing Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks—Rd. 3, Pk. 92)
With Jalen Milroe off to the NFL, Alabama's quarterback situation is as unsettled as any powerhouse program in the country. Ty Simpson, entering his fourth year in Tuscaloosa, is the leading option, according to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, per AL.com, but he is still quite inexperienced, even with three years under Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer.
Other options include Austin Mack, a former four-star recruit who followed DeBoer from Washington to Alabama and attempted three passes last year (one of which went for a touchdown), and true freshman Keelon Russell, last year's Elite 11 MVP.
Though the three players appear to be in a tight race, DeBoer made clear he would rather name just one of them as starter.
“I think it’s a lot easier to just have one out there, be in a rhythm,” DeBoer said, via AL.com. “There’s been times where I’ve started seasons doing that, and we’ve gotten through it. I can think two or three in particular, where you went four or five games, but that’s not really our mindset right now. I think when we get to the fall, we want to be settled in, and I think that helps just all around with leadership. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
Oregon: Dante Moore, RS Soph. (Replacing Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns—Rd. 3, Pk. 94)
Before Nico Iamaleava made his move to Westwood, Dante Moore was the quarterback of the future for UCLA. A five-star member of the 2023 recruiting class, Moore split time with Ethan Garbers under Chip Kelly as a true freshman, flashing impressive abilities but ultimately struggling in Pac-12 play. He transferred to now-former conference rival Oregon and had the chance to sit and learn behind Dillon Gabriel in '24.
Moore's main competition for the job is fellow class of '23 member Austin Novosad, a former four-star prospect with 13 career pass attempts to his name across two seasons.
Colorado: Kaidon Salter, Fifth-Year Sr. (Replacing Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns—Rd. 5, Pk. 144)
Deion Sanders dipped back into the transfer portal to replace his son Shedeur under center. The presumptive starter is Kaidon Salter, a transfer from Liberty who was the Conference USA MVP in 2023. Salter and the Flames struggled to follow that successful season, in which the QB threw for over 2,800 yards and 32 touchdowns and added 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. As a dual-threat player, he adds a dimension to the offense that Sanders—who finished with negative rushing yards in both of his Colorado seasons (due in large part to sacks)—did not really provide.
Salter may have some competition, however. Julian Lewis, one of the top high school recruits in the country and a former USC commit, will also join the Buffaloes this season.
Syracuse: Steve Angeli, RS Jr. (Replacing Kyle McCord, Rd. 6, Pk. 181)
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown had in early April tapped Rickie Collins, a transfer from LSU, as his starter for 2025, but that was before another intriguing option became available. Notre Dame QB Angeli entered the transfer portal just days after that decision, and quickly committed to the Orange after a visit. He has two years of eligibility himself, but logic dictates that he didn't leave the QB battle at Notre Dame to ride the bench elsewhere.
Unlike former Orange QB Kyle McCord, who already had a year as a starter under his belt when he transferred to Cuse from OSU, both Collins and Angeli will be looking to win a starting job for the first time. Collins appeared in limited time across four games in his two years with the Tigers. He was a former four-star recruit and earned solid reviews after spring practice. Angeli has more experience, though, with 80 career pass attempts, 772 yards, 10 touchdowns and just one interception. He started the 2023 Sun Bowl, a 40–8 win over Oregon State, during which he completed 15 of 19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns.
Collins has the job for now. But this feels like a coin flip, if not an edge to Angeli, given Syracuse's decision to add another QB after the pick had already been made.
Ohio State: Julian Sayin, RS Frosh. (Replacing Will Howard, Pittsburgh Steelers—Rd. 6, Pk. 185)
A year ago, Ohio State upgraded at QB by letting Kyle McCord leave for Syracuse, then grabbing Will Howard out of the portal from Kansas State. Now, with a national title under his belt, coach Ryan Day will look to install a homegrown signal caller. Julian Sayin, a former five-star recruit who began his career at Alabama, has been tabbed as the next man up by multiple now-former Buckeyes, though Day isn't ready to make a call between him and sophomore Lincoln Kienholz.
The coach has described the competition between the pair as "pretty much neck-and-neck." And whichever quarterback ultimately gets the nod will have his work cut out for him from the jump next season; Ohio State opens up at home against Arch Manning and Texas on Aug. 30.
Notre Dame: CJ Carr, RS Frosh. (Replacing Riley Leonard, Indianapolis Colts—Rd. 6, Pk. 189)
CJ Carr—the most inexperienced player on this list and the grandson of longtime Michigan coach Lloyd Carr—appears to be in the driver's seat to take over for Riley Leonard.
