Only ONE will start for his team and the rest need serious time to develop. These rookie quarterbacks are a work in progress and then some.
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Last (and possibly least) among skill players entering the league are the rookie quarterbacks. As has been covered, this group is nowhere near last year’s in terms of expected impact, both right away and down the line. Perhaps because of that, there are multiple intriguing QB rooms around the league in 2025 heavily weighed by how a rookie performs.
Cam Ward is right at the top. He was often overlooked in both predraft and post-draft analysis. It’s because he was a foregone conclusion to be drafted first and joins his new club with no real competition. He is going to be a Week 1 starter; he has talent enough to be good; it’s just a wait-and-see situation as to whether he has enough around him and can put it all together. That’s kind of boring to talk about.
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After him is Tyler Shough in New Orleans, who is closer to starting than he should be. Then all of Dillon Gabriel in Cleveland, Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland as well, Will Howard in Pittsburgh (if Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, Howard’s chances at playing immediately plummet to zero), and Riley Leonard in Indianapolis have (minuscule?) chances at being their team’s starting quarterback. This is more to do with a lack of elite competition than with any of their respective upsides. They all feel like career backups, with the possible exception of Sanders, who we’ve dissected previously this offseason. Throw in Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe and we have a party! Suffice it to say, these rookie quarterbacks are on life support.
Rookie Quarterbacks On Life Support
Todd Salem:
Interestingly, Cam Ward’s new backup, Will Levis, failed as Tennessee’s starting quarterback because he made too many mistakes, took chances at the wrong times, and didn’t have enough help around him to elevate his play beyond spotty and inconsistent. The rep on Ward entering the league is…almost identical? In college, Ward made mistakes and took chances at the wrong times. He now joins the Titans, where they surely do not have enough help to elevate Ward if he isn’t spectacular.
Should Titans’ fans be worried before this even gets underway? I mean, yes, but only because it’s right to worry about every rookie QB. Ward is better than Levis. He can make reads and throws that Levis couldn’t. His mistakes are those of aggression, which is a positive as well. I hate the Tennessee supporting cast in year one for him and do not expect him to be good in ’25. But down the line, there is definitely potential here.
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Down-the-line potential is really all we’re looking for with the rest of this rookie crop. No one else even has a realistic chance at success in ’25. Second-rounder Tyler Shough has the next-best chance at being a Week 1 starter. He is already 25 years old, possesses a great build and good athleticism. With Derek Carr’s retirement, the starting spot is Shough’s to grab. But this New Orleans club is old and filled with holes that even a veteran would find hard to overcome.
The high-ceiling guys of the class are Jaxson Dart in New York and Jalen Milroe in Seattle. Both are blocked on the depth chart this season but could be franchise guys in the future if everything breaks right. Milroe, especially, has a long way to go before he is an NFL-caliber passer.
I was going to end this by saying something along the lines of ‘we know some of these guys are going to hit; it’s just a matter of pinpointing the correct ones.’ But with the QB position, that isn’t true. Some of these guys don’t have to hit. We’ve seen classes before where no one materializes into a franchise passer. It could happen again, or it could be Ward by himself. Either way, it’s a lackluster group for 2025 interest.
Dan Salem:
The odds favor at least one of the 2025 rookie quarterbacks proving us wrong and becoming a starter for multiple seasons, but my goodness this is a sorry group of elite players. Cam Ward deserved to be chosen in the first round, but it’s a shame he has to start week one. I wish all rookie quarterbacks could sit for a month minimum to absorb the speed of the game, fully learn their new team’s playbook and play calling style, and take stock of how a veteran handles things. Unfortunately that is far from reality and Ward is Tennessee’s best chance at winning, despite providing him little help to do so, or a backup who can actually support his development.
Quarterbacks selected outside of the first round rarely pan out into solid backups, let alone starters. Most of the best backups were highly drafted players who are very good in small quantities. So who is the outlier of the 2025 QB class? I agree that Shough will start for New Orleans, but he isn’t going to wow anyone. What do the Saints have to lose? Nothing really, as this is plan B or C for them after Carr retired. They aren’t very good, so see what you have and flame out if all goes poorly.
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Two players stand out to me as likely finding success down the road, but they will need some luck and some help. Dart is really set up nicely in New York for two huge reasons. He has a head coach with a history of squeezing the best out of his quarterbacks, and Daboll has yet to groom a rookie as a head coach. This is a win win for Dart. In addition, Dart has two accomplished veterans ahead of him, as well as a fan favorite.
Russell Wilson is the ideal mentor, assuming he enjoys teaching and sharing his knowledge. Jameis Winston seems like he’d love to teach a young player, but some of his lessons will need to be ignored, yet his career success is something to admire. Then there’s Tommy DeVito, who managed to come from obscurity to start and win for the Giants. He’s likely cut in August, but it’s another great person to learn from. Assuming the Giants don’t totally suck once again and Daboll keeps his job, then Dart will likely start next year and can actually be good.
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I also believe Sanders will find career success, but not with the Browns. He is simply too hungry and has too much fire to stop before he gets a chance to start and later become a backup with upside. He does not come across as a patient person, which will work against him for the next season or two. But heck, he could win the job this year. I don’t think he does though, instead playing a few games later in the year and earning enough value to warrant a trade. I like Sanders on his second team, so there’s that. And LOOK, we found something to talk about regarding this uninspired group of rookie quarterbacks!
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
Rookie Quarterbacks On Life Support – This Is The End
Photo Credits: foxsports.com and medium.com; fox10phoenix.com via Getty Images
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