INDIANAPOLIS — The enthusiastic pursuit of 37-year-old Matthew Stafford at the combine by teams in desperate need of a quarterback is just the latest example of today's NFL reality. If a team doesn't have Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, it's hard to compete for a Super Bowl.
For teams consistently at the top of the draft board like the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns — who hold the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks this year — the combine provides an opportunity to take a deep dive on this year's QB draft class.
"This is a really good class, from the top all the way through," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said.
That's not the prevailing opinion, of course. The 2025 draft features just two players projected as potential franchise quarterbacks: Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. After that, the dropoff is seen as steep, which means QB-needy teams are also keeping a close eye on the free-agent and trade markets.
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"I think we're trying to get the best player period," said Titans head coach Brian Callahan, when asked about the prospect of drafting a rookie or signing a veteran to address his team's need at quarterback. "And whatever that looks like for us doesn't make any difference to me."
Roughly a dozen teams are searching for an answer at the most important position in sports. Veteran QBs Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are available through free agency, while others such as Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr and Stafford could be available through trade.
Add in this year's quarterback class that's considered weaker than last year, when six quarterbacks were among the top 12 picks, and quarterback-needy teams are faced with a dilemma. They can draft a fresh face and deal with the inevitable growing pains or bring in a retread who could benefit from a change of scenery but also brings his share of baggage and injury history.
"We're going to look at vets. We're going to look at the draft. We're going to look at trade candidates," said New York Giants GM Joe Schoen, whose team holds the No. 3 overall pick. "We're going to look under every rock to find the best prospect for us going into the 2025 season."
NFL talent evaluators and coaches like new Raiders boss Pete Carroll, who inherits Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell, are starting their search at the combine this week.
"The quarterback position is going to be highly competitive," Carroll said. "If you look back at when we started in Seattle and how we built the competition to find the proper guy that would take over in that job, it was a very intricate, elaborate process. When we saw Russell Wilson win the competition, it was because it was a wide-open competition."
While Ward and Sanders are considered the only quarterback prospects worthy of being selected in the first round, both players could take some time to develop. Other QBs such as Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe and Will Howard are considered Day 2 or Day 3 prospects who will take even longer. Last season, six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 picks and five of the six ended up playing in their rookie season.
"I would say the earlier they're taken, the more pressure and the expectation is that we're going to see them maybe not Week 1, but we're going to see him start at some point," said Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who started rookie Bo Nix Week 1 last year. "Remember, the earlier they're taken, there's probably a good chance the team that is taking him that early is struggling. And that's why they're picking where they're picking.
"And so periodically, you have these examples — Ben Roethlisberger was probably disappointed on draft day, but he ended up at a pretty special place. Or the same thing with Aaron Rodgers. … History has also told us we're going to have starters who are taken after the first round. You just have to find them."
This year's crop may not be deep, but most of them are athletic enough to run some of the zone read concepts that keep NFL defenses honest. And most of the teams that made the playoffs last season feature athletic quarterbacks — Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts and even Mahomes. They add that dimension of a running quarterback threat to the offense.
"With the runners, you've seen more of that when you look at guys like Josh [Allen] and Jalen Hurts," Seahawks GM John Schneider told FOX Sports. "Obviously, guys like that have affected the game. Having that extra runner, it's all about counting numbers when you're defending that. So if you have a guy that can run, it's incredibly important."
Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, who smoothly transitioned from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson, offered some words of wisdom for those teams looking for a franchise quarterback.
"Every smart team is always looking for quarterbacks," DeCosta said. "It's a quarterback league. Whether you're looking for a backup, practice-squad quarterback, a starting quarterback, it's hard to win without one.
"We're blessed to have Lamar Jackson. Before that we were blessed to have Joe Flacco. Living in a world without a quarterback is a tough world to live in. We understand that. These guys drive the league. It's a tough position to be in, but I think if you've got the right people, trust the process.
"You can find one."
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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