While Angeli looked to be the biggest challenge to Carr—and the most experienced option that Notre Dame had on the roster—before he transferred to Syracuse, Carr's main competition now becomes sophomore Kenny Minchey, a redshirt sophomore with three pass attempts over two seasons. So far, coach Marcus Freeman isn't ready to name a starter.
"Neither of them have played meaningful plays snaps in a game, so when you have a QB competition, you put them in some of those pressure situations before they have to go do it," Freeman told ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "I love competition, period, so I'm excited for the future of our quarterback room."
Florida: DJ Lagway, Soph. (Replacing Graham Mertz, Houston Texans—Rd. 6, Pk. 197)
Realistically, DJ Lagway isn't replacing Graham Mertz in 2025, as he would have had the starting job even if Mertz returned for a seventh college season. But he is getting ready for his first full season as starter after he took over for an injured Mertz in '24. Mertz was an efficient collegiate player who got better each year, but it was a slight surprise he went as high as the sixth round in the draft. Lagway, meanwhile, could find himself in the mix as an eventual No. 1 pick if things break correctly.
Now, the question is whether he'll be healthy to start the 2025 season. He did not throw the ball during Florida's spring camp as he was recovering from injuries, including a shoulder injury that some reportedly thought might require surgery. But coach Billy Napier has been very optimistic about his status moving into the summer, and has said Lagway will start throwing in June in preparation.
Montana State: Justin Lamson, RS Sr. (Replacing Tommy Mellott, Las Vegas Raiders—Rd. 6, Pk. 213)
Montana State is looking to replace Tommy Mellott, the 2024 Walter Peyton Award winner, and could do so with Justin Lamson, a similar dual-threat player from the transfer portal. The former Syracuse and Stanford quarterback initially opted to transfer to Bowling Green, but instead wound up in the FCS at Montana State after BGSU's coaching change.
Stanford utilized Lamson in the short-yardage run game this season, and his athleticism was a clear draw for the Bobcats' program. The QB threw for 2,783 yards and 31 touchdowns (with just two interceptions) and added 1,050 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground for the FCS runners-up.
North Dakota State: Cole Payton, RS Sr. (Replacing Cam Miller, Las Vegas Raiders—Rd. 6, Pk. 215)
6⃣1⃣ yards. To. The. House.
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) September 9, 2023
Cole Payton is electric. pic.twitter.com/QqOnO3RHwX
The Raiders doubled down on FCS superstars this draft, taking NDSU's Cam Miller two picks after Mellott. The former led the Bison to a win over the Bobcats in the FCS championship game, and will now look to carve out an NFL career, leaving the starting job to Cole Payton, a veteran in his own right.
Though it will be Payton's first chance at the full-time starting role, the fifth-year senior has been an important part of the Bison offense for a few years now, especially as a runner. He rushed for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023, and has lined up at running back as well as quarterback. He was limited to just eight games a year ago due to an injury that cut his season short in October, but will return to take the reins of the offense in '25.
Indiana: Fernando Mendoza, RS Jr. (Replacing Kurtis Rourke, San Francisco 49ers—Rd. 7, Pk. 227)
Fernando Mendoza dazzled the Calgorithm last year, impressing during the Golden Bears' hot start in their first ACC season. He wound up putting together a solid second season as starter and is now looking to make the leap as Kurtis Rourke's heir apparent.
Rourke was a very productive, if injury-prone, player at Ohio before his stellar single season at IU, in which he led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff. Now, Mendoza is left to face those resultingly inflated expectations. He has the experience, though, with 20 career starts in his two years leading the Cal offense.
Texas: Arch Manning, RS Soph. (Replacing Quinn Ewers, Miami Dolphins—Rd. 7, Pk. 231)
Ewers was one of college football's biggest stars over the last few seasons, but his fame pales in comparison to the player who will take over for him at Texas—Arch Manning.
Arch, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning (and grandson of Archie Manning), got his first significant playing time while filling in for an injured Ewers as a redshirt freshman last season, and he impressed in limited time. Though Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian stuck with Ewers as his starter, Manning's performance was strong enough to spur some questions about whether Texas had a QB controversy on its hands.
There will be zero controversy entering the fall of 2025, however, as the Longhorns are no doubt Arch's team to lead.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Next Men Up: The College Quarterbacks Set to Replace All 14 Taken in 2025 NFL Draft.
