2025 NFL Draft: QB Class already making mark
Ewers, Beck, Sanders, Dart are names to follow
The most important player in football will always start the play with the ball in his hands. No matter how great a defense is or how talented a team’s skill position players are, without a competent quarterback under center, a team will never maximize its potential. Because of that teams in need of one will always target the quarterback position early in the draft. The demand is simply too high.
The 2025 NFL Draft quarterback class is shaping up to be a solid one. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart are two uber-athletic quarterbacks, able to extend plays and make things happen outside the pocket. They are also very smart football players who understand how to take care of the football. Carson Beck of Georgie and the Longhorns’ Quinn Ewers are pocket passers whose games focus on accuracy, timing and getting the ball out quickly to playmakers. All of these players have the potential to lead an offense at the next level, but for most, NFL success will come down to the situation and scheme these prospects fall into.
Let’s take a closer look at these guys individually.
Carson Beck — QB, Georgia, 6035, 220, rSr, 4.82 40 (est). First-ranked player and 1st-ranked QB on Hall of Football
Overview
Beck had a more unconventional collegiate path by today’s standards. He will be a fifth-year senior next season. Last year was his first as a full-time starter, after sitting behind Stetson Bennett his first three years. In 2023, with all the pressure of coming into a winning situation on a winning team, Beck led Georgia both to a winning season and a bowl victory. Beck finished the season with 3,941 pass yards, 24 TDs, six INTs, and an impressive completion mark of 72.4 percent.
Thus far in 2024, Beck has been statistically impressive in his team’s two overpowering wins. In Georgia’s 31-3 thumping of Clemson in Week 1, Beck went 23 of 33 for 278 yards and two TD passes. He threw five scoring passes in the Bulldogs’ Week 2 rout of Tennessee Tech. Seven TDs and zero picks, with a 70.7 completion percentage through two games. 2024 is off to a good start for Hall of Football’s top-ranked draft prospect.
Carson Beck is from Jacksonville, Florida and attended Mandarin High School. Ranked a four-star prospect, named to the top-150 dream team, No. 3 QB in nation and 100th nationally by PrepStar. Was invited to Elite 11 Finals and earned “The Best Fit” superlative at the event. Earned Florida’s Mr. Football by leading MHS to it’s first state title in program history. Was a talented baseball prospect in high school as a pitcher and first baseman. In 2023, he was a finalist for the Manning Award and earned All-SEC Second-Team honors.
Strengths
In terms of measurables, he possesses the ideal size (6-4, 215 pounds). Pre- and post-snap, he displays an exceptional ability to process man and zone coverages, throws with great anticipation, and is extremely accurate to all levels. He also shows a nice touch, being able to take something off a throw and drop it into the hands of a covered receiver. Beck possesses a plus arm to fit throws into tight windows. He will not shred a defense with his legs, but he has very good pocket presence, and is enough of an athlete to evade pressure and extend a play. Beck is capable of picking up yards in space when there is an opening. Outside the pocket, Beck is very smart; he does a good job keeping his head up and finding receivers working back to him.
Weaknesses
He is very accurate, but ball placement can be a bit of an issue on deep throws. There’s room for improvement in that area in 2024.
Summary
There are not many holes in Carson Beck’s game. He is a very smart player who makes great decisions, can make any throw on the field and is a good enough athlete to pick up yards with his legs when nothing is available. He has franchise quarterback written all over him, and whoever selects him will position themselves nicely for the foreseeable future.
Shedeur Sanders — QB, Colorado, 6012, 215, Sr, 4.78 40 (est). 2nd-ranked player and 2nd-ranked QB on Hall of Football
Overview
Shedeur Sanders’ college career has taken a unique path. A 4-star prospect out of high school, Shedeur decided to attend an HBCU school and play for his father at Jackson State. He earned numerous individual and team awards, such as winning two SWAC championships, as well as being Jackson State's all-time school leader in passing touchdowns and completions. In 2023, Shedeur followed his dad once again, but this time to the University of Colorado, where he put up 3,230 pass yards, threw for 27 TDs (against just three interceptions) and completed 69.3 percent of his throws.
Through two games in 2024, Sanders has been alternately brilliant and merely mortal. He threw for four TDs and 445 yards, going 28 of 34, in a 31-26 win over North Dakota State, but came back down to earth (23 of 38, 244 yards, one TD, one pick) in the Week 2 loss at Nebraska, 31-10.
