2025 NFL Draft: Top five quarterbacks

The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here. Starting on Thursday night, the next generation of NFL athletes will be welcomed to the league across a three-day event.

A position that attracts lots of attention every year is the quarterback. While this class isn’t as great as years past, it’s still worth talking about.

So, with that being said, who are the top five quarterbacks in the class?

No. 5 – Will Howard (Ohio State)

The fifth-year senior had a dream season in his one and only year at Ohio State.

Howard amassed career-highs in completions (309), completion percentage (73.1%), passing yards (4,010), passing touchdowns (35) and passer rating (175.3).

While he isn’t the flashiest prospect, Howard is a winner, and proved that by defeating some of the top schools in the country as a Buckeye.

Howard led Ohio State to six wins against top-ten opponents; he defeated Penn State, Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame.

After a poor combine, Howard’s draft position is up in the air, but he still deserves to be a top-five QB in the class after the season he had.

No. 4 – Jalen Milroe (Alabama)

Milroe did not have as great of stats as Howard or other quarterbacks you will see on this list, but he still has pretty high potential.

He totaled 2,844 yards for 16 touchdowns, eleven interceptions and a 78.4 QBR.

Milroe is seen as a hit-or-miss prospect, but there’s a lot more hit than miss in that evaluation. He won’t be a QB that starts immediately but could benefit from sitting behind a veteran.

A current NFL QB that Milroe reminds me of is Jalen Hurts. While he’s prone to make mistakes at times, he has a nice arm and has proven he can come through in the clutch.

I’m really interested to see which team drafts him. I think he can excel if he lands in the right situation.

No. 3 – Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)

Jaxson Dart had an interesting collegiate career. He entered USC in 2021 as one of the top QB recruits, but struggled in limited opportunities and was eventually overshadowed by Caleb Williams.

Transferring to Ole Miss was an incredible decision for Dart, who took off in his sophomore year and continued to improve in his junior and senior years.

This past season (his senior year), Dart achieved career highs in pretty much every aspect. Many argued that his Rebels could’ve made the College Football Playoff.

A big Anakin Skywalker fan, Dart should be a day-two pick at the very latest. The big question with Dart is if he’ll be a first-round pick or not.

Like I said about Milroe, I’m curious to see where he ends up.

No. 2 – Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)

While he’s not the top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft, Shedeur Sanders has attracted the most attention out of any QB in the class.

The son of legendary NFL player Deion Sanders, Shedeur was fantastic each season of his collegiate career and had the highest completion percentage of his career during his senior year at Colorado.

A month ago, he was a projected top-three pick in the draft, but has since fallen down draft boards with the Browns and Giants not interested in drafting a QB that high.

However, he’s still a very intriguing prospect, and without a doubt could be a first-round pick.

Teams like the Saints and Steelers will hope Sanders falls to their pick, while other teams could try and move up to draft him if they have the opportunity. Don’t rule out the Browns and Giants in the aspect of jumping back into the first round for him.

No. 1 – Cam Ward (Miami)

Ward might be the least talked-about top quarterback of a class in NFL Draft history, but he’s quietly been the projected top pick for a while now.

Ward has been one of the top college QBs since his sophomore year at Incarnate Word, where he posted 4,648 yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

He went on to a power-five program in Washington State, but it was his fifth year at Miami (Fla.) where he really broke out.

Ward’s season with the Hurricanes wasn’t as dominant as his final year at UIW, but he amassed 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions while keeping Miami in the College Football Playoff mix throughout most of the year.

He’s not a Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence or Joe Burrow, but he’s still a noteworthy QB recruit.

Adam Pietrzak is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu.