The 2025 QB class: Highest ceiling, most intriguing, future Pro-Bowler

New York Times

09-04-2025

Despite the 2025 quarterback class being widely viewed as weaker than previous years, several teams still have a pressing need at the position and many signal-callers are expected to be taken off the board in Green Bay.
On the latest episode of 'Scoop City', Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini and former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel attached some superlatives to this year's rookies, including who has the highest ceiling and the most likely future Pro-Bowler.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'Scoop City' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Dianna: I've got five different categories here: Highest ceiling, highest floor, dark horse Pro-Bowler, biggest X-Factor — basically the guy who might get drafted way earlier than we thought — and then the most intriguing? Chase, let's begin with the highest ceiling, which quarterback is that for you?
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Chase: We're recording this on Monday, and I'm at my in-laws' place in the desert, which is a two-hour drive from San Diego. They're one of the few people who probably still get their paper delivered, and when I was looking at the paper this morning with my coffee before the show, there was a sports page. On the sports page, of course, was Cam Ward. But not only that, they also ranked this year's quarterbacks, which is funny. But Cam Ward is the one with the highest ceiling for me. Because to go number one overall, I always tell people, 'You've got to have an elite physical talent that can't be coached.' That is Cam Ward throwing the football. Coaches can teach a lot of things to a quarterback. But if you're going in the top five or top three as a quarterback, you need a physical tool that can't be coached. For me, that's Cam Ward's arm.
If you watch the film, the different arm angles that he has, the way he navigates the pocket and is able to move just an inch right, or just an inch left, it reminds me of Drew Brees' pocket movement. He's just barely moving to get into a window. He's not the tallest, and sometimes he's having to throw over these guys. And at times, he gets almost too arrogant with it because he just randomly drops down sideways for no reason, and he's inaccurate. I would just tell him not to do that, and just throw it when you throw. But the way he can escape from the pocket is impressive. It's not like it was last year with Caleb Williams, but that's what I love about Cam Ward and that's why I think he's got the highest ceiling.
Dianna: I think you're seeing what Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans head coach) is seeing. They're looking at that skill set, his innate ability and that God-given talent. Alright, so who has the highest floor among these guys?
Chase: I took this as the person who there's no ifs, ands or buts about it; he can be a good starter in the NFL. I've got Shedeur Sanders. When you watch his game, you know what you're going to get. He might not have that elite arm talent and angle stuff I was talking about with Cam Ward. But when you go through Shedeur's film — and I've watched 12 games so far and I'll continue to watch more — he's cool, calm and collected. Yeah, he takes a lot of sacks; half of those are on the offensive line, and half of those are on him. But he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, and that's what I like about him. He throws on time and in rhythm. You can see him going up to the line of scrimmage, changing protections and changing plays. Half of his throws are at or behind the line of scrimmage, but that's not his fault. Remember when we spoke to Sean Payton (Denver Broncos head coach) about Bo Nix. And he said, 'I had to take away 35 percent of his throws because we didn't even evaluate them. You could have gotten Joe Blow off the street to do that.' That's sort of the situation with Shedeur. Dan Orlovsky said it too. I don't want to steal all his thunder, but that's what I thought, too. You've got to take away 45 to 50 percent of Shedeur's throws, because you can't evaluate them. But the other 50 percent, you can. He's shown he can make every single throw, and you can see he's going to be a good starter in the NFL.
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Dianna: Here's my question for you then. Why is it so up and down, and such a mixed bag with him? Why am I getting from some GMs that he's a top dog, while others are saying in last year's draft he wouldn't have even been a top-five pick?
Chase: That is the case with Cam Ward too. If Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders were in last year's draft, there would have been five, six, seven or eight quarterbacks ahead of them. But even though there's not a ton of talent this year at the quarterback position, people are going to reach with some of these guys. There's still going to be three quarterbacks taken in the first round at least. When you look at this draft class, it's a poor class. But people do reach on quarterbacks because they need quarterbacks, and they think they can coach them and work it out.
Dianna: Give me your dark horse Pro-Bowler. Who's the one that's going to come out here and put on a show for us?
Chase: I love Kyle McCord from Syracuse. He's physically talented and reminds me of Baker Mayfield when you look at him in the pocket, what he's able to do with the football and the way he throws the football. He's not got the strongest arm at times on film like Baker has. But his mannerisms in the pocket and how he hitches, it's almost like he and Baker train together. It's crazy, he looks like a carbon copy of Baker. He's probably not as gifted at running or throwing the football as Baker, but the mannerisms are so similar. He also threw for a ton of yards in Syracuse. I watched four or five games of him, and he's a really solid guy. This dude in the right system and fit, just think of the Sean McVay offense. After sitting for a year or two, if he were able to come in and play in the right system, with the right coach and development program, he could be a dark horse Pro Bowler.
Dianna: You used Baker Mayfield as the comp, and I remember what Baker was able to do in the McVay offense during that one year at the Rams. Alright, let's do the biggest X-Factor. The guy who might get drafted way earlier than we think, the Michael Penix Jr. of this class.
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Chase: It's Jaxson Dart for sure. This might be a hot take, but it's just how I feel. I think Jaxson Dart is closer to QB2 than he is to QB3. When I watch the film and think about his upside, it's really good. Physically, he is a freaking horse running the football. He will literally run you over. That's something that needs to be talked about. He's also much more athletically inclined to take off and run than a lot of other people. And when you watch his throws, he's extremely accurate outside of the pocket. The one thing that is hard to evaluate with him is this Lane Kiffin offense, because they run like five different concepts. It's really not a pro-style offense because they run four verticals, they run four verticals with a shallow cross, they run quick game and some other stuff. I also don't know mentally how he is on the board. But the more I watch Jaxson Dart, the more I fall in love with him. And I think GMs see the same thing and think, 'Alright, I can make this work in the right scheme, fit and system.' He's also a guy who doesn't need to play right away, and all of them, other than Cam Ward, need to sit a year to take the pressure off. But if Jaxson Dart were to play, I think he'd play well.
Dianna: You didn't double-dip on any of these, so we'll see if you'll be able to go through all of this without doing so. I would have thought Jaxson Dart would be your answer to this next one. Who is your most intriguing quarterback of this class?
Chase: I've gone back and forth on this, but I've settled on Jalen Milroe from Alabama. Watching him throw the ball at times, it can be a tough watch. But when he sets his feet, throws on time and throws in rhythm, the ball jumps off his hand and he's accurate. You know what you're going to get running, too, because he ran 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash, even though it was an unofficial time at his pro day. But if you can harness that, think of the Lamar Jackson offense in his first or second year. Lamar has since turned into an unbelievable thrower of the football. But remember how many naysayers there were about Lamar throwing the football? Even though Jalen is more raw than a lot of people think, scouts, coaches, GMs, quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators see what he can be. So I think he's going to go higher than a lot of people think.
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