Where would that quarterback have ranked in last year’s class?
It’s a common question during every pre-draft process, and it’s something teams may factor into their grades before ultimately deciding to select or pass on a passer early in the draft.
And in 2024, we saw a record six quarterbacks picked in the first 12 selections. It was a marquee, highly touted quarterback class featuring two former Heisman winners.
This year’s quarterback class isn’t widely regarded as nearly as impressive, even at the top, which got us wondering. How would Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward rank compared to the six first-round quarterbacks from last April?
Here’s my ranking, based directly on my final grades in my scouting gradebook in 2024 and 2025.
- Caleb Williams, USC
Williams had it all as a prospect except elite-level size. And I do not factor size into my quarterback evaluations. The current Bears starter has high-level arm strength and arm talent — the latter referencing the ability to make strong, accurate throws from awkward platforms.
He had plus accuracy to all levels of the field, quality pocket-navigation skills, and demonstrated an uncanny knack for eluding rushers and designing off-structure plays on the fly.
- Drake Maye, North Carolina
Maye is bigger, was just as accurate, and boasted a stronger arm than Williams. However, his ability to calmly glide away from rushers in the eye of a hurricane that is the pocket wasn’t as developed as that of his USC counterpart. In the end, my formula spit a grade for Maye that was ever-so slightly behind Williams.
The accuracy was impressive to all levels, and even when there were defenders hanging around his feet.
Williams and Maye were the top two overall prospects on my board, reasonably ahead of Malik Nabers and Jayden Daniels.
- Jayden Daniels, LSU
I didn’t view Daniels as a prospect who necessarily saw the entire field exceptionally well — which seems to have been proven wrong as a rookie — yet he emphatically checked all the other boxes of what an evaluator wants to see on film from a modern-day quarterback prospect.
He has above-average arm strength, routinely distributed the ball at different trajectories and speeds to all levels of the field, and, of course, clearly demonstrated he was an elite-level athlete with the football in his hands. He did take more sacks when pressured than what his physical prowess would suggest yet countered those issues with chunk plays as a runner.
- J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Despite playing in a run-heavy offense on a defensive-minded team, McCarthy’s traits stood out when called upon. In many scenarios, when Michigan needed a big play — either from in the pocket or when improvising — McCarthy delivered.
He wasn’t quite as accurate as the top three quarterbacks ahead of him yet wasn’t drastically behind in those vital categories at still at a first-round level. McCarthy could really crank the velocity when needed and was not a super-keen full-field reader nor someone who calmly drifted away from inside-the-pocket pressure on a routine basis. The upside was more tantalizing who McCarthy was entering the league.
- Cam Ward, Miami
Ward doesn’t have a high-caliber arm. He’s not a Daniels-esque athlete. He does have a tendency to create something out of nothing like McCarthy did in college and grew as a quarterback in each of his seasons as a starter.
Strictly from a traits perspective beyond arm strength, Ward is reasonably accurate — enough to be considered a top prospect in this class — yet it’s not an element of his game on which he can hang his hat every Sunday. He reads the field with speed and clarity and has a glimmer of twitch when starting to scramble. His lazy footwork must improve, and his propensity to try to do too much — when a swing pass or check down would be the prudent answer on a given play — needs to be dialed back.
- Michael Penix Jr., Washington
A strong-armed gun-slinger who wanted to dice from the pocket, Penix could connect on the type of ultra-challenging throws of Williams, Maye, and Daniels caliber throughout the course of a game. Overall, I didn’t view his accuracy to be on par with the top of the quarterback class. His arm strength was a clear strength, and I loved his passer’s amnesia, in which he’d fire the football downfield even after a bad decision or miss on a previous play.
The one confounding component of Penix is that his tremendous workout at the Washington Pro Day last spring did not match his on-field athleticism whatsoever, especially late in his collegiate career. And I strongly believe a quarterback needs at least above-average running talent to thrive in today’s NFL.
- Bo Nix, Oregon
Why did I have Nix so low, relative to the other top quarterbacks in the 2024 class? I didn’t view his pocket-management skills commensurate with his immense collegiate experience, and the same felt true about his ability to move through reads quickly and ultimately make the correct decision with the football. Most of the latter deficiency felt directly related to the gimmicky nature of the Oregon offense. Lots of RPOs, go routes, and a litany of screens buoyed his statistics but didn’t give him a real feel of playing quarterback in the NFL.
Nix ticked the boxes in accuracy, arm strength, and mobility, which hinted at upside. However, his age — 24 in his rookie season — suggested his upside was more limited than his physical traits alone.
- Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Believe it or not due to his ranking, Sanders is one of the most Week 1 ready quarterbacks listed here. He played plenty of collegiate football, mostly from the pocket, and when in rhythm can start dealing. Throughout the course of a season, was his accuracy high-caliber? I didn’t view it that way.
Athletically, he doesn’t provide much as a creative ad-libber nor is he deft at subtly avoiding pressure inside the pocket. Can he do the latter at times? Sure. It’s just not a staple of his game.
When it comes to arm strength, Sanders is more in the Teddy Bridgewater-Geno Smith range instead of a specimen with serious velocity-generating skills as a thrower.