Sanders grew up in Dallas and attended Trinity Christian High School. Ranked a four-star prospect, ranked 60th nationally, No. 8 player in the state of Texas and was the 12th-ranked QB in country. Started all four years on varsity and helped lead his team to a state title in each year of his high school career. During his time at both Jackson State and Colorado he has earned a plethora of awards, including …
at Jackson State
Finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS football
Named the BOXTOROW National Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American
Earned SWAC Offensive Player of the Year by the league and by Phil Steele while picking up First-Team All-SWAC honors from both
at Colorado
Finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS football
Named the BOXTOROW National Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American
Named SWAC Offensive Player of the Year by the league and by Phil Steele, and picked up first-team All-SWAC honors from both.
Named HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American.
Strengths
As a passer, I believe Sanders is a bit underrated, mainly because he played behind arguably the worst offensive line in major college football last year and, therefore, wasn’t able to consistently show all of his abilities. In the pocket, Sanders demonstrates poise and an accurate internal clock that allows him to react calmly to pressure. He is underrated as an anticipatory thrower, as he exhibits good timing at finding receivers when they break open.
As a decision-maker, Sander doesn’t get enough credit. He avoids bad throws and excels at protecting the ball, making smart decisions more often than not. When watching him play, you notice that he takes his time, and if the throwing lane is not there, he will move on to the next receiver in the progression or extend with his legs. In my opinion, Sanders is the best athlete of the three QBs evaluated here; he is smooth and nimble in space. When extending a play, he can pick up chunk yards when defenses forget about him as a running threat. Sanders possesses nice footwork when stepping up in the pocket and resetting, giving him a solid foundation to throw a tight, accurate ball. His touch and overall placement on throws downfield are also strengths, whether leading his man or putting a pass on a receiver’s back shoulder.
Weaknesses
Sanders is sometimes a bit slow when going through his progressions, and this sluggishness in processing can lead to missed opportunities and sacks, especially behind an offensive line that struggled like Colorado’s did in 2023. It is not clear that things will change much protection-wise for Sanders in 2024; in the Week 2 loss to Nebraska, the normally elusive Sanders was sacked four times.
His arm talent is about average. When throwing from a less-than-solid base or forced to change arm angles, his accuracy/ball placement can suffer. Sanders does have a slightly elongated throwing motion, and defenders can get a jump on him when he stares down a target.
Summary
Shedeur Sanders is an outstanding athlete who can create exciting plays with his legs, but he also has the IQ and accuracy to excel in the pocket. As he continues to develop, he will need to get through progressions more quickly, but the talent that excites NFL teams in need of a franchise QB is there.
Quinn Ewers — QB, Texas, 6021, 205, rJr, 4.76 40 (est). 8th-ranked player and 3rd-ranked QB on Hall of Football
Overview
Ewers has had some major moments in his first two seasons as the Longhorns’ starter, most notably a huge road win last year in Birmingham against the Crimson Tide in Week 2. In the 2022-23 seasons, he threw for 37 TDs against 12 interceptions. So far in 2024, Ewers has two-game totals of 506 yards and six touchdown passes on nearly 70 percent passing. Ewers helped his draft stock in Week 2 by leading the Longhorns into the Big House and thumping defending national champion Michigan, 31-12, throwing three touchdowns in the process.
Quinn Ewers is from Southlake, Texas and went to Carrol high school. Ranked the No. 1 prospect in the country (247Sports, Rivals and On3) and was selected to the 2022 All-American Bowl Game. Won the Landry Award in 2020, which goes to the top player in North Texas. Named the MVP of District 5 6-A and First-Team All-District in 2019. Was named Secon-Team All-State in 2020 with an appearance in the state title game. During his time at Texas he has earned awards that include:
Newcomer of The Year in 2022
Chosen to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2023
Second Team All-Big 12 selection (AP and Phil Steele) in 2023
2023 Davey O’Brien and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose award semifinalist
2024 preseason watch lists for the Davey O'Brien, Campbell Earl Tyler Rose, Manning, Maxwell Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Walter Camp Awards
Strengths
Ewers has a confident release, and he displays controlled footwork on his drop and when stepping up in the pocket. He exhibits poise and makes good decisions, knowing where and when to check down when everything downfield is covered. Ewers’ ball placement is efficient on short/intermediate throws but can be off when he fails to anticipate. Still, his overall accuracy is solid, as his is touch, more so on deep vertical concepts, when he often drops the ball in nicely. He also shows good placement on underneath throws.
Much like Beck, Ewers is nothing special athletically, but he can extend and steal yards if given space. As mentioned, he is calm in the pocket and senses pressure well, and shows the skill to keep plays alive and pick up yards with his legs. He is not much of a threat outside the pocket to hurt a defense downfield, but he is good at keeping his head up and finding an open man working intermediate or short.
