Leading up to the NFL scouting combine next month and the draft in April, two quarterbacks appear to have a significant edge over their fellow 2025 prospects—Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
Barring a significant change in the pre-draft process, Ward and Sanders are expected to be selected in the top few picks as quarterback-needy teams try to find their franchise guy. But where would
The Athletic's Diana Russini asked that exact question to general managers around the league in her latest column.
“They should definitely be behind Bo Nix, in my opinion," an AFC general manager told The Athletic. "I could see people grouping [Michael Penix Jr.], Ward and Sanders together, but honestly, it’d probably just come down to picking your favorite flavor among the three. None of them really scream 'franchise QB' to me."
"Last year’s class is so talented," an NFC general manager told Russini. "I’d say they’d both go after Bo Nix; maybe one of them before if a team didn’t know what Sean Payton knew."
Another AFC general manager, however, appears to be a bit higher on Sanders's potential.
"Sanders after Maye would be my guess as it stands now," he said to The Athletic. "Truly hard to say until you meet them and get a feel for their intelligence, leadership, maturity, etc. Ward somewhere after Nix. Still very raw."
The 2024 rookie class of quarterbacks has proven to be special. The top three picks of the draft were all quarterbacks in Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Drake Maye (Patriots). Williams has shown a few flashes of brilliance this season while Daniels is running away with the Rookie of the Year award and Maye appears to be the Patriots' franchise quarterback once they surround him with a talented core.
Elsewhere in the draft, Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8 pick) has overtaken veteran Kirk Cousins for the starting quarterback role and Bo Nix (No. 12 pick) has been one of the most surprising storylines of the 2024 season, as he has Denver one win away from securing a playoff berth. The only quarterback selected in the first round to not see the field is Minnesota Vikings rookie J.J. McCarthy, who has undergone two knee surgeries and appears set to return in 2025.
Ward, Sanders and the rest of the 2025 quarterback class have big shoes to fill next season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Where NFL GMs Rank Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders Among Talented 2024 Rookie QBs.
