The gap between two of the most highly hyped quarterback prospects in this year’s lukewarm class is one of “giant” proportions.
That’s according to NFL insider Peter Schrager, who said Tuesday that Miami’s Cam Ward is viewed as a top option at quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, followed by an expansive space before Shedeur Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, enters the frame.
“This year, Cam Ward’s got huge upside, but despite the great years he’s had at Washington State and Miami, he’s not viewed in that same category as those top three guys (last year), and then it’s a giant drop-off from what I gather and just viewed as prospects, not necessarily how they turn out, Shedeur, [Ole Miss quarterback] Jaxson Dart and then a bunch of unknowns,” Schrager said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
“… I think Shedeur is viewed closer to Jaxson Dart than Shedeur is viewed closer to Cam Ward.”
There were quarterback options aplenty in 2024, as six players at the position were drafted in the first round.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were the top three selections in last year’s draft, going to the Bears (No.1 ), Commanders (No. 2) and Patriots (No. 3), respectively.
Michael Penix landed with the Falcons at No. 8, followed by J.J. McCarthy to the Vikings at No. 10 and Bo Nix to the Broncos at No. 12.
Ward — coming off his fifth collegiate season in which he threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions for Miami — impressed at the combine, with one NFC exec lauding the 22-year-old’s “phenomenal leadership” to Yahoo Sports.
“[He’s] got some little things he’s going to have to refine,” the unnamed exec continued, “but he has the character and personality to do it.”
Sanders, who has been at the helm for dad Deion’s Buffaloes team the past two seasons after starting at Jackson State, stirred buzz after likening himself to a program changer, a remark that irked some at the combine.
“His point at the combine, and it rubbed people wrong, the way he had some bravado at it, is that he changes places when he gets there,” Schrager said Tuesday.
“So Jackson State, obviously, went from this HBCU that had no resources to suddenly being a national name. And then he goes to Colorado and we had one week where ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ from Fox and ‘GameDay’ were there, Week 2, vying for real estate in Boulder. It happens.”
Although Sanders, 23, and Ward have been projected to go in the first round for some time — with the quarterback-needy Titans, Browns and Giants all holding picks in the top three — another quarterback recently entered the conversation in the form of 21-year-old Dart.
USA Today ranked Dart as the second-best quarterback who threw at the combine behind Missouri’s Brady Cook.
Sanders and Ward did not partake in throwing drills.
The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, April 24.
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