Weaknesses
Texas’ offense features a heavy majority of RPO concepts that demand fast reads and getting the ball out quickly. Because of that, Ewers is not asked often to go through multiple progressions. There are times he does a good job in looking off a defender, but we would like to see more of that going forward. His arm strength is solid but certainly not remarkable — he is not a guy who will let rip a 60-plus-yard throw on a dime. He lacks the arm talent to throw off-platform and from different angles, and he often gets balls knocked down at the LOS. Ewers’ overall decision-making is a strength, but when under pressure, especially when the pocket is pushed into his lap, he will sometimes force throws.
Summary
Quinn Ewers is a quick decision-maker who can make immediate reads and anticipate throws. He is accurate with plus touch, but, when pressured, his mechanics break down and he can become erratic. Ultimately, I believe Ewers is a quarterback you can win with, but I’m not sure if he’s a guy you can with because of.
Jaxson Dart — QB, Ole Miss, 6021, 220, Sr, 4.64 40 (est). 11th-ranked player and 4th-ranked QB on Hall of Football
Overview
Jaxson Dart is a fourth-year senior at Ole Miss, he started out his collegiate career at USC, but has spent the last two seasons with the Rebels. Last season was the best year of his career, as he finished with 3,364 pass yards, 23 passing TDs, five INTs, completing a shade over 65 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 404 yards and another eight scores.
In 2024 so far, Dart has thrown a few, completing a remarkable 87 percent through two games, as Mississippi annihilated Middle Tennessee and Furman by a combined score of 128-3. We are guessing the Rebels covered in both. In the 76-0 drubbing of Furman to begin the season, Dart accounted for six first half TDs, throwing for five and running for another. He has six TD passes and no interceptions through those two games.
Jaxson Dart is from Kaysville, Utah and attended Corner Canyon high school. At Corner Canyon he earned MaxPreps Player of The Year, was the 2020 Gatorade National Football Player of The Year, named First-Team All-America by Sports Illustrated, earned Desert News Mr. Football honors, and was named All-Region as a junior. Dart helped Corner Canyon to an undefeated season and a state title in 2020. He also lettered in baseball and earned All-State honors twice. Honors he has earned in college include:
SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2022)
• Chancellor's Honor Roll (Spring 2022, Spring 2024)
• Dean's Honor Roll (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
• Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2023)2024 Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List
• 2023 Davey O'Brien Award Semifinalist
• 2023 Maxwell Award Midseason Watch List
• 2023 Manning Award Midseason Watch List
• 2023 All-SEC Honorable Mention (College Football Network)
• 2023 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List
Strengths
Dart is a quality decision-maker with the ball in his hands, gets through progressions well against both man and zone. Plays with good footwork in a clean pocket and when stepping up and delivering ball. Sound pocket presence and poise, can sense pressure well and stand in and deliver the ball with pocket collapsing. Has superb short accuracy and satisfactory intermediate and deep ball accuracy/placement. Displays favorable touch on deep throws, can drop it into basket downfield in tight windows. Shows overall solid arm strength and can generate good velocity on short/intermediate throws when his base is underneath him. Dart is a quality athlete for his position, plus athletic ability to elude defenders in the pocket and has good speed to pick up yards with his legs. Excels at getting outside the pocket and extending plays, and is accurate with his ball placement on the run.
Weaknesses
Base and footwork tends to get sloppy when opening up and making perimeter throws across the field and on screen passes. Often gets the itch to extend with his legs, which results in him leaving the pocket early and failing to keep his eyes downfield. Can sail intermediate throws over the middle when touch is needed to thread the needle. Reckless as a ball carrier and often takes unnecessary shots in open field, which could get him injured or result in a turnover.
Summary
Jaxson Dart is an excellent decision maker with the mobility to extend and make plays outside the pocket. He will have to polish his mechanics and get more comfortable making plays inside the pocket, but there is potential to work with. Could take time to develop it, but he does show upside.
In my opinion, Carson Beck is the clear No. 1 going into next year’s draft. I understand the 2024 season just started and the draft is a long ways away, but Beck has everything you look for in a quarterback that can take the reins and elevate the players around him at the next level. The battle is on for the No. 2 spot and so on. Sanders, Ewers and Dart are three experienced quarterbacks at the college level and are smart players who understand how to play the position. Each has intriguing traits and is a potential franchise quarterback, but each also has areas of his game that needs improvement.
Miller Moss (USC) is another guy who could rise up teams’ boards as the season goes on, especially after USC’s upset win over LSU last weekend. Moss sat behind Caleb Williams the past couple of seasons but showed some positives in the Trojans’ Week 1 victory. The 2024 season will tell us a lot about this class as a whole, and it will be interesting to see how each performs this year.