Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders are widely believed to be the top two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft class. But who's QB3? In a year when the crop of passers is believed to be weaker than in recent drafts, it's an intriguing question.
"Look, there's a lot of people who say a lot of different things, so I'm not trying to tie my head into anything like that," Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart said at the NFL Combine when asked about the perception that there are just two elite quarterback prospects. "This has been a dream for me since I was a little kid to be in this position that I'm in today. I'm really just trying to improve. I know that if I control things that I can control, everything's going to play out the right way. I'm not even too nervous about that at all."
Here are the five quarterbacks who appear to be best positioned to be the third quarterback taken next month:
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 223 pounds
2024 stats (13 stats): 69.3% completion rate for 4,279 yards and 29 TDs with 6 INTs; 124 carries for 495 yards and 3 TDs
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A handful of draft evaluators have pegged Dart to go as high as late first round.
At the combine, he showed his great deep ball, on par with his tape. He led the FBS last season in yards per attempt (10.8), and passing yards and touchdowns on passes of at least 20 air yards, according to PFF. But he's a good athlete as well. He was deployed on designed runs. Over the past three years, Dart had 1,498 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on more than four yards per carry.
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 217 pounds
2024 stats (13 games): 64.3% completion rate for 2,844 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 INTs; 168 carries for 726 yards and 20 TDs
Milroe is by far the most explosive athlete at the quarterback position in this class. He's a handful for defenses in the open field with his speed. But his uneven session at the combine — inaccurate passes, underthrown deep balls — speaks to how much development he'll need in the NFL. He can throw with some zip, but his footwork and decision-making need improvement.
Touted as a first-round pick early in the 2024 college football season, Milroe is now projected by some to go as late as the middle rounds. His 20 rushing touchdowns last season ranked second among FBS quarterbacks and eighth among all players.
Will Howard, Ohio State
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 236 pounds
2024 stats (16 games): 73.0% completion rate for 4,010 yards and 35 TDs with 10 INTs; 105 carries for 226 yards and 7 TDs
A national champion with the Buckeyes last season, Howard possesses great size for the quarterback position. He led the Big Ten in touchdown passes. He's very mobile, too; pulling on read options is part of his repertoire. But he's critiqued for being system-dependent, as opposed to being a legit playmaker at quarterback. That, plus playing with superior talent at Ohio State, muddies his perceived upside.
Tyler Shough, Louisville
Measurables: 6-foot-5, 219 pounds
2024 stats (12 games): 62.7% completion rate for 3,195 yards and 23 TDs with 6 INTs
Considering the league's general impatience with developing passers, Shough's age (he turns 26 in September) and experience could be a plus. He was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and backed up Justin Herbert at Oregon.
Shough's health history is concerning, however. He played only 15 games in three years at Texas Tech due to injuries.
Like Howard, though, Shough has great size. The arm talent is there. He was effective when well-protected at Louisville. His tape doesn't show a lot of mobility, but he did run a 4.63-second 40-yard dash at the combine, a good mark for a quarterback of his stature.
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 214 pounds
2024 stats (14 games): 65.8% completion rate for 3,472 yards and 31 TDs with 12 INTs
Ewers can make his throws look so effortless. He has good pocket mobility. He won plenty of games at Texas. The biggest knocks against him are that he wasn't great against pressure in college, and, as an average athlete, he lacks escapability.
My pick for QB3?
Dart.
He isn't a superior athlete at the position like Milroe and doesn't have the size of Howard or Shough, but he's somewhere in between. That, plus his production and proficiency throwing the deep ball in college football's best conference for three years, puts him firmly in the conversation just below Ward and Sanders.
Dart has drawn some similarities to the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts because of their similar physical profiles, though Hurts was the superior runner entering the NFL.
"I feel like we can do a lot of the same things," Dart said of the comparisons with Hurts. "Obviously, he's an elite player, and I'm trying to reach that level. But he's been somebody that I've tried to resemble in my game just because of his versatility, being able to run and throw the ball, and just how strong he is in the pocket."
Milroe, though, could still rise to become the third quarterback taken. He has rare athleticism at the position, so it's possible a team with a veteran passer that can afford to be patient in developing him could take a flyer on the Alabama starter high in the draft.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on X at @benyarthur.
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