The 2025 quarterback carousel has a much different tune than what we saw across the NFL last year.
In 2024, there were a lot of teams in QB purgatory. But fortunately, there were six quarterback prospects worthy of being drafted in the first round. Bo Nix, who went 12th overall to the Denver Broncos, was somehow the sixth quarterback taken in the draft.
By my count, nine different teams acquired a new quarterback who was their primary starter in 2024. Going into this offseason, there are almost as many QB-needy teams out there, but the draft class is not as flush with high-end talent.
People love critiquing this year’s quarterback class. They pick Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward apart. They compare them to the 2024 class - which may end up being one of the best QB draft classes ever - and use it as a reason for why teams should avoid drafting a quarterback this year…Or maybe it’s only the Tennessee Titans that are being held to that standard. It certainly feels that way.
There seems to be this narrative going around that the Titans should avoid drafting a quarterback with the number one overall pick because this year’s draft class "is not as good as last." People believe that Tennessee should simply wait until a better quarterback class rolls around before going all in on a prospect. I have an issue with this for a number of reasons.
For starters, you may be hard pressed to find a class that measures up to 2024. As I just went over, the 2024 draft class was unusually strong at the quarterback position. This also does not mean that there are not talented prospects that can become franchise quarterbacks in this year’s class. Some people believe that Sanders and Ward would be right in the mix had they been in the ‘24 group.
Maybe Sanders and Ward are a step below Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye. But I think they’re absolutely higher graded prospects than J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix were...and Nix had a really promising rookie season. Quite frankly, it's foolish to think otherwise, and foolish to think Sanders and Ward will not be good quarterbacks simply because they do not have the same prospect profile as Daniels or Calb Williams.
But on top of that, I’m bothered by people pushing the narrative that “Sanders, and award or not worth the No. 1 overall pick” while simultaneously mocking the QBs to go at 2nd, 3rd, or 6th overall.
In a recent mock draft from Field Yates, he projected the Titans to select Travis Hunter with the 1st overall pick. "The Titans have made it clear they won't force the quarterback issue at No. 1 if they don't deem one of the passers worthy of the pick," he wrote. But just two picks later, Yates praised Cam Ward and the fit he would be for the New York Giants. "Ward dazzled during his lone season at Miami, throwing for the most touchdown passes (39) and second-most passing yards (4,313) in the FBS. Though he must clean up his footwork and decision-making, Ward has a high ceiling. He brings a powerful arm, can be an innovator on the field and has a steely demeanor in big moments."
It seems like everybody is ready to rip the Titans to pieces if they take a quarterback first overall. But if the New York Giants were to land the same player with the third overall pick, it would be a perfect fit and a no-brainer.
Newsflash - if a prospect is worth the third overall pick, they are worth the first overall pick. At that point, it’s just a matter of preference.
You either have early round one grade or you don’t.
Let’s look back at the 2023 draft class. C.J. Stroud was drafted second overall and nobody would have batted an eye had he been drafted first overall. Some people preferred Bryce Young, but both prospects had grades at the top of the first round. The same thing can be said of Anthony Richardson, if you loved the prospect that Richardson was for the Colts when they selected him fourth overall, you would have felt the same way if the Panthers had taken him first overall. You may have preferred Bryce Young, but you either liked the player or you didn’t.
For some reason that’s different this year. Maybe it’s a bias for the major media markets of New York and Las Vegas. Maybe it's because people in sports feel the need to be a contrarian just to be different. Maybe it’s because we deal in absolutes as humans and don’t see nuance when we establish opinions.
But whatever the reason, this narrative needs to die. The reaction to the Titans drafting a quarterback should be the same to the Giants or Raiders drafting a quarterback.
