Although it felt at times there was only one quarterback in last weekend’s NFL draft — the slip-sliding Shedeur Sanders who tumbled to the fifth round — there were actually 14 selected over the three days. That’s tied for the most taken in a draft since 2016.
Considering the impact of last year’s class, which included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix and Bo Nix, each of those quarterbacks drafted this year has to be encouraged that the window of opportunity is more than cracked open.
Advertisement
To get a better understanding about some of these players, the Los Angeles Times spoke to quarterback analysts Rick Neuheisel and Greg Cosell, who spend countless hours studying the position and prospects.
Neuheisel, a former UCLA quarterback, went on to become an offensive coordinator in the NFL and head coach at Colorado, Washington and his alma mater.
Cosell, a senior producer for NFL Films and analyst for ESPN’s “NFL Matchup,” spends much of his time breaking down game footage and evaluating college football players. The nephew of legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell, he’s widely respected in NFL circles for his knowledge of the game.
As he does every year, Cosell shared with The Times his highly detailed breakdowns of the top quarterback prospects, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses as did Neuheisel.
Advertisement
Read more: Why the Super Bowl-ready Rams may have won the 2025 NFL draft
A look at the five quarterbacks selected before Cleveland drafted Sanders in the fifth round:
Cam Ward (Miami): No. 1 overall in Round 1 to Tennessee Titans
Ward played at three schools in his college football odyssey, beginning as a zero-star prospect at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, before moving on to Washington State and Miami.
Neuheisel believes Ward has some of the cool-under-pressure qualities of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. That’s about as lofty as praise can get.
“There’s no panic reflex,” Neuheisel said of Ward. “Which is exactly what plagued Will Levis [last season’s starter for the Titans] and why Levis can’t be the guy. Makes rushed decisions when things are falling apart, and Ward is the antithesis of that. He’s unusually calm, sometimes to a fault, but ends up making Mahomesian plays.”
Advertisement
That’s not to say he’s a carbon copy of the Chiefs star.
“He doesn’t have the arm talent that Patrick does,” Neuheisel said. “But he has the same Houdini qualities of getting out of trouble.”
A sampling of Cosell observations:
Strengths: Could deliver with pace and touch when needed. Could take something off throws with precise ball placement. … Showed a poised feel to work through progressions. Drop-backs he read front side then calmly came back side.
Weaknesses: Strong tendency to drift on drop-backs without setting his feet and planting with a firm base. … Too many drop-backs he was too loose in the pocket, bouncing and drifting without planting and ready to throw.
Advertisement
Jaxson Dart (Mississippi): No. 25 in Round 1 to New York Giants
Former Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart will be the next hope for the New York Giants. (Gary McCullough / Associated Press)
The Giants, who had the third overall pick, traded back into the first round to select Dart. Early indications are they plan to bring him along slowly, as Buffalo did with Josh Allen. Giants coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen were with the Bills for that rookie season with Allen.
Neuheisel drew a comparison between Dart and outstanding Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
“There’s lots to like about Jaxson Dart,” he said. “If you look at his yards per attempt, they’re Burrow-esque. So that you’ve got to like.”
Advertisement
Eight Ole Miss players were drafted this year, a school record, and Neuheisel likes that Dart recruited most of them to transfer there.
“He’s got that kind of personality as a consensus builder,” he said. “That’s a trait that you like in a quarterback.”
Cosell’s observations:
Strengths: Showed a feel for avoiding and escaping pressure in the pocket. … Efficient versus blitz. Knew where his quick answers were and got the ball out of his hands to the right receiver.
Weaknesses: No experience calling plays in a huddle [a big deal] and almost no experience taking snaps under center. … Arm strength above average. He does not possess a power arm that can drive the ball with higher-level velocity.
Advertisement
Tyler Shough (Louisville): No. 40 in Round 2 to New Orleans Saints
Tyler Shough, who finished his college career at Louisville afer stops at Oregon and Texas Tech, will be a 26-year-old rookie in the NFL. (Benjamin Fanjoy / Associated Press)
Shough enters the NFL with extensive mileage on his odometer. He will be 26 at the start of the season and played for three schools — Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville — across seven years of college eligibility.
“You don’t often talk about seven-year careers,” Neuheisel said. “We had him on the radio and said, `When you left [high school in] Arizona for Oregon, did you foresee trips to Lubbock and Louisville and all the different things that happened along the way?’ And he says, ‘No, this was not part of the plan.’”
“But all that stuff helps build, you know, some resilience. And in terms of — 10 years ago — this was the prototype quarterback. The 6-foot-5 guy that can stand in there and is athletic.”
Advertisement
Neuheisel said pairing Shough and first-year Saints coach Kellen Moore “makes all the sense in the world.”
Cosell’s observations:
Strengths: Significant experience with the play-action passing game and working under center with his back to the defense. … Natural sense of timing and rhythm to his pocket play that got better as the season progressed.
Weaknesses: Ball placement at times not as precise as it must be on a consistent basis. He’s not a scattershot but he’s not exact. … At times he could be hesitant to turn it loose when the windows got a little tighter. Left some throws on the field.
Advertisement
Jalen Milroe (Alabama): No. 92 in Round 3 to Seattle Seahawks
Former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe will be vying for a starting spot in Seattle with veteran Sam Darnold. (Vasha Hunt / Associated Press)
Milroe heads to a franchise that just signed Sam Darnold to a big deal. But that doesn’t mean the door is closed for the rookie. In 2012, the Seahawks saw third-rounder Russell Wilson ascend to the starting role despite the club signing veteran Matt Flynn to a lucrative contract.
At Alabama, Milroe was a threat with his arm and legs, and Neuheisel believes that Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald can use him the way Baltimore uses quarterback Lamar Jackson. Macdonald came from the Ravens.
“He had a front-row seat watching what Lamar did to teams,” Neuheisel said. “He saw what Lamar did to defenses and how he forced them into single-high coverages and had his way with them.
Advertisement
“Now, Milroe might not be Lamar, but he’s not far off in terms of his ability to run. And you would say that he’s actually been in more big games than Lamar was in college.”
Cosell’s observations:
Strengths: Willing to stand and deliver in the face of pressure, especially down the field. Mental and physical pocket toughness. … Compact delivery but the natural arm strength to generate power and velocity on intermediate drive throws.
Weaknesses: Too often too much head and eye movement on drop and set in the pocket. Result of not getting a clear picture. … Ball placement at times remained erratic and inconsistent. Still missed few too many throws in clean pockets.
Advertisement
Dillon Gabriel (Oregon): No. 94 in Round 3 to Cleveland Browns
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for an FBS record 155 touchdowns during a college career that began at Central Florida. (Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
Gabriel spent his first three seasons at Central Florida, then transferred to Oklahoma before spending his final college season at Oregon. He finished with 155 career touchdowns, an FBS record. He was drafted 50 picks before the Browns took Sanders.
“He had some 100-yard rushing games as well as some big throwing games,” Neuheisel said. “”I think the guy’s really good. Now, obviously, he’s small — a 5-10 guy. [Gabriel is listed at 5-11.] But so was Russell Wilson. So we’ll see. He’s efficient.”
Cosell’s observations:
Advertisement
Strengths: Showed comfortable feel for working the pocket both sliding and climbing to find space, step up and deliver. … Great feel for both manipulating defenders with his eyes and/or quickly detecting coverage indicators.
Weaknesses: Arm strength falls in average category. Does not possess the arm that can drive the ball with higher velocity. … Deep balls had tendency to lose energy on the back end. That’s where arm-strength limitations showed up.
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Read the full